Updated on July 10th, 2022
Coming up with good blog names has never been easy. Accordingly, you might be wondering where’s the best place to start as many of the desirable .com domain names seem to be taken.
Well there is hope. It requires a degree of strategic thinking and creativity, but it’s entirely possible to come up with a catchy blog name with a URL to match.
If you’re looking at building a long term online asset (which you should be!), it’s important to be fully engaged with the name you choose. So it’s worth spending some time to get it right.
In this article, I’ll dive into the best ways to create a compelling blog name, most of which are completely free.
Include Niche Keywords in Your Domain Name if Possible
While it’s not critical, it can help with your SEO to include niche specific keywords in your domain name. These keywords would be related to your particular industry.
An easy way that I’ve found to find relevant words is to use a Google Chrome add-on called Keywords Everywhere. There is a small cost to this service, but it will allow you to find matching keywords right next to your Google search results. It’s so easy to use!
Here’s some examples of blogs that have successfully included keywords in their URL:
- moneysavingexpert – great blog on how to save money
- purelivingforlife.com – all things off-grid living
- expertvagabond – travel & photography
Good Blog Names Appeal to your Tribe or Niche
Really great blog names will appeal to your audience’s sensibilities.
Sometimes you don’t even need to mention the niche directly in the title. By just appealing to the desires of your potential audience can find a name that matches their motivations.
Accordingly, take your niche name and brainstorm words that match the desires of your readers.
A great example of this is ShoutmeLoud an inspiring site which is all about blogging. Their name taps so well into the goals of their audience i.e. to have a loud and clear blogging message.
Use your Own Name
Using your own name for your blog demonstrates so much individuality and confidence in your message. It also lends a tremendous amount of authenticity.
The main advantage is that you can easily adapt and pivot if required without losing rankings or traffic. Using your own name gives you the flexibility to have a total change of direction whilst keeping the same URL.
A site that really embodies this is Matthewwoodward.co.uk. Matthews’s site is a terrific resource for blogging and SEO.
Matthew’s message in a nutshell is that being helpful and providing useful information is paramount with blogging. So instead of going the regular path of choosing a .com URL, he went with .co.uk. This is indicative of the faith he puts in the quality of his content being king.
Good Blog Names use Two or Three Word Combinations
Two or three word combinations work particularly well for good blog names. They’re often a combination of nouns eg TechRadar.
Combinations of nouns and verbs work really well too. Consider DollarSprout.com. The great thing about URLs like DollarSprout is that they convey the whole intention of the site in the domain name. There’s no confusion at all as to what this site is about.
Some other top blog sites with noun/verb blog names include:
- TheWireCutter – New York Times excellent product information site
- TechCrunch – All Things Tech industry news site
- ReadWrite – Tech innovations
- LifeHacker – Helpful hacks for life
Name Mashups create Good Blog Names
One of the main difficulties of choosing your blog name is that you need a matching domain name. Accordingly, if you’re looking to grow your blog to a worldwide audience, the .com extension is still the most trusted type of URL.
Unfortunately, we often find that our preferred .com domain name is already taken. It might already be used with an active site. Otherwise, as is often the case, a domain speculator has bought the URL with an eye to future gains. With domain speculators buying thousands of sites per day, including someone who bought 14,962 sites in 24 hours, it’s becoming more and more difficult to find the URL that you want.
A great alternative is to creatively mashup names or synonyms into something that is truly unique.
There are no rules when it comes to creating blog names, so just make them catchy and memorable.
Some interesting blog name mashup examples are listed below:
- Gizmodo – all things gadgets
- Engadget – more gadgets
- BoingBoing – directory of wonderful things
- Gigaom – tech industry news
- Reddit is not really a blog, but it’s a portmanteau of “read” and “it”
Look for Domain Names Just Dropped
Every day, great domain names are released onto the market. If the prior owner hasn’t paid the annual fee or they decide to release the URL, they’ll be available for sale.
Accordingly, what you can do is check up on which domain names have just “dropped”. There could be gold in there!
Register with Justdropped (it’s free) to get daily updates on domain names that have just become available.
Domain Name Marketplaces
If you don’t mind spending some cash to get a great domain name for your blog, check out some of the domain name marketplaces.
At sites such as Brandbucket, Brandpa and Squadhelp you’ll find an interesting mix of domain name and matching logo packages.
Here’s a sample of domains for sale on Brandpa associated with the word “writing”:
Domain marketplaces are worth scouring to see if there’s a suitable blog name that you can buy. If you’re considering making an offer for a domain name, I’d suggest making a low starting offer at around two thirds the asking price and take it from there.
Use a Blog Name Generator
Another method which is worth trying is a domain name generator.
With this method, you’ll go to a site such as Blog Name Generator and input the key words that you’d like to include in your title. The site will then generate a list of naming ideas based on synonyms and antonyms.
This method is totally free and another thing to try if you’re feeling stuck.
Hire a Creative Firm in your Area
For a really professional branding concept for your site, consider hiring a design agency.
This is obviously going to be more expensive but could be well worth it in the long run. If the design firm does their job well you’ll be furnished with professional solutions involving domain names, colour themes and logos.
I’d recommend to read up on reviews before engaging anyone, view their prior work and clearly agree on how you’ll be charged. Also ask for testimonials from prior clients.
Hire Fiverr or 99Designs Specialist
I know, experiences on Fiverr can be varied. My feeling is that it’s worth a try, particularly if you’re bootstrapping your site. Amongst the noise, there’s some very talented people on there.
These include freelancers who’ll come up with a domain name creation matched with an available .com URL.
Try going for a minimum grade 2 seller. Check their prior work and reviews carefully before engaging anyone.
If you absolutely need to share your password with Fiverr for programming tasks etc, consider these steps first.
99Designs is also worth checking out. They offer a more premium service and their prices are slightly higher but still less than a design agency.
Buy Websites with Good Blog Names
An exponentially larger investment would be to buy a blog that’s up and running.
You should have reliable traffic history & profitability provided to you as part of the purchase agreement. This should give you some comfort about the future prospects of the site. However you need to do your due diligence research and look at future trends.
Sites such as EmpireFlippers are great places to visit for this.
Summary- How to find Good Blog Names
There are many ways to find good blog names. My personal preference is to spend time brainstorming it individually and with friends. Look at your niche and consider what are the drivers and motivations of your audience.
Try lots of different variations and mash-ups. As you go, use a domain registrar like Godaddy to check if matching domain names are available. This is particularly important if you’re aiming towards the super competitive .com extension.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best domain extension for business?
.com is still the number one extension for business. Why so? Well the reason is that .com is universally recognised. It’s trusted around the world and it’s therefore much more likely that the user will click on .com in the SERP. These clicks create an enhanced CTR (click-through-rate) which is beneficial to SEO.
Does your domain name need to contain the keyword that you want to rank for?
It’s desirable to have a keyword from your niche in the domain name but it’s not necessary. So many sites have performed extremely well with their own unique names. It’ll just be a little bit more difficult for search engine users to identify with your blog name in the beginning.
Photo by “My Life Through A Lens” on Unsplash
