How to Choose a Blog Domain Name- Blogging 101

Day 3 of the Blogging 101 30 Day Series

I bet if you ask very many bloggers, one of their biggest regrets is their choice of domain name.

As a new blogger it is difficult to understand the importance of choosing the right domain. It is also hard to know exactly where your blog will go to understand the best way to incorporate all of the possibilities of your blog! For example, if you name your blog Mom of Triplet Babies and then five years later you are still blogging…well your triplets are not exactly babies anymore.

If you are new to blogging then here are some things to consider that I wish I would have thought more about:

Length of your domain name– Keep it short. Longer domains are very difficult to fit into graphics, say out loud to family and friends, to type out in passing through general conversation, and to remember!
Make it catchy– You remember blogs that have a meaning to their name or something that makes you stop and think about the name.
Not too catchy– be sure to still keep it simple and direct
Is not nearly the same as another blog!– My mistake here, I did not research my blog name– sorry to the lady who hopefully does not think I just outright stole her blog name!
Keywords?– If you know what your blog is about, then try incorporating a keyword or two into the domain name. This will help search engine users find your blog!

Domain name brainstorming tool:

When trying to find the perfect blog domain for you, I suggest taking some time to brainstorm.

GoDaddy.com has a great tool that lets you search a domain name idea you have to see if it is available and how much it is. It also gives you some suggestions if you look off to the right side of the results screen. Looking at the suggestions GoDaddy offers and combining them with your own ideas can bring you that perfect domain!

This is how I came up with a domain name I own: TheBloggingNerd.com. Which I really love!

Do I need a domain name if I am using Blogger? They give me one for free!

• If you use Bloggers’ free domain name and refuse to spend the $10 or so to buy a ‘REAL’ domain name- then your are mocking your own blog! I don’t think I could express any further the importance of buying your own domain name!!
• Using the free blog name that Blogger gives you lengthens your blog name as it adds a .blogspot.com to the end of it.
• You will automatically be penalized by Google and other Search Engines making it very difficult for search engine users to even find your blog!
• When the day comes that you realize I was right and you need your own domain, then you will be faced with a headache!You lose all of your backlinks. Which I know, is something you may not know much about now. But it is something you will take seriously at some point.
  Backlinks are links around the web back to your blog. These are essential to any of the website ranking systems like Google PageRank, Alexa and more.
  Changing your domain name will require you to start back from the beginning and will likely cause you to go back around the web and try to get all the links changed to your new domain name.Don’t let $10 for a domain name cause you such a headache! Trust me, it is well worth spending the $10. If your blog flops- then you are out ten bucks. At least you tried and took it seriously!

Related Posts:

• How to Add your Domain Name to Blogger- Blogging 101 Series
• How to Buy Your Own Domain Name
• Starting your Blogger Blog in 5 Simple Steps!
• Blogging 101- Hosting Setup and Installing WordPress
• Blogger or WordPress?- Blogging 101- Day 2