Hello, my friend and a very warm welcome back. Blogging begins with a domain name and that is not always easy to come up with, mainly because a lot of your ideas will already be taken! In this post, I’m going to cover the tips on How To Choose The Perfect Domain Name For Your Blog?
We really need to get the name right from the beginning as it can be a real ball ache to change it at a later date, not only that if your website is already established changing your domain name will certainly hurt your rankings in the search engines.
In this post, I’m going to share with you some of the tips I used to choose my domain name as well as the tool that did the name searches for me.
Choosing a name for my first website was a nightmare in comparison this one was very simple because I knew exactly what my blog was going to be about. That made the search for the domain name so much of a breeze!
My first piece of advice is to choose your niche as that will make your domain name easier to come up with.
This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you click a link and make a purchase I will receive a commission. The price you pay will not be affected.
Use Keywords In Your Domain Name
I’m sure you know what keywords are and how important they are to use?
Your domain name is no different, using keywords within it will give you many benefits like getting higher rankings from the search engines. This works because Google, Bing and Yahoo will understand your website better.
If you can do a combination of good quality content, making your website user friendly by having an easy navigation system and the all-important keywords in the right places you will have done all in your power to reach the top!
I feel it was a lucky break that my domain name wasn’t already taken!
Always Choose A .Com
There are so many endings to your domain name that you can choose from:
- .Net
- .Org
- .blog
- .taxi
- .dogbreeder etc…
But the advice is and in my opinion, always will be to stick to a . Com. The biggest reason for this is that.Com is trusted worldwide and not only that but it is the most widely used and easiest to remember and they also rank higher.
Have you noticed that smartphones have .com as a preset on the keyboard? That is another great reason for choosing it.
My favourite reason though is that is what 99% of computer, Ipad, or smartphone users would automatically type without giving it the slightest thought that it could be something different.
Would you trust a site with a jazzy ending .motorbikes as much as a . Com website?
Domains Should Be Easy To Say And Spell
There is nothing worse than choosing a domain name that is difficult to pronounce and spell. Just think how many times you will lose traffic when people keep getting it wrong and just give up!
Sharing your domain name will become an everyday occurrence at some point so make sure it is simple and easy to remember.
Note: It can also be used as your business email as well.
Try Hard To Keep The Domain Name Short
The shorter it is the easier it will be to remember.
Conducting some research on this subject the general consensus of opinion is it should be no longer than 14 characters for best results.
I know mine is longer at 20 characters but it was the name I really wanted as it explained what my blog was going to be about to a T. The most important word in my domain name is bloggers and the rest came about when selecting my niche.
If your domain name is long make sure the words are simple to spell then there will be no loss of traffic!
Never Ever Buy A Domain Name With Hyphens
This is a big point. Don’t buy a domain name that contains hyphens. For many a year now spam has been associated with hyphenated domain names and you don’t want your new blog to be associated with spam.
Another mishap with hyphens is people forget to use them and then they will land on a competitors site instead of the intended one namely yours.
The only time you should use a hyphen in the domain name is when a word is hyphenated naturally.
Keep Your Domain Name Unique
One of the most unique domain names could be your name so take that into consideration as a first choice. For example, you could have DavidHarvey.com or DHarveydiyblog.com
Always before buying a domain carry out a search to see what other bloggers in your chosen niche topic have as their name.
The more unique your domain is the better it will stand out from the crowd and also ensure it covers what your website is about. (that will not be possible if you choose your name but then the website will become your brand and that is okay)
Having a domain name that is also a brand is also common and yet at the same time totally unique. “Amazon.com” for instance.
Don’t Limit Your Blogging Niche
What do I mean by don’t limit your blogging niche?
Well, let us say you are in the gardening niche and you choose a domain name that encompasses one plant like Ivyblog.com you start writing about how to grow Ivy, Whether some types of Ivy can grow indoors, How to feed Ivy etc… Google and your readers will know your site is about Ivy yes?
Later on, when you have exhausted that subject you now start to write about another plant your domain name is going to be preventive of attracting readers that want to know about other plants.
I can tell you from experience it can be a nightmare changing your domain name on an established blog and it is tantamount to starting again from scratch so choose wisely!
Don’t Choose A Domain Name With Double Letters
I know I should practice what I Teach Shouldn’t I, My name has double letters in it!
The main reason for not having double letters is because of typos it’s easier to forget to press the same key twice and that can result in more lost traffic.
In my defence, my blog is about helping people not to make blogging mistakes so I had to choose the word bloggers for it to make sense and be memorable. 2 out of 3 ain’t all that bad!
But if you don’t make this mistake in the first place you will get 3 from 3!
Researching A Domain Name
I researched my domain using the Jaxxy keyword research tool because it has a domain function at the end and tells you if the domain is available. See below:
As you can see I put in ivyblog.com and on the far right of the image it says Domains. There you can see if .com,.net, or .org is available to purchase.
Other methods you can use do a Google search and check for the name’s availability on top social media websites like Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and Instagram.
Don’t choose a name that is too similar to other names available as that could just confuse people. Remember the tip above to be unique.
Don’t Wait To Buy A Domain
People don’t just buy domain names when they want to set up their websites for blogging oh no, There are thousands of people that buy them to sell on.
It’s like owning your own house! some domains are worth thousands and people do pay that much for them!
So, if you find a domain you want and it is available in your preferred format buy it straight away as I guarantee if you wait when you go back again it will be gone!
You may buy a domain that you are not sure about for a few dollars and then decide you really don’t like it anymore, that’s not a problem because a domain has to be renewed once a year so you can just let it lapse.
Domain Name Generator
If you are really struggling to come up with a suitable domain name then you can go down the route of using a domain name generator.
BlogTyrant is free to use and can get you through this process if you have a general idea of a niche and some useful keywords.
Free Domain Name With Web Hosting
It is totally possible to get free domain names with some web hosting companies.
I got a free domain When I joined the Wealthy Affiliate Training Platform that does superb WordPress hosting as well.
Another popular WordPress host is HostGator they also give you a free domain when you pay for their hosting.
Domain Names generally cost in the region of $14-$15 a year and have to be renewed every year.
You can get cheaper domains from other places but just remember that they don’t include hosting so choose wisely!
Conclusion
There is so much that goes into choosing a domain name that it’s understandable that people get it wrong. I hope this post has covered everything you need to know.
Bonus Tip using .blog seems like a brilliant idea and it could be if you are going to stick to blogging. However, if you want to diversify in the future to a podcast, or an e-commerce shop scenario then don’t go for that option, Stick with .com
If you have not yet begun your blog you may find this information extremely valuable as it will walk you through the process of starting from the beginning to getting set up.
Do you need some more information on a different subject to do with working online? If you do you can join my email list and I will be happy to discuss any subjects and write posts for you.
Thanks for supporting me to the end of this post I appreciate your time.
Have a question for me then please leave it in the comments below and I will get back to you as soon as humanly possible.
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Lisa. Founder and CEO of mistakesbloggersmake.com
This is an informative article for upcoming bloggers. I wish I saw this before buying a domain. My domain name is not so bad but after two months of purchasing it, I found a better name. Then I wanted to change my domain name but was told it is not possible and that my domain name doesn’t really matter. It is just too long for my liking and I chose it because the one I wanted was not available to buy.
My advice to anyone that wants to get a domain is – to do it properly and patiently. I was not patient enough to research for a domain name after the first one I wanted was not available. Thanks for sharing
Finding a domain that you want can be a difficult process and you are right you have to be patient and research.
If you have purchased the domain you can always buy another one and swap it over. Site support can do it for you in a few minutes.
Have a great week.
Lisa.
Anybody wanting to start a blog and need to choose a domain name, will benefit from reading this post. When I started my blog, I didn’t really know how to choose a domain name, and did end up with a name that represents my niche.
I have often seen domain names that have nothing to do with the actual content or niche, which I find very confusing then. It is also as if I don’t quite trust the site. Great tip to buy a domain name that you like when it is available. You can always sell it if you change your mind about your blog.
I found it very difficult to come up with a domain name for my blog that would make sense to my niche.
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment.
Have a great week.
Lisa 🙂
I am in the online blogging field for the last 5 years and today I own 4 successful websites. According to me, some of the main tasks in order to start your own website are selecting your niche and buying an appropriate domain name. I totally agree with you that the domain name should be short and easy so that it is convenient to memorize it. Moreover, it should never limit your niche’s radius as you might regret it after some time. Thank you for the lovely post.
As a website owner, you understand the big importance of any domain name.
Limiting your niche through the domain name is definitely a big mistake!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Have a great week.
Lisa 🙂