How to Choose the Best Website or Blog Name for your Online Business

Let’s get this straight. Website or blog name is not the same as domain name and it is different from tagline that describes the purpose of your site.

Website name is the over-all title of your site which may be different from the web address (Domain name) of your site. On WordPress for instance, you input this name by going to ‘Setting‘ and click on ‘General‘. The title of your website is supposed to be on the first box.

The next box will contain your tagline which is the concise description of what the site is all about.

I needed to clarify this because most people use to get it all muddled up with domain name and the search I performed on it attests to this because the search brought up ‘How to choose domain name’. Only about two sites I saw had written something about it on their blog.

Let’s move on, now that you have got the difference between blog name and domain name.

Why it is important to choose the best name for your business website

– It is the name that will show up when people search for your business online through major search engines like Google.

– It has the capacity to enhance your website on-page optimization for better ranking.

– It can further help search engine spider understand what your site is all about.

– It would help facilitate deeper penetration of your brand among your ideal audience.

– It makes your site unique and different.

A website without a name is like a house without a number or a registered business without a name or a blank sign post.

As good and important as website name is, it can be daunting coming up with the one that will resonate with your niche and audience. There are factors you should put into consideration that would help the process of giving your site a befitting name.

Factors to consider when choosing a name for your website

The number one thing you must consider is your audience. Who are your target audience? What kind of service do you want to offer them? It implies that you need to do a kind of audience persona appraisal.

Do you want a name that you can brand around your business? Maybe you’ve registered and developed a brand offline that you want to use as your website name – This is the category we belong here on Frandimore. I’ve seen so many successful bloggers use their names as brand on their website.

However, the passion that underlay the drive to start a website for your business would momentarily be the guiding force that would help you come up with a good name.

“Your website name is your brain-child. Carefully select a unique one”

If the name is still vague, you might need to answer some salient questions within you.

Questions like;

– What are my passionate about or the topic I know well enough and can refine upon deep research for professional presentation?

– what need do I feel a website can satisfy in my business, maybe store-front, marketing, brand publicity, etc.

Other things you should consider are:

1. Website name should be the same as your domain name

To choose a name that would be easy to remember and quickly grasped by your targeted audience and also, effortlessly create undoubted relevancy from search engine point of view; the website name must be the same as the domain name e.g. Frandimore.com (domain name); Frandimore (Website name).

This way, it becomes easier for audience/client to acquaint themselves with the name and thereby unconsciously registering your brand within their subconscious mind. The tagline can then be a concise description of the purpose of the site.

NOTE: It is better to have keyword rich name unlike the way we configured our name.

2. Register a domain name before giving your blog or website a name

If the first point above is anything to go by then, it becomes imperative for new sites to get a well researched keyword domain name registered so as not to lose it before giving the site a name.

This is important should you decide to setup your site locally before uploading it to a live site. You may consider registering the domain with either Godaddy or NameCheap.

However, Blue host for instance offers a free domain name for new web host purchase on their platform just like most other web hosting companies.

3. The name should reflect your blog or business or services

You cannot blog about marketing and name the blog lovezone instead of market-zone or emarketzone.

When blog name contradicts the theme of website, it misrepresents the purpose of the site and that is a disservice to your targeted audience within your business niche.

4. The name should be easy to remember

It is important to get a name that is very catchy, simple and easy to remember. This increases the rate of spread, marketing and branding.

I was trying to name a website on love relationship recently and discovered the keyword I wanted to use have been taken (TLC – Tender Loving Care).

After little research, I found ‘tlcbase’. The ‘base’ is the suffix for the keyword I targeted – ‘TLC’ while the word ‘BASE’ characterizes love depot. You can see that the rate of assimilating this name would be high among targeted audience as far as marketing the name is concern.

5. Think into the future

Choosing a blog name and domain name can be extremely difficult especially keyword rich names. It can be easy at the same time.

All you need is to allow your passion flow effortlessly into your physical being. Flip through dictionaries like ‘Thesaurus’ or use word generator websites like Wordoid.

Write down different names around your niche. Discuss with friends and think ahead. Engage in keyword research. Narrow down the result to your specific passion and visualize your content in 2 – 5 years to come.

Though, frandimore.com was taken as a business brand intended to be promoted across the globe, but the website description went through great tussle before coming up with the one we use currently. It had to reflect our passion, intention and focused goal for the website.

Conclusion: I humbly advise you to get a domain name before attempting to choose a blog name. Better still, you can do it simultaneously. What I know is that a name can be culled out from the domain name.

Just let the passion you developed in serving your audience be the guiding compass that will navigate the process of choosing a name for your website. You won’t regret it or plan to change the name later on.

I’m sure you neither regret nor plan to change the name you gave your child because you took time to prayerfully select them. That is how your website should be treated. It is your brain-child.

“Treat your website like a business, it will pay you as one”