You feel the rush of excitement, the possibilities…
You’re ready to start your blogging journey.
All systems go…
The first decision you need to make is what will your domain name be?
What is a domain name?
The www.championbloggers.com address is called a domain name
It’s your address
Like your house address
And you need one to start a blog
Just as if you were to start a business, you choose a business name, it’s the same principle
What should it be?
You think…
You spend a couple of days thinking
Days turn into weeks…
..eventually
You come up with a name!
You go online to check if it’s available
And you realise it’s already been taken…
You have to go back to the drawing board..
…weeks turn into months…
…and you’re still trying to find the perfect domain name
You haven’t got started and you’re still at Step 1
This scenario is all too common
Well.. the purpose of this post here is to give you 7 tips to choose the perfect domain name
You should read through each tip, choose a domain name, and GO GET IT!
Be a champ! Not a chump
People who take action and get going succeed a lot faster than those who dibble dabble around, overthinking and making no decisions.
TIP 1. Easy to type
You want to find a domain name that’s easy to type. Ideally you want to be able to say your web address to somebody, and for that person to be able to write it down without asking how to spell it.
Let me give you a bad example.
Let’s say your website was called fitness4u. If you said that name to someone they may write it down like fitnessforu, fitness4you or even fitnes4u!
By using slang words like U instead of you, and numbers instead of words, it can become a bit of a hassle. In the scenario above I would change the domain name to fitnessforyou. The words spelt out in full so there is no confusion and its clear.
You want to avoid numbers and hyphens altogether. As it will only result in making it harder for your audience and readers to find your blog.
TIP 2. Go for the .COM
When purchasing a domain name you want to always go for the .COM extension if it’s available. It’s the most popular and well known domain extension. I always always get the .COM.
Yes there are multiple other extensions out there like:
.co.uk
.org
.biz
.gb
.info
Etc
etc
Unless you have specific requirements or for example you’re just targeting people in the uk, then its fine to go for a domain like .co.uk.
But most of the time you want your blog to reach the widest audience possible so .COM is the one (that rhymes)
TIP 3. Shorter the better
Do you really want a domain that reads, thebestcrossfithealthplanintheworld .com
Exactly!
If your domain is stupidly long and complex, it just increases the chance of your readers to mistype and get it wrong and not find your blog.
Try and keep your domain as short as possible.
1 word domain names are damn right impossible to find nowadays – they have all been taken.
I would try to get a domain name with no more than 3 words maximum. 2 words is fantastic like champion bloggers 🙂
TIP 4. Relevant!
Now this may be common sense, however it still surprises me when I see this. Your domain name should be RELEVANT to what your blog is about.
So take the domain “championbloggers” for example, you know it’s got something to do with bloggers and blogging, as it’s kind of a giveaway in the name.
So if you have blog all about fitness and your domain name is ilovedogs.com it doesn’t match up and is NOT relevant.
Use keywords that describe what your blog is about in your domain name itself. Using those words in your actual domain name tells people what your blog is all about.
The exceptions to this rule are if your building a brand.
If you want to build a new brand, and your name is totally unique, and that’s the avenue you’re taking for your blog, that is still okay. Also if you want to use your actual name as your domain, and brand your name as the authority in your niche, this also works well.
I have seen both domains work just as well, it all depends how you want to go about things.
My opinion – keyword based domains and domains that include a word that tells the reader exactly what it’s about are better for 2 reasons:
- They make more sense to your audience
- They rank better in the search engine which gets you more traffic
Branding something new (a new name, or your own name) can be harder as no one has any brand awareness of it yet, and this takes time to build.
TIP 5. Check the name
No. I don’t mean “check the name” as in check if the domain is available (although yes you need to do this first)
Even if the domain name is available, you still want to do another check. The copyright or trademark infringement check on the name you have chose.
This is important!
Different countries will have different places you can check this information. If you type in something like “trademarked names” into google, you should be able to find the correct website to check that the name or phrase you have chosen doesn’t already exist.
If it does, STAY AWAY!
Who wants to mess around in court battles and legal costs because you stole someone’s name. This might not sound like an issue right away, but when you build your blog like a champ and you’re getting thousands of visitors a month you will get found and noticed.
TIP 6. Easy to pronounce
You want your domain name to be simple to pronounce. Having a domain name that is easy to say has many benefits. Word of mouth is one (a big one).
If your domain is easy to pronounce, then it’ll be easy to remember. Which increases the chances of your readers sharing it, which will bring you more traffic.
Last thing you want is someone to assume it’s pronounced and spelt a certain way and not get to your blog.
A good little test is to write down your domain name and ask 5 people to say it out loud. If more than a few people struggle to pronounce it, you should simplify it.
Ignore this TIP at your own risk! These websites below certainly did:
Itscrap.com (meant to read IT Scrap)
Whorepresents.com (meant to read Who Represents)
Penisland.com (meant to read Pen Island)
Speedofart.com (meant to read Speed of art)
Yes these were real sites!
TIP 7. GO GET IT!
When you have found the perfect domain name that you want.
Don’t sit back and think about it for weeks and weeks (eye roll)
There are over a million new domain names registered every single day!
If you don’t take action straight away and register your name, you may check back later and find your domain name has already gone. Domains sell quickly, so you need to register it right away and GO GET IT CHAMP!
There you have it.
Your top 7 tips for choosing the perfect domain name. As long as you follow the tips above you’re good to go.
You will have registered the perfect name to build your blog empire.
If you’ve got any more questions regarding getting the perfect domain name, leave a comment below.
