Webb on the Web: 5 Rules for Choosing a Name For Your Blog

Thinking about starting a new blog? One of the first choices you'll face is what to name it. That's because the name of your blog should match the domain that you choose. A domain is the part of a web address that comes after the "www" and before the "/subfolder/12345.html." For example, IJNet's domain is ijnet.org. This week, I'm offering you some tips on how to select a winning name for your blog...and some typical pitfalls that you should try to avoid.

Rule #1: Does your blog's name equal your domain name? I started to explain this above. It's really important that you check domain availability first. You absolutely must match your blog's name to your domain. This will help readers remember you better, it'll make you easier to find on the Internet and for those who've only heard about you via word-of-mouth, this will come in handy should they choose to type in your blog's name followed by a ".com" rather than first performing a Google search. And try to avoid hyphens if possible!

The easiest place to check to see if a domain is available is at Network Solutions. (I'm not necessarily recommending or endorsing Network Solutions as a registrar or host, however.) Simply type in the domain you want to see if it's available. Check .com, .net and .org. If it is available, I recommend purchasing all three. If anyone decides to compete with you later, you'll want to ensure that you've already claimed all of the major domain possibilities.

If your selected domain is not available, you can check the WHOIS database at Network Solutions. Type in the domain and do a reverse lookup to see who has registered it. You might even consider contacting the registrant to see if s/he would be willing to sell it to you for a reasonable price.

Rule #2: Is your blog's name easy to spell? I've seen countless blogs with clever names that are absolutely impossible to spell. Avoid any names that the average person would likely misspell.

Rule #3: Is your blog's name easy to remember? If you're launching a blog about war and conflict in Croatia, don't call it "Thoughts on Peace." This is too general a name and doesn't immediately connect with the subject. You may want peace in Croatia, but if you're covering conflict you need to mention that in the title. Also, think about what the domain would look like: thoughtsonpeace.com. It's hard to read and somewhat hard to type. Try sticking with just one or two keywords that are representative of your content.

Rule #4: Does your blog's name describe what you're doing? It's possible that some people will read just the title of your blog...if it doesn't appropriately characterize the content you're creating, they may get confused. Your audience should be able to figure out what your blog is about simply by looking at its name. One great example is "ReadWriteWeb," which is a blog about literally reading and writing for the web.

Rule #5: Is your blog's name available on social networks? Most people don't stop to consider whether their chosen blog name is also available on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. When you create a blog, you're also establishing a brand. You should try to blog, tweet and post status updates under one umbrella to help spread your message and to build your overall audience. Therefore, before making your final decision on a name, check its availability at all of the social networks you use...and even the ones you don't!

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Amy Webb is a digital media consultant and head of Webbmedia Group, LLC. She has also launched Knowledgewebb, a new website for multimedia training. You can also follow Amy on Twitter and delicious. Webbmedia Group is a vendor-neutral company. Any opinions expressed about products or services are formed after testing, research and interviews. Neither Amy Webb nor Webbmedia Group or its employees receives any financial or other benefits from vendors.