How should you name your blog ?
Michale Arrington blogs on TechCrunch.com, Guy Kawasaki on blog.guykawasaki.com, Robert Scoble on scobleizer.com. Is there a strategy in picking up names for your blog, which is better domain by your name or domain by some trend or technology. Are there any advantages or disadvantages of hosting a blog by your own name as the domain name.
Good Answers (1)
Christopher S
Owner, Lexan Systems L.L.C.
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (1), Business Development (1), Blogging (1)
In my opinion it highly depends on the goal of your blog and your actual product, sometimes the product is you.
If your selling widgets and your bloging to promote business and awareness of your widgets, I would certainly consider blogging under the widget's brand. If you were a consultant or some status figure or even in a position where you need to stand out from your company or need personalization (perhaps a sales person) I would consider blogging under your name.
In our example, Lexan Systems L.L.C., right now I do 100% of the blogging, but you wouldn't know it unless you looked at the author of each individual post. My blog completely looks like an extension of Lexan Systems. My goal with the blog is to promote interest and awareness of security and drive them to contact our company.
Now if I was in the insurance business, mortgage, real estate, or investment business, I would seriously consider blogging under my own name to promote a one on one appeal and perhaps have people contact me directly for opportunities and discussions.
Without more information on what you are trying to accomplish, I think this is the best I can do to explain at least my opinion on your question. Hope it provides some insight.
More Answers (22)
Laura B
ICT manager, web-writing expert, Web2.0 and web-designing expert in Confindustria. Expert buyer
I think that, for personal blogs, www.namesurname.com is the better solution. Simple and mnemonical...
if the blog is pesonal then firstnamelastname is the way to go. But if it is targetted to a specific category of user then its better to give it more related name. Like I have a blog on Semantic Database and the name is semanticdb.blogspot.com as all the contents I put there is related to semantic database or related technology.
Think everyone has touched on it. It all depends on the purpose of the blog. If it's just general interests and topics relating to your day to day life or personal opinions than your own name. The reasons for this is because you are branding yourself. People will become more familiar with your name instead of each individual topic. If there's a specific interest the blog is focused around than you might as well get that keyword in the URL. That helps you become the go to blog and considered the subject matter expert.
Arun A
Author || Coach:Corp-Leadership/Strategies/Life/Business || Architect:Smart Businesses || Lead Auditor:ISO 27001
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Hi,
A blog is a dynamic medium to express your views.
With as the sole editor
Hence it should point towards you, your interests your business.
Next...if it is you who is being pedestaled there...then name it after yourself.
On the other hand if it is your business interest that needs to be amplified name it after your firm to build up the brand.
If its a combination of the two: Then figure out which is more fetching and name it after that.
At the end of the day you should be able to get enough foot falls to propagate your personal/business interests or both.
On domain names...here is a ideal example pays you fro your efforts .
Pl visit : www.arunsinha.ws
Wishing you good times in blogging ahead.
Arun
Founder and CEO
Ramz Corporate Services.
www.linkedin.com/in/arunslinks
www.axeez.blogspot.com
www.arunsinha.ws
Clarification added September 3, 2007:
PS: Read the second line as: With you as the sole editor.
Lakshman P
Chairman, CEO and Chief Architect of Lpcube - a Knowledge Management Company
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Santhosh:
If it involves multiple authors, then there is no confusion. In the case of single author, single blog but multiple themes, then use personal name.
If it is single author and single theme, then use the theme name. This way you can use multiple blogs for each theme you want to focus on.
If you are keen in branding yourself, then setup a website and have links to all your blogs.
Adam M
Graduate Admissions & International Higher Education Consultant
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As a consultant whose primary business is one-to-one admissions counseling, I decided to go with my name on both my blog and domain: I am what I sell. I have found it to be effective for getting some eyeballs over a relatively short period of time. Assuming you optimize your site for actually be found by potential readers, the name probably will be less of an issue than using the right keywords, phrases, and perhaps entire sentences related to the subject of your blog.
Rajeev V
CEO and Owner at Smart Hiring - www.smarthiring.com
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I second what Lakshman Pillai said. Just my thoughts.
Links:
Veiko H
Independent Internet Professional
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on the SEO perspective you should name your blog as most relevant keyword representing your content.
Provided that a blog's primary goal is to be popular, e.g. frequently visited by many people, the focus should be on marketing & image.
I would definitely put a stress on a catchy and easy-to-remember name. A silly example - www.squidblog.com. I go there, when I feel like reading about something completely irrelevant to me, yet interesting. No way to forget the blog's name either.
In my oppinion naming the blog after you, unless you are a know expert or celebrity will be less advantageous in the beginning.
If you are not looking for a meningful name, try a palindrom line lilil or utoXotu , something you read equally in reverse order.
Raghav H
Interested to network with me ? Just send an Inmail to me !!
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Personal name is best.
All of the answers already quoted are more or less correct.
A personal blog, private or business, should have your name as the URL. The reason is simple, you bolster your own position as an expert, writer, etc. and are easily found when searching for your name.
A company blog does need to have the company name somewhere in the URL to guarantee brand identification. This can be diversified depending on the blog being written by a team of co-workers or the CEO for example.
If the blog is about a particular subject, a review site or branch of industry, I recommend using relevant keywords in the URL to make the most out of eventual search traffic.
Keywords or phrases, do play an important role on the SE's. As such it is worth thinking about including Keywords in the URL, regardless of what type of site you are running.
If you already have an established site ont eh Internet you would need to align the URL to your main site.
I would not recommend using any type of artificial wording, such as mentioned in the comments above, that would take too much time to establish on the net.
The crux of the matter is, on the one hand you need instant recognition, on the other you need easy discovery in your target market.
Use a name for your URL which is instantly recognised and/or easily found.
Links:
Clarification added September 4, 2007:
I use my name for my personal blog and run a anti-fraud blog with a URL which is a keyword domain:
Well ! Just an alternate viewpoint to the ones above ---- I think the blog's name by itself doesnt really make an iota of a difference. As long as you can figure out how to market it. Anyone can create, write, name a blog ... very few can sell it well. Traditionally, names that sell well have the characteristics of being write-able, pronounce-able, remember-able. So if your name can trigger memory (typically if you are famous or can get famous --- use that -- see guykawasaki or schobleizer in the examples you cite), or go for a doooodle.com, schmoozle.com, fightingdogs.com, iCantNameMyBlog.com. And if you can get people to remember santoshmaharishi.com or orkutbuktoddyen.com ... just as well :)
Ajay J
Marketing and Brand Management Professional
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Hi Santosh!
If this is your personal blog, go for namesurname.com This will ensure that people can easily stay in touch with your blog. Especially good for casual visitors or folks who do not subscribe to live posts from your blog.
However, if you choose to write about particular subjects, ideas or philosophies, consider using a name that reflects that. For example, reflectionsonlife.com if you write pensive posts about things in life or spiritualgymnasium if you touch upon meditation and related subjects.
If it is a business blog, either name it after the service you offer or your company name. This because people will typically search using either of those two when they are at google or other search engines.
And finally, do build in good linkages on your blogsite with other blogs. The inter-meshing is really good and can lead your blog to the right set of people instead of their searching and reaching for you.
best wishes,
Ajay
David E
COO at Ace Wireless Network Philippines Inc.
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A lot of good answers were posted. The only thing not mentionned is if the blog has your name and you sell it or the domain registration expires and someone else takes the name. You may or may not want to be associated with new content posted on the blog.
All will depend on your use: personal or commerical and how you want to brand it.
Santosh -
what comes to 'your' mind when you ask yourself the same question?
...and there's 'your' answer.
what's in a name? i say you define what's in a name.
good luck, and i hope to see your fabulously named blog out there soon!
Tony C
Entrepreneur | New Product Innovator | Business & Mission Catalyst | Social Media Junkie
I think this is essentially a marketing/branding question as well as a personal reflection question. What is your end goal? A few things I'd consider:
- Why not set up both a personal url as well as a branded name? This gives you some flexibility if you decide to go after an additional niche later. You personal url can link/feed into multiple blogs that may have distinct audiences. Plus, you can still add your personal/random topics.
- I think it takes longer for people to find you and for you to build a brand with a personal name url. how great is it if the url itself increases your search results?
- At the end of the day, maybe it is truly that annoying slogan that says it all: begin with the end in mind. For me, if I really want to do a personal name url, I would want to be sure that this topic/niche will be my life's work.
Balaji Sadana (
PA-GM & Advisor at Confidential
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Simple-Easy to remember
Reflecting the content of your blog
Knowledge Orientation
Posting link or Advertising on portals become easier
Reflecting your personality through your writings..
Happy Blogging!!!-
*Hiral G suggests this expert on this topic:
You can give your personal name or the purpose for which your creating a blog.....
If it s i domain name , it can be easily identified its purpose.
Deepak S
Business Intelligence, Business Transformation & Information Technology: Strategy & Execution Professional
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I named mine :
http://DeepakSethSpeak.blogspot.com
since it is about my views and opinions. Me and my blog have shared identities !! :-)
Links:
Kathie M. T
Author, Blogger, Founder of Virtual Assistant Industry in Australia, Speaker, VA Coach
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I believe it depends on the topic. I own several blogs and each has a domain name that relates to the topic. If for nothing else, this works extremely well in search engines because the keyword is also the domain name and they show up quickly in Google - on the first page in many instances on that topic.
I personally would stay away from the word "Blog" in naming a blog at this point. The word is getting over-used, and isn't necessary. It's like calling the San Jose Mercury News the San Jose Mercury News Newspaper. A blog is the medium. I'd brand it something that makes sense. Like "The Smith Family Newsletter" or "Straight Talk" or "All About Cars" etc... and if you can get a domain name to match that, and point Blogger to it, so much the better.
