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How to Brainstorm Names for a Website Domain
The 2023 Complete Beginner's Guide for Businesses and Content Creators
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Whether you are a business owner or content creator starting a website or a blog, finding a good name is a milestone accomplishment. A relevant website name could boost your website’s brand awareness and resonate with your products, services, or content. If you need some help naming a website, here are practical tips to inspire your website name search journey.
Find a Potential Niche and Grow Demand for Your Business or Content Website
Identifying niche target markets for your website is an excellent exercise to help with the name search. Here are three simple tips to follow.
Top 3 Tips to Finding a Potential Niche For Your Business or Content Website
Tip 1: Follow Your Passion When Brainstorming Names for a Website
First, sharing what you love is the initial critical step to maintaining long-term success of your business website or blog. This may sound obvious, but the passion and expertise that come through in the content will make your website interesting, unique, and exclusive. It is one of the most significant factors in making your content stand out amongst competitors and converting prospect visitors to customers.
Tip 2: Do Not Blindly Follow the Trend When Starting a Website
“Follow the money” may be tempting, but it can also propel you in the wrong direction. Trending topics that attract the media’s attention may look lucrative today, but they can fall off the chart tomorrow. Chasing the shiny object often leads to a game of constant catching up with the latest and greatest, which doesn’t always pan out in the long run.
When choosing a niche for your website or blog, always go with what you love and know how to do rather than follow what everyone else is doing. Being the subject matter expert allows you to grow steadily with a clear goal in place.
Tip 3: Ditch the "Fast-Fashion Mentality" When Starting a Website
“Fast-fashion mentality” is the opposite of “follow your passion” when it comes to choosing topics and the right content niche for your website or blog. The bottom line is – if you don’t live, love, and breathe what your website is about, chances are that the topic of interest will not last for you, much like the trend of fast fashion.
When you feel like creating content is an obligation, the disinterest reflects in your output. Your content will appear disingenuous to prospect audience, and you may face burnout sooner than you think. Genuine interest motivates content creators, and it is the best asset to have that fuels your website’s long-term growth. So, spend plenty of time choosing the best subject matter that’s sustainable for your business website or blog.
Top 6 Tips on How to Brainstorm Domain Names for a Website
Now that you have a better idea and direction in naming your business website or content blog, follow these tips below to help you nail down a perfect website name.
#1. Go by the Books When Choosing Website Names
Choose a domain name that represents precisely what your content is about. For example, the successful food blog with seven million monthly visitors, Minimalist Baker, focuses on cooking with easy, clean, and minimal ingredients.
#2. Think Outside the Box for a Creative Website Name
Be creative with the name, but still remind visitors of your website’s primary goal. The trending personal finance website named Nerdwallet talks about everything from the best reward credit cards to how to get your first mortgage.
#3. Keep Options Open When Coming Up with Names for a Website
Have a few backup names available just in case someone else already snatched your brilliant idea.
You can also change the domain extension from the commonly seen “.com” or “.net” to cool ones like these below.
Top 3 Alternative Domain Name Extensions for Websites and Blogs
- .ly
- .co
- .io
Check with a domain service provider such as Google Domains for the availability of alternative domain extensions. We will walk you through this process in the subsequent lessons.
Google Domain
Best for Domain Name-
Reliable domain name registrar powered by Google.
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Provide a range of tools to make life easier: domain sharing, fast multi-domain registration, DNS export, etc.
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Come with Google's reliability, security, and top performance to scale any business online.
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Save time with integrations with other Google tools and trusted partners.
- Choose from more than 300 domain endings. From .com to .photography to .cafe.
- Get 24/7 Google support from real humans.
- Domains start at $9 per year, which is a cost-effective option.
- Include email forwarding, privacy protection, one-click DNSSEC, Google 2-Step Verification, and more.
- Experience speed and security using DNS servers that run on Google’s infrastructure with 24/7 support.
- Provide domain name registrar only.
- Do not include managed web hosting service.
#4. Use Word Generator Tools to Brainstorm Names for a Website
Try using a business name generator like the three popular ones below if you feel stuck or need help wordsmithing a compelling name for your website or blog. You can input phrases or keywords to create unique combinations of words. Do your due diligence first and avoid infringing on other brands’ trademarks, so you can come up with a name that is unique to your website’s purpose.
Top 3 Popular Website and Business Name Generators
#5. Consider the Brand Image When Starting a Website
A brand is not just a name and a logo. It represents a website’s core value and what it embodies. When defining your website or blog’s brand image, think about the following questions.
4 Questions to Consider when Defining Brand Image
- What is your website’s persona, and what communication style will best connect your content with your readers? Scholarly, analytical, humorous, relatable, casual, etc.
- What is the mission and vision of your website?
- What message are you trying to convey through your brand?
- What value and purpose do you want to bring forward to your audience?
#6. Check for Trademarks Before Starting a Website
When you finalize the domain name and are ready to commit, first verify that you are not infringing on any brand’s trademark to protect yourself from legal challenges in the future — research by going to the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.
De-risk early in the process by running through all your domain name ideas in the portal to ensure that the name is unique. The last thing you want is to receive a cease and desist order from a brand’s attorney that your website violates patents and trademark laws.
USPTO Trademark Check
Navigate through the following steps on USPTO.gov to run trademark checks. Note that results may show trademarks and patents registered in the US only.
- From the main navigation, click on “Trademarks.”
- Go to “Search Trademarks” under “Application Process.”
- Click on the box “Search Our Trademark Database (TESS).”
- Under “Select a Search Option,” choose “Word and/or Design Mark Search (Free Form).”
- Enter your website or blog’s domain name to check for possible existing registered trademark matches.
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