[shameus_o'reaaly]

How do you pick a name for your new site that's memorable, catchy/interesting or easy to remember/understand?

I just spent nearly half an hour looking through Wordpress to find a domain name that wasn't registered or reserved which I liked, which had some relevance to my writing and didn't consist of some awkward inside joke.

I could use my own name, but it doesn't really roll off the tongue or have anything to do with the content.

It seems like a small thing, but names which are stilted do put readers off clicking a link, just as lousy colour schemes, amateurish composition or editing, or a plethora of other things about the design mean that people don't return to a site.
Also, you want the name to stick in the mind when they leave your page and turn their PC off too-so that if they hear about something in my niche, they think of my page.

[Chaos]

Quote:

Spent nearly half an hour

Seriously.
Put in some work and come again after 30 days if you haven't found any.

[Kitsune]

I just wrote about poorly named sites in another thread. It's such a big mistake to name your site badly.

Don't make it more complicated than it has to be. It's got to:

Be simple enough to remember. That's not the same as catchy.

Reflect the content.

Not be stupid. "Fuckingawesomeshoes.com" is stupid. Think about your target market: Can you tell them what your site is called with a straight face?

Then think about everyone else. Can you tell them? If your grandmother asks you what your business is called, can you tell her?

Your name would be fine, providing it's simple enough to remember. "ShameusOnline" is an ok business name. "SexyShameusThePIMP" is a terrible name unless you're a stripper or something.

The reason I say "Can your grandmother know" isn't for any personal reason. It's a branding thing. You never know what your future market is going to be. If you have a brand which will immediately discount huge markets, then you're closing off that business forever.

An example is Athol Kay. Married Man Sex Life. He's "Sold out" and is now making money off of women, when primarily his site was for brow-beaten husbands. Whether you agree with the change in direction or not, the name allowed him to do that and make more money. This never could have happened if he founded the site "Keep Your Bitch In Line."

Aside from that, you've got to actually know what you're going to do with the site, because the name will come from the message. I'd suggest writing ten posts before you get a domain or hosting or anything. See what your writing naturally gravitates towards and then try and pick a name out of relevant terms. If you find your blog was supposed to be a personal journey blog but all you keep writing about is how much you love betting on football, then "bettingonfootball.com" is a great name and an organically inspired idea.

[jamaicabound]

Definately make it something easy to remember and not too long, aslo easy to spell. You want people to be able to find it and tell others about it easily. I'm no SEO wiz but I've heard that having keywords or phrases in your domain name can help.

I had thought about with some previous blogs doing some kind of catchy name like boink.com or something like that kinda how alot of popular sites have names that dont really mean anything bing, yahoo, etc. If you can build a brand around that name it can be cool but now you have to build that name so I'd rather have something that tells the reader exactly what it is. If I have a site about storage auctions and providing lists if I name it storageauctionlists.com pretty straightforward if I call the site cubebox.com what the hell does that mean I now have to build brand and domain awareness and educate the customer on what we do when I could have just called it storageauctions.com in the first place.