I am in the process of starting a blog and I am looking for input for a domain name. One camp says concentrate on SEO and another came says concentrate on a "catch phrase" and build it into a brand. (Mr. Money Mustache comes to mind on the latter example.) Another train of thought says that content is king and no matter what the domain name is, without quality content it's dead in the water.
I have had several blogs for several years. By far, my most successful blog is TheBBQGuy.com in terms of visitors and gross income through it's 9 year history, but my most profitable per visitor was TampaWormCompany.com (although it's inactive at present).
My personal opinion is a domain should be a max of two words, contain at least one quality keyword, and be easy to remember. I have been working with that theory for a couple of days, but not surprisingly most of the candidates I have brainstormed with "financial", "debt", "wealth" etc. are not available.
Anyone else have any thoughts about domains and financial blogs?
Some may say, "why would anyone in their right mind start yet another financial blog?". Why not?
For me, it combines three things I really enjoy and do naturally - writing, researching, and investing. Instead of providing free content for someone else, I'd like to use my efforts to build my own website too.
Help with Blog Name
Quality content is king, but the name is still important.
I'd examine your 'angle' on finance and base the name on that. Will your entries be personal, humorous/serious, focused on a particular topic, or what? I'd say you need some sort of angle to sell the site to visitors, there's only room for a few generic American finance blogs and The Simple Dollar, Get Rich Slowly, Ramit Sethi, etc, have much of the market locked down.
Maybe something about microbusinesses. I'd be interested in reading about that and it seems you have some experience in the area. Plus, you'd have another incentive to create more microbusinesses as a topic for the blog. Assuming that was the topic, something like MicroRetirement/MicroEntrepreneur, TinyBusiness, HandfulOfBusinesses would be good. None of these stands out but something in that area could be catchy.
I'd examine your 'angle' on finance and base the name on that. Will your entries be personal, humorous/serious, focused on a particular topic, or what? I'd say you need some sort of angle to sell the site to visitors, there's only room for a few generic American finance blogs and The Simple Dollar, Get Rich Slowly, Ramit Sethi, etc, have much of the market locked down.
Maybe something about microbusinesses. I'd be interested in reading about that and it seems you have some experience in the area. Plus, you'd have another incentive to create more microbusinesses as a topic for the blog. Assuming that was the topic, something like MicroRetirement/MicroEntrepreneur, TinyBusiness, HandfulOfBusinesses would be good. None of these stands out but something in that area could be catchy.
I have several thoughts about blogs/content sites in general.
Focusing on "SEO" is a classic mistake, and the wrong move. Same thing for focusing on "content", especially if it's just content that is the exact same as what is on all the other content sites.
Branding and being remarkable, is ultimately what attracts people. Strong branding is what google rewards, more so than just "SEO".
The quality of your writing & the quality of your resources is ultimately what will attract people and keep them coming back. "So good they can't ignore you" by Cal Newport also mentions this, that so many wannabe bloggers ask him what they should be doing SEO-wise, or how can they reduce their bounce rate, etc.. Forgetting that it's ultimately quality writing that brings and keeps people and makes their blog worth anything at all.
For a domain name, I do like to have at least 1 word that is relevant to the focus of the blog. Using a personal name in combination with a word that you like could also work great. BBQMoney.com for example.
Focusing on "SEO" is a classic mistake, and the wrong move. Same thing for focusing on "content", especially if it's just content that is the exact same as what is on all the other content sites.
Branding and being remarkable, is ultimately what attracts people. Strong branding is what google rewards, more so than just "SEO".
The quality of your writing & the quality of your resources is ultimately what will attract people and keep them coming back. "So good they can't ignore you" by Cal Newport also mentions this, that so many wannabe bloggers ask him what they should be doing SEO-wise, or how can they reduce their bounce rate, etc.. Forgetting that it's ultimately quality writing that brings and keeps people and makes their blog worth anything at all.
For a domain name, I do like to have at least 1 word that is relevant to the focus of the blog. Using a personal name in combination with a word that you like could also work great. BBQMoney.com for example.
BBQMoney or MoneyBBQ would be good. I would also say that it's better to write for people than search engines. In the end the search engines will adapt more and more in your favor this way instead of you consistently trying to beat a highly trained and highly paid team of Google researchers. Better work with them.
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jacob
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1) Something containing a keyword (pros: helpful for SEO, new readers; cons: pins the blog content)
2) Your name (pros: your personal brand, you can write anything; cons: you can't really write anything anonymously)
3) Arbitrary name (pros: anonymous, you can write anything, you can eventually put your real name on it; cons: not helpful for SEO, new readers)
2) Your name (pros: your personal brand, you can write anything; cons: you can't really write anything anonymously)
3) Arbitrary name (pros: anonymous, you can write anything, you can eventually put your real name on it; cons: not helpful for SEO, new readers)
The story about how you grew worms from nothing and sold them for lots of cash... that was an interesting story. It made me want to learn more. It made me want to do the same thing but in a different way. I wanted to find a way to take something that others viewed as valueless, do a little enjoyable work and turn it into something valuable.
Wormoney.com or Wormmoney.com or Moneyworm.com
Or a play on the early bird catches the worm...
Earlyworm.com (Not getting caught by the system)
Wormoney.com or Wormmoney.com or Moneyworm.com
Or a play on the early bird catches the worm...
Earlyworm.com (Not getting caught by the system)
I think the formula for picking a name is 10% SEO, 10-20% target audience, and 70-80% what you like. If you don't like it, you will eventually not like writing for it. Plus, what you like will at least be kind of liked by your main audience who has the same general interests.
I will say that I much prefer blogs that aren't ridiculously focused.
I will say that I much prefer blogs that aren't ridiculously focused.
Most of the blog will focus on various projects that I have started or plan to start to go along with one of the first posts I made on this forum: Selling Something That Costs Little for Alot.
I have experience with red wigglers and have been raising mealworms for 3 months now and have a ton of beetles at this point.In the next phase I am going to add roaches and maybe even crickets.
I consider these tests and from there I will choose something to focus on as a primary based on my personal tastes and what my market research reveals.
I have experience with red wigglers and have been raising mealworms for 3 months now and have a ton of beetles at this point.In the next phase I am going to add roaches and maybe even crickets.
I consider these tests and from there I will choose something to focus on as a primary based on my personal tastes and what my market research reveals.
English is not my first language, so some concepts may not be that well translated. But hey, this was a brainstorm session, wasn't it?
"wiggle room" - referring to the insects and to the extra money you're creating to give you some wiggle room.
"profitable (little) projects"
"insects for the win" (ha)
"bugs for bucks"
"the six-legged dollar bills" (more of a band name, that)
"small profit"
A Dutch phrase would be that somebody with an entrepreneurial spirit always gets tingling sensations when they see a good deal coming up, and will act on it. Now that could also work with the itches one can get when thinking about insects, but how is it translates in English? The entrepreneurial itch?
"wiggle room" - referring to the insects and to the extra money you're creating to give you some wiggle room.
"profitable (little) projects"
"insects for the win" (ha)
"bugs for bucks"
"the six-legged dollar bills" (more of a band name, that)
"small profit"
A Dutch phrase would be that somebody with an entrepreneurial spirit always gets tingling sensations when they see a good deal coming up, and will act on it. Now that could also work with the itches one can get when thinking about insects, but how is it translates in English? The entrepreneurial itch?
