Revision as of 18:52, 25 August 2010

Your Blog's Name: An Extension of Your Brand

Blog as Sole Web Presence

What looks good in the address bar? What rolls easily off the tongue in conversation? What jives with your brand in a memorable way? Spring for a domain name that is catchy and not too long. Should you find the perfect domain name already taken, don't be afraid to contact the owner and negotiate a deal.

Don't be Misleading

If a blog will be your organization's main web presence, you don't need to call it a blog in the domain name. ReadWriteWeb.com covers internet industry news in blog format, a mission clearly stated on their "About" page. Calling ReadWriteWeb.com "ReadWriteWebBlog.com" would be an awful lot to type into a browser's address bar, and could mislead visitors to believe that it isn't the main website.

Sub-Domains and Pages

If your blog will not be your company's only web presence, connect the blog to your main website. Visitors to your site will find the blog easily, and your brand will naturally carry over. A sub-domain and a page have different technical implications, but achieve the website-blog connection effectively.

Setting up a sub-domain won't require the purchase of another domain name. "Blog.YourWebsite.com" is a widely recognized domain naming convention, and is easy to remember. A sub-domain allows your webmaster to set aside specific server space for the blog and its assets, which can mean greater security and expandability.

Another way to attach a blog to your website is by simply creating another page. If you hope for the blog to bring SEO benefit, having a page rather than a sub-domain may be a better option. "YourWebsite.com/Blog" is also a recognizable, memorable domain naming convention that places the blog under the umbrella of your brand.

Title or Tag Line of Your Blog

There are two parts to a blog's moniker: The domain name and the title of the blog. If the blog is the main feature of the website, the title of the blog and the domain name can be one in the same. SiliconFlorist.com is about the tech biz scene in Portland, Oregon. Its branding is a clever play on the "Silicon Forest" nickname given to the widely recognized technology hotbed of California. If your blog is attached to an existing website, either as a sub-domain or as another page, the title should tell visitors what to expect. Though GoogleBlog.BlogSpot.com is a descriptive domain name, the tag line "Insights from Googlers into our products, technology and the Google culture" sets the tone for the blog.

Blogging Services and Domain Names

Third-party blogging services typically have their own domain naming conventions. One such service, the popular TypePad.com, assigns the domain name "Name.TypePad.com". You can override this feature by mapping a different domain name to your TypePad.com blog. Mapping requires some technical expertise, and is explained in a blogging service's FAQ section. However, domain mapping often isn't a free service -- it will cost you at least $8.95 per month at TypePad.com.

Blogger.com (formerly Blogspot.com) is part of the Google.com suite of applications, and the the relationship is immediately apparent in the domain name of the official Google.com blog, GoogleBlog.BlogSpot.com. The domain name may be long, but the relationship is a memorable one.