You’ve brainstormed, you’ve mind mapped, you’ve created an editorial calendar, the next step is getting started with your site. The first step to doing that is choosing your domain name.
How to choose a domain name
Now before I get into this let me say this first.
For this type of site there is NO right or wrong answer. Really. I know everything we’ve done thus far has demanded extensive keyword research, and doing it wrong could prove fatal to your entire campaign.
Well… this ain’t that.
Authority blogging is much more forgiving. You can make choices that you’re not so happy with later, you can tweak them, and continue on to have a successful site. There’s not MUCH that’s going to blow it for you (if anything really). So please, please, please!!!!! I’m begging you to lighten up. Really.
Choosing a domain name and a theme for your blog really could be the most fun part ~ if you let it. 
I know it is for me. That’s half the reason I have so many 1/2 done sites. I love domain names and picking themes lol. I digress. Back to how to choose a domain name.
Quick Easy Steps to Choose a Domain Name
Some of the best bloggers out there don’t have keywords in their blog. Some of the best bloggers out there have pretty crappy domain names for their blogs (I mean really entrepreneur[dash]journey ~ how many people can actually spell entreprenuer? It’s a tough domain name ~ but his blog is great and HUGELY successful!
Problogger? Copyblogger? IttyBiz?
These are NOT keyword rich domain names and yet, they are some of the most popular blogs around. Tons of traffic and making LOTS of money to be sure.
Please don’t get stuck in finding the “perfect” keyword for your domain name, because with this type of site it’s really quite secondary.
Let’s look at some more:
5dollardinners, balancejunkie, tipjunkie, thechangeblog, notimeforflashcards, fedupwithschoollunch, paleoperogative, zenhabits
You see, these are not about keyword stuffing. I read everyone of these blogs regularly, along with a bunch of other people. It’s NOT about the keywords.
Ok… did you hear that?
How to choose a domain name
You’ve done some brainstorming, you’ve created a mind map, you’ve got an editorial calendar done. Answer me this.
What is your site about?
Is it about caring for horses? Is it about planning a themed birthday party for your kiddo, is it about finding balance in your life?
Great. Now we know what the site is about.
Figure out 3 or 4 words that express that thought and call it a domain name.
Now before all the SEO people out there start squawking at me Once you’ve got your domain name idea let’s dial it in with a little research.
We’re not looking for the best keywords here. We’re not looking for any specific numbers at all. We’re not worried about competition. We’re thinking about 1 thing and 1 thing only. The semantics.
How are people searching for your domain name?
Let’s say your site is about finding balance in everyday life. You know, balancing work, kids, fun, health, your sanity. All those good things. That’s what it’s about.
Finding balance in everyday life.
Let’s look at the keyword tool and see if anyone’s looking for my topic this way.
The answer is a big fat no. OK. No problem. Let’s break it down a little bit. We’re talking about everyday life, and life and balance right? Let’s look at those then and see what we see.
Everyday life:
Ummm.. yeah there’s a few people searching for that term.
Life and Balance:
Uh… yep, there’s some people looking for that term too!
While these numbers are pretty big it’s not the number that is important. It’s the semantics, HOW people are searching. So look for something that makes sense when you say it out loud. Since these aren’t super niche sites you’ll probably find your numbers are pretty big too.
How do I create my domain name from this information?
Put the pieces together.
Everydaylifeandbalance ~ It expresses what my site is about. Succinct. Searches are there. There you go.
From that point you can use your tagline to make your message more clear, but this is a good domain name.
Once you have chosen your domain name you can get your url for $7.49 .com at GoDaddy
Basic steps to choose a domain name:
1. Know what you’re going to talk about ~ the focus of your site.
2. Come up with a short phrase that tells people what your site is about.
3. Use that phrase to find the words people are using to search for that topic.
4. Don’t worry about competition ~ it’s not important.
There you have it. 4 Easy steps to answer the question how to choose a domain name. I’d love to hear how it’s going for you. If you’re struggling, leave a comment or take it to the fanpage. We can help each other out. (If you start a new thread/discussion on the fanpage stop by here and let us know. Then we can all participate (and I’ll know new stuff’s going on over there) 
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Very informative post. Its really good to have some blogger like you. Because of the bloggers like you others get benefits & valuable information.
Matt´s last [type] ..Hotels Without Resort Fees
Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific naming and addressing purposes. They are organized in subordinate levels (subdomains) of the DNS root domain, which is nameless.
.-= oddbins´s last blog ..How to store wine- basic tips =-.
I’m not planning on doing offline marketing for these blogs. If that was your main plan I think your point would be a little more valid. That’s not how I get traffic, nor do I plan to implement offline marketing techniques ~ so I think everydaylifeandbalance is quite memorable enough for online marketing. It’s not so much about remembering the url online ~ but being able to click on it and build a following who return regularly because they are RSS subscribers or email subscribers.
True enough, as I mentioned the tip does relate mostly to word of mouth advertising, which would be primarily offline.
True also a little SEO can’t hurt, but shouldn’t be the sole reason for the domain. As for how many words, the main rule of thumb is a maximum of 3 where applicable.
I’m sure you’ve said it, but no I didn’t first learn it from you…that was one of the first tips I received many moons ago. lol
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..48hr Downtime – Lots Done-LOTS More To-Do! =-.
What do you mean Dennis? That’s what I talked about ~ but it doesn’t hurt to make it memorable with a little search volume.
Maybe it’s just me, but, Everydaylifeandbalance or Everydaylifeandhappiness (no offense to Julie) really don’t fit that bill, do they?
The main point behind short and memorable is for word of mouth advertising. If you saw those two on a hat, t-shirt, car, billboard, whatever, are you really going to remember it 2 days later; or 20 minutes later?
I don’t mean to be a downer, but it is what it is, isn’t it?
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..How Do You Cover SEO *Per Post*? =-.
I think it’s just you. Was it me that you got that #1 tip from? I personally think both of those are memorable and get benefit from search volume. You can pick whatever domain you want ~ I’m just giving some insights on how I do it. I happen to think a little seo in your domain name can’t do anything but help. I don’t hink you should choose this type of domain name solely on SEO and keyword research, but it helps. Finding a two word url these days is just about impossible.
What happened to the #1 tip – keep it short/sweet/and memorable?
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..UPDATED – $100 – 10 Winners – Comment Contest! ‘Till Months End… =-.
You can get your domain name for $7.49 .com at GoDaddy. In the choosing of the name I guess I forgot to add to buy it lol.
Thanks Jackie for great post on domain name choosing. As you advice that .info should not be taken if .com or .net available.
What is advice if both not available, should i change my domain name in order to get a .com or .net?
.-= james´s last blog ..How To Build Your Own Affordable Solar And Wind Power System For Your Home updated Tue Mar 9 … =-.
Yes, go back and rethink your domain name.
One highly important thing to take care while buying domain name is to check for the inclusion of regional locale’s availability. That will terrificly boost your rankings on search engines, especially if you are in to some service business in a particular region. If you get it right then almost 80% of the optimization task is done
I am sure every one are aware of the importance of keyword rich domain names and the value it add to your gig.
.-= Alan@Tulsa Real Estate´s last blog ..Rate Hikes for Electricity Possible =-.
Hi Alan,
Did you just read this post? While for some types of blogs it is important to have a keyword rich domain name, but for this type of blog it is NOT that important ~ helpful but not crucial. That’s basically what the entire post was about. I’ve never even heard of the thing you speak of and I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I imagine if you are targeting a small local niche market that would be important. However, that is NOT what we’re doing with these sites.
There are a million things you can take into consideration when choosing a domain name, many of which are not necessary at all and simply lead to information overload and analysis paralysis. Keep it simple people.
I use Market Samurai as a tool to find my domains. I get a list of keywords that are related to my niche that are getting some niche search results and I copy all those key phrases into GoDaddys bulk domain registrar and it tells me which ones are available – and I find one that makes sense and is available in .com form.
.-= Tom@Market Samurai Promo Code´s last blog ..The One Top Affiliate Product For Your Blog! =-.
Bam. Perfect! It was an available domain name?
If I understand correctly, it would not really matter now if I change my site’s name and tagline 9 months down the road? As long as I still have the words that describe what my site is about, in the name and tagline?
I have often thought that my domain name (currently also my site’s name) is a little misleading because I don’t just provide the information as suggested by the domain and site names.
.-= Elsie@kids theme party ideas´s last blog ..A review of Mia’s 4th Birthday Party =-.
You can change the title and tagline later if you need/want to sure. I changed this sites title and tagline quite a few times before I had it flushed out, as recently as a few months ago for the tagline.
It’s best if you can remain consistent throughout, but if something happens, it happens. The only thing you can’t change is your domain name.
Thanks for this, Jackie – even though starting a REAL blog of my very own isn’t part of my OWM action plan, I think the time is right for me to go ahead and get to it, since I’m already blogging anyway.
Here’s my question – I have a blog on blogger.com (not this one) that I’ve only recently started. Would it be possible to move the posts from that blog over to a WP blog? Or would I just leave that and start it over on my own domain?
.-= Kelly @ What We’re Eating (and More!)´s last blog ..Peru and the Oscars =-.
Kelly, I believe you can “import” your posts from blogger, but I don’t know how to do that exactly. Google it and see if you can find a tutorial. I’m pretty sure you can somehow.
Welcome aboard!
Kelly,
I just transferred my Blogger blog to WP. It was very easy. There is an option right in WP to transfer a blog. You choose what kind of blog you have and it connects you directly to Blogger and automatically transfers all posts and comments.
Very cool Lisa,
Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks! That makes the decision easier.
.-= Kelly @ What We’re Eating (and More!)´s last blog ..Peru and the Oscars =-.
Hi Jackie,
Picked my domain name lowcaloriehealthyliving.com. I already brainstormed a few ideas over the weekend, and that was one of them, but after you wrote this post today, it was very helpful in making the “right” choice based on keywords. Very cool.
Question: You have mentioned in older posts certain plugins we can use, including KeywordLuv, which I see you have added below. Not that I expect you to hold our hands through this process, but it would be super cool if you gave us these kinds of tips and tricks along the way, as I know that some people (I have a friend that is now joining this challenge) could be coming in now or could have just joined and may miss some of the helpful hints you have given us.
Is that something you have planned with this challenge, a sort of step-by-step blog building process?
BTW: Thanks for doing this Jackie, this is not only going to be fun, but a fantastic learning experience for all of us involved ; ) Not to mention, I will be using this challenge to “beef” up my current website, even though it isn’t a blog, I can use what I learn here and apply it over there.
.-= Anna@beginspanishnow´s last blog ..Spanish Introductions | Simple Spanish Phrases =-.
Plugins etc is on the schedule for next week, once we’ve got themes chosen and installed.
Best to try for a .com. If you can’t get that .net I’d try to stay away from .info.
Fabulous! But I have to tell you Jackie, I felt a little guilty. Your example about everyday life and balance was VERY close to the site that I am putting together. So, all I had to really do was follow your example (almost literally) and *BAM*…I have my new domain name Everydaylifeandhappiness.com – looking forward to the next steps!
Thanks for creating this challenge – should be really fun!
.-= Julie@Best Crockpot Recipes´s last blog ..Best Crockpot Recipes ~ Aztec Black Beans =-.
You’ve made this so clear for me – thank you! I have the name I’ll use now. Does it matter if it’s .org, .info, etc…?
.-= Julie@Best Crockpot Recipes´s last blog ..Best Crockpot Recipes ~ Aztec Black Beans =-.