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There are many components that go into creating a good website or blog, but one of the most important – and sometimes overlooked – factors is having a good domain name. Something that fits well with your business name and purpose, something that’s memorable and not prone to misspelling, and something that taps into your targeted keywords to enhance your SEO efforts.
You can spend hours brainstorming the right business, website or blog name, but there are some great tools available online to give you a huge range of suitable blog name ideas in a snap. Blog name generators are not a new concept, and there are tons available… not all of them quality. I wanted to put a bunch to the test and give you the skinny on some of the tools I thought yielded the best results, and proved simple to use.
To test the many blog name idea generators I stumbled across online, I imagined myself to be in the business of selling rock band tee-shirts, looking to target and incorporate the keyword term ‘band tee’ for SEO, and because it would most clearly explain my hypothetical business in a nutshell.
Here are the five best tools I recommend trying out for yourself.
Softwarefindr Name Generator
The team at Softwarefindr have launched a very clever tool which provides instant blog, podcast and domain name ideas based on the keywords you enter. These suggestions appear in more or less real time as you type! Check it out here.
The tool works by combining your chosen keywords with commonly used prefixes and suffixes, and it also uses a thesaurus to suggest similar words and word combinations which really expands the number of options. Of course it also checks to see if these are available as domains which is really a key point of such a tool because you need to know the domain is available for any name you choose.
Lean Domain Search
WordPress’ parent company Automattic recently acquired Lean Domain Search, and it sets the bar extremely high for all of the other tools on this page.
I plugged ‘band tees’ into Lean Domain Search and was presented 4989 available domain ideas. But the sheer number of suggestions wasn’t the only thing that impressed me.
Using Lean Domain Search, when you select one of the domains suggested, the site double checks the domain is still available, but also checks that the related Twitter name is also available. For example, when I clicked ‘BandTeesPro.com’ I was shown that @BandTeesPro was available on Twitter. I was also directed to register for the domain with three popular providers, making the task simple.
Another bonus of using Lean Domain Search is that you can browse the list of suggestions on your webpage, or you can copy the entire list to your clipboard with the click of a button and paste it into a document to come back to later.
Panabee
Panabee stands out from the plethora of ugly blog name generators online thanks largely to its attractive, quirky interface, but it also delivers on functionality.
Using this tool, you’re presented with a list of .coms and international domains (some of which are already taken, meaning you need to click through to see availability) as well as lists of related terms for each of the words plugged into the system.
You’ll also be presented with a brief list of Google adwords currently targeting those terms (for example, in my testing Panabee displayed a selection of other businesses promoting band tees) to give you an idea of the kind of competition you’ll be facing online.
You can change domain extensions, to .biz, .org and more, and when you click a domain name suggestion and you’re automatically directed to GoDaddy, offering further related suggestions and purchasing options.
Domainr
Domainr is slightly different to the other tools I came across, but it’s twist on the domain generator concept got my attention right away.
Doesn’t offer suggestions for related words and a pile of possible domain name options, but it does offer suggestions for domain extensions that can be used to give you a shorter domain, and a point of difference.
When I plugged bandtees into their search field I was presented with a brief list of 13 options, some available and some unavailable, and some including some clever domain extension use I wouldn’t have ordinarily considered, such as
- Bandte.es
- bandt.ee/s
- b.an/dtees
Integrating your domain extension into your name isn’t for for everyone, but could be a good option to check out if you’re looking for something a little different – particularly if you’re working in the tech and innovation industries.
Name Mesh
Enter your targeted words and hit search and Name Mesh offers a selection of common short domains, similar domain suggestions, SEO-focused suggestions, fun suggestions and mix suggestions to help you find a domain name that’s perfect for your business blog or website.
Domains are marked red or green to indicate their availability, and you can hide unavailable domains and set a maximum character length in the settings. You can also click a domain option to see its social availability on Facebook and Twitter, and turn additional extensions on and off (such as .com, .io, .co, and .net) to give you more or fewer options.
Domains Bot
Domains Bot is simple to use with a clean interface. Simply enter your keywords and hit the Search button, then further refine your list by allowing or disallowing synonyms for each of your keywords, selecting which TLD extensions to include, your price range and more.
You’ll be presented with a list of available and already-registered domains, and information about social availability for each suggestion. Hit the Buy button next to the suggestion you like and be directed to a list of registration providers and prices.
Have a suggestion for a great tool I’ve missed here? Be sure to share it in the comments!
Great advice thanks, I’ve bookmarked this page.
Hey I made my own domain name generator on http://helgesdomaingenerator.com/ check it out ^^ It’s mainly technology based domains 🙂
How about
NameSwing.com ?
I am thinking for a cool title for my blog, any idea??
name mesh is my favorite domain name generator.
Hi – this is really useful list – thank you!
It may be of interest to take it one step further, and list blog post title generators? If you do decide to, please have a look at this one: http://setupinonlinebusiness.com/blog-post-title-generator – it has 500 ideas based around your keyword.
All the best, Mark
found Name Mesh from this post thanks very useful
Nice article. This one just openned : http://brand-names-generator.com
I want to develop a blog but I am kind of stuck with name
my blog is going to be about
+ thoughts and ideas that come to mind which could help solve an issue be in society, school, homes anywhere basically
+ initiatives that could be taken up by establishments
+ in the face comments about peoples behavior in public areas
+ back to simple basic things that we complicated for no reason
I want to try and write daily posts
Hey Nikki,
good article. I just launched a business name generator which I think should be mentioned too.
https://namesmith.io comes up with a variety of suggestions, including phonetic blends and rhymes. I’m still improving the site daily so let me know what you think!
In my opinion “Panabee” is best
Thank you for this timely article. I just utilised the Lean Domain Search for suggestions on a new blog. Got a wonderful domain name from a couple of thousand suggestions.
Thanks.
Domain Notebook is a great site for finding expired domains that have traffic. Also good for ideas based on keyword search. http://domainnotebook.com
These are great tools when you have a popular name or phrase for your company or domain name for blog. I always find it hard to figure out a good name so having the ability to get suggestions opens the creativity door. I like this post!
Very useful list. I checked most of them.
it’s very good list
Thanks you very much for your comment
Hi there I am starting off a blog about my personal life , self – life lessons and I need to come up with a blog name.
You could go with a super simple domain name like krysten.me, krysten.life, krysten.tips, krysten.rocks, krysten.fyi, krysten.news, krysten.today, krysten.world, krysten.online, krysten.zone, krysten.chat, krysten.live, or krysten.tv if you wanted to do video blogs (all of which are available at the time of writing!).
Hi, I am looking to use my name in my blog but a synonym of it. Dawn and want to use First Blush. Not sure if that is stupid or not. I want the blog to be about food, fashion and life. I was thinking The Shortcake Way because my dad nicknamed me shortcake but then I thought maybe use my real name. What do you think. Thanks for your help
Hi Dawn, I would be inclined to use your own name or alternatively create some kind of distinctive brand name which reflects the nature of your content. Your site visitors of course will not have the background or context for understanding the meaning of ‘shortcake’ so may wonder what it has to do with food (unless you are blogging about shortcake!), fashion and life.
My wife has a blog (albeit one she hasn’t updated in a very long time!) called BoHaute, which is a play on her fashion and design aesthetic…a mix of boho and haute couture. To come up with something brandable for yourself you’ll need to brainstorm lots of concepts that related to topics and themes of your blog, until you find something that resonates with you first of all, but is also something that you think your audience will intuitively understand as well.
Many popular lifestyle/fashion bloggers just use their own name so you could register something like dawngardner.blog, dawngardner.buzz, or maybe dawngardner.rocks! All the new domain extensions these days make it easier to find a specific domain name. Certainly it is preferable if you can get a great .com that is easier to remember (because .com is the mostly commonly recognized extension), but the truth is that 99% of your visitors will find you via search engines or social media channels like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter so they are never going to type your website address anyway.
Hope that helps. Let us know what you decide on 🙂
Thank you so much Charles. I have been going around and around looking for a fun name. I was also thinking The Delicious Runway but I think I might just go with something Dawn related. What did you think about …at First Blush>and something to start it or Dawn’s Delicious Runway? I wanted it to pop and be fun.
Hey Dawn, I like Dawn at First Blush. Dawn’s Delicious Ranway feels a bit too ‘cutesy’ to me, but then again I’m probably not your target market 🙂
Hi Charles, thank you so much for your feedback. I really appreciate it so much. I am going to go with Dawn at First Blush. I really like it and I don’t have to be worried that whatever topic won’t work with the name. 😀
You’re welcome. All the best with your site. Do let us know when it is up and running so we can check it out 🙂
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Hi.. I love cooking.. sharing restaurant reviews and talking about lifestyle.. Need a blog name.. Any suggestions plz
good
Great ideas about a good domain name. I have bookmarked your page. I read this article to be very honest because this article is very informative for me and it help me to pick a good domain name so i will be very thankful to you for sharing this post.
Hi Niki,
Nice roundup you mentioned a few great options to help users come up with a great domain.
May I also suggest:http://www.softwarefindr.com/tools/namegenerator/
which displays instant results.
Blogger blogs are hosted by Google below the domain.
need this info thanks
Very good blog,thank so much for your time in writing the posts.
For the less creative lot, finding a blog name that is relevant, cool, easy to remember and still available as a domain on your favorite TLD could be a mind-boggling job. Nothing could be more disappointing than coming up with what you thought was an exceptional blog name, just to find out that a blogger somewhere in Anchorage has already claimed that name.
Google will show emojis in search results. Emojis can play a big role in local search. Just check out how you can search for a pizza place nearby using an emoji.