How to Pick the Right Name for Your Travel Blog, And What Not to Do

“Don’t Stop Living” – Toronto High School Graffiti, 2001.

Alright, now you are at a point where you feel you should get a travel blog to share your adventures with the world, and maybe earn some income doing what you love doing. But thing is that you’ve never really done this before. You’ve been toying with the idea of beginning a blog for a while, but never gotten down to doing all the nitty gritty stuff of setting up a travel blog, or any website for that matter.

One of the hurdles you must go through – and probably the toughest – is choosing the right name for your website.

But while it may be a little tough, it isn’t rocket science. With the right information and a little research, it’s possible to come up with a killer name even if you have zero experience. This article will help you choose a great name that is sure going to put you at par with renown travel blogs like Dylan’s Tours.

So, let’s get right down to business… In summary, here is what you will need to do to come up with the best name for your personal travel blog. We will go through each one in detail:

• Choose a niche for your website
• Pick a name that is descriptive, has good SEO, and one that will grow with your brand
• Avoid clichés, punctuation marks, hard to remember names

Choosing A Niche for Your Adventure Travel Website

First things first, you need to know what you want your blog to be about. This will help you narrow down your options and make your work choosing a travel blog name easier and less of a hustle.

One way of doing this is writing down all your blog topics and ideas. It would be better to go for things you actually love doing, and those that you intend to do. This will help you narrow it down and target a specific niche.

For example, if you are a foodie, writing about nice places to eat in different cities and even continents could be a great topic for you. Just make sure that the topic ideas you write down are things you are passionate about. After you have all possible topics written down, try narrow them down even more, until you get that one specific niche you love the most because while you could choose to generally write about adventure or travel, narrowing it down to something specific makes you stand out. You will also have less competition.

After you have decided what you want your travel website to be about, you can start brainstorming on possible names that will work best for you. Some of the things you should consider include:

• Getting a name that describes your blog

After you have settled on a niche, it is time to create a blog name. We recommend creating a short list with different word combinations till you find something that is most suited.

Basically though, you want a name that is catchy and gives your visitors an idea of what your blog is about at a glance. There are millions of websites on the internet, and having a name that explains what you are all about is sure to get more followers and fans. For example, Camping Cooking Club would be a great choice if you are sharing your camping experiences.

• Think SEO

Search Engine Optimization is a very broad subject but basically, it’s all about getting your website ranked on search engines like Google. Among other things, a factor that search engines consider when determining whether to place your content on the first page is the relevance of your name.

Using the word bungee jumping in your travel blog name for example, is good SEO if you have decided your website is going to be about bungee jumping adventures. In this case, bungee jumping is your keyword which lets google and other search engines know that you are an authority in the subject.

If you are thinking about a destination-specific website, including the destination in the name of your domain name will also help you rank higher for that search word.

 

• Get A Name That Will Grow with You

 

This is where many bloggers go wrong, and we hope you won’t be one of them.

When selecting a name, get one that will match your vision for your blog 10 years from now. If you are building your personal brand, you can choose to add your name in the domain name. But consider what happens if you meet someone on the road and you are no longer the star. How accommodative will your log name be to this change? Also, if you decide selling your website later, it will be much harder with your name in it.

 

• Choosing a Top Level Domain Name

 

We also recommend using the .com top level domain name. It has been around the longest, and it is what most people would expect for an extension. This however does not mean that you cannot use other extensions like .net, .travel and others. You can also choose to register all variants of your domain name to maximize your reach.

 

Things to Avoid When Choosing A Name for Your Travel Website

 

• Clichés and Duplicate Names

 

Even though words like adventure, wandering, nomadic, backpacker etc. tell what your blog is about immediately, there are already too many established blogs with word combinations that include them. Using any of these therefore, makes them your direct competition.

To stand apart, avoid using cliché names and find a unique combination that will still work. You can also use synonyms of these words.

 

• Avoid Punctuation Marks, Misspellings, Or Numbers

 

You want your travel blog name to be informative, unique, but also easy to remember. Using anything other than letters a-z will only complicate things for you. You should remember that most of your followers will be people you meet in your travels. Making them pull out a pen so they can write down your domain name is a sure way of making yourself obsolete. If you can, stay away from punctuation, numbers, misspellings, and any special characters.

 

• Do Not Box Yourself In

 

When starting out, you enjoy the freedom a clean slate gives. No one knows you – yet – and you can get away with a lot. However, like we’ve mentioned above, think about the future when choosing a domain name.

For example, a name like The Party Animal may sound cool now, especially if you are in your 20’s. But what happens when you get to your 30’s and find you prefer a quieter lifestyle? Additionally, big brands and companies would shy away from doing business with you. You should therefore avoid locking yourself in a nice forever by choosing a name that will still be relevant even as your business or preferences grow or change.