Naming Your Blog for a Better Reader Experience
Why a Blog is Important to Your Business
When you have been blogging for a while it's easy to forget that there are persons who are new to online marketing and who may not fully understand how they should set up their blog or even why a blog is important to your business. Many small business owners have had an online presence for months and may be even years because they do have a brochure website that provides information on their business, but they have never set up a blog.
If the above description fits you, you may be wondering why is it so important to have a blog when you already have a website that tells about your business, your hours, and what services you offer?
The problem is that you have a static website which means that it may not have been updated in quite some time. Click here to read some valid reasons why you need to have a blog for your business.
Naming Your Blog
As I work with local business owners I find that it's often difficult to add a page to their current website for blogging. In many cases business owners have lost contact with their website designers, while in other cases the platform on which the website was built does not make it possible to add blog posts and comments. Often it's better to create a new website. I recommend doing so on a hosted WordPress website, as this allows you the flexibility to update your posts and add pages at will. Further, this is on your server and not on a free platform where you can be shut down.
It's important to choose the right name for your blog, which will become the hub of your online activities. The name should immediately tell your visitors what the blog is about so it's best to avoid being cutesy . For example, if you are a Chiropractor, you could name your blog something similar to your current website with a slight variation. Another example is that if you are marketing women's accessories, there should be something in the name of your blog that will quickly identify the purpose of the blog.
Not only should the name of the blog clearly indicate what the blog is about, but it should be relevant to the content, and include keywords so that it can be found in Search Engine results. Google pays a lot of attention to backlinks and being relevant, so the quality and relevance of links from other sites to yours in the same or similar niche becomes even more important.
Another reason to make sure that the title of your blog clearly identifies what it is about so that people who go to blog directories and do searches by category will find your blog by its title.
Your URL
Naming your blog the same as your URL is not always possible and is sometimes not feasible. If you'd like the URL to be your name and your name may not be well-recognized online, it becomes even more important for you to name your blog a keyword rich, content-focused title.
Keep in mind that the content and the ease to navigate your blog are key factors, but the name and the URL are also important. Let your blog be inviting and not make your reader guess what it is about.
Do you believe your blog title and URL should be the same? Please share your opinion.
