My girlfriend wants a silly title.

[JBorhez]

A few concerns if you don't mind....

I'm setting up a blog for my girlfriend and the title she wants to use is one of those that is silly but clever. In other words, a term that nobody would EVER type in as a search.

How important is it to use a keyword-y type title for a blog?

I'm not really 100% on the importance of including keywords in the title of a blog site. I DO take this into consideration when setting up my own blogs but...

Does being SEO conscience take precedence over branding and/or being unique in this instance?

How much does a blog site title really matter in SEO?

I guess I've always thought !YES! of course it matters but 'I'd love a second opinion!

Thank you all!

[RebeccaL]

Blog title is quite important for SEO purposes, particularly in the beginning until the site is established. However if the term is used in the description and throughout the content then you could get away with doing something else in the title, at least on the home page.

[JBorhez]

Thank you Rebecca. I'm feeling more confident now! She's gonna have to go with a 'lame and boring' title..haha! But she will understand.

BTW congrats on your $500 goal and thank you for that thread! A true motivator!

In that thread you mentioned that you mostly do affiliate marketing and CPA? If you don't mind me asking, is this correct?

Thanks a million!

[Mr Money Maker]

Every word you use...from the title through out the whole website is very important....picking the right name ..is the only way....but hey...she must learn also...my wife is the same way..............let her have fun......play around online and then slowly teach and create another site for her......this way she learn and have more desire.

[George Wright]

What's really great is if you can brand so well that your blog name becomes a popular search term.

If you really think she has a chance of becoming a house hold word after the fact then go for the brand and let the search keyword happen.

George Wright

[LilBlackDress]

Creative and clever names can work. There are plenty of examples out there but it makes it much harder.
If you plan to use adsense it can further complicate things because in certain sections of your site where there is not a lot of text adsense will read the title and go from there so if the name is clever and catchy the ads may not relate to your site.

For example lets say your site was about relationships and you named the site "FlirtyFishing" . Your ads from Google would most likely be about fishing techniques. So you would have to put the Google ads directly under text about relationships to get the right ads. Whereas if you had named the site more clearly you would not have that issue.

However, if she is sold on a creative, edgy title and wants to promote it...why not?
Just so she is aware it is a LOT more work.

[JBorhez]

Good point with the adsense! We wouldn't want this to trigger unrelated ads.

I actually just had that happen to me the other day. I had a few unrelated ads appear due to one word in my website name.

[rapidscc]

some of the biggest site online have names that are funky...having a keyword based domain is not an assurance of success..I've seen some guys get good domain names, plug in a wordpress blog and whala! it ranks with minimal links but if you just let it be, it's bound to lose its position in due time.

If your girlfriend likes the name and you can sense her motivation to promote it, then go by all means..

All the best!

Omar

[LilBlackDress]

Keep in mind that you can trigger unrelated ads with words you may not think of...

For example if your site is on Hair Growth and you call it

Hair Regrowth Treatment

You MAY find you get Google ads for the Betty Ford Treatment Center or Alcohol rehabilitation in addition to ads on hair regrowth. Of course you can try and filter them out...

[JBorhez]

Based on the complexities and the amount of words that exist I would think that triggering unrelated ads is ALMOST inevitable. Or at least very difficult to avoid.

I agree Omar! I remember when I first heard the name Google! Jeez...I finally looked up where they got it from! Extreme example...I know!

Thanks

[bobsstuff]

You know, "Google" is a rather silly name.
I agree that you should let her have some fun.

Look up Ashley Qualls, the teenage IM millionaire. Her site, whateverlife.com is surely a silly name and "could never make any money"....LOL

Too many in the IM field think there are hard and fast rules that must be followed and yet in the next breath they will say, "Think outside the box".

[LilBlackDress]

Yes I agree have fun. But it is much harder with creative names.

I went to the top of google for my keywords with certain domain names right away.

On the other hand I have a collection of creatively named sites that all relate to one another. Women love them.
But Google does not understand them. A lot more work

If you want to see them just send a PM.

A lot depends on your goals.

[Kelvin Brown]

Originally Posted by JBorhez

A few concerns if you don't mind....

I'm setting up a blog for my girlfriend and the title she wants to use is one of those that is silly but clever. In other words, a term that nobody would EVER type in as a search.

How important is it to use a keyword-y type title for a blog?

I'm not really 100% on the importance of including keywords in the title of a blog site. I DO take this into consideration when setting up my own blogs but...

Does being SEO conscience take precedence over branding and/or being unique in this instance?

How much does a blog site title really matter in SEO?

I guess I've always thought !YES! of course it matters but 'I'd love a second opinion!

Thank you all!

Are you talking specifically about the TITLE tag or the text that would should in the header of the blog?

If you add a good title tag and description, then the "funky" name would not have as much power. The real key in what shows up as google as is your content. Longer, on target posts will produce the best ads, and somewhat override that irrelevant ad that may post.

TIP: You can use the "funky " name in your title tag. So it show in search, and use google Section Targeting to tell adsense to avoid using the title or title tag in the adsense filtering.

Kelvin

[JBorhez]

I was only referring to the title that is visible in the header. Not the title tag.

Great tip! That's an option. Do you think it's a good idea to cater the title tag to adsense? I guess it depends what you're after.

Thanks Kelvin

[Kelvin Brown]

Originally Posted by JBorhez

I was only referring to the title that is visible in the header. Not the title tag.

Great tip! That's an option. Do you think it's a good idea to cater the title tag to adsense? I guess it depends what you're after.

Thanks Kelvin

Like you said it really depends on your goals.

[St Croix]

Search google for the keyword "click here" and see what the number one result is. Now check that page/title/inurl etc. for any mention of "click here".

The relevance is in the backlinks and anchor text. In-title is a very small factor in owning the rankings.

[John Burton]

If you want to appear high in search engines, blog title is very important.

John Burton

[Louise Green]

Originally Posted by George Wright

What's really great is if you can brand so well that your blog name becomes a popular search term.

If you really think she has a chance of becoming a house hold word after the fact then go for the brand and let the search keyword happen.

George Wright

I second this.

I've done this a number of times, even with made-up words that don't have any meaning, and people still search for your made-up words or phrase - all because of good branding and word of mouth.

[SuzanneH]

I'd also go with branding. And besides, it's her blog, right? Don't stifle her creativity. :-)

Suzanne

[Bill Farnham]

Originally Posted by LilBlackDress

If you plan to use adsense it can further complicate things because in certain sections of your site where there is not a lot of text adsense will read the title and go from there so if the name is clever and catchy the ads may not relate to your site.

For example lets say your site was about relationships and you named the site "FlirtyFishing" . Your ads from Google would most likely be about fishing techniques. So you would have to put the Google ads directly under text about relationships to get the right ads. Whereas if you had named the site more clearly you would not have that issue.

If you use 'Section Targeting' tags you can direct Google to areas of your content that you want the ads targeted for. They look like this:

<!-- google_ad_section_start -->

(content would go here)

<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

You can put them between the body tags <body> - </body> and your ads with reflect the page content provided the content contains similar niche keywords, or you can put them at the beginning and end of as many sections of your page as you like if you have different topics. Just make sure there is enough content for Google to parse.

This way you are telling Google what to target.

KJ

[DogScout]

You can also name the blog with a keyword friendly name, and use an image over it that can have her 'silly' name.

[Ross Vegas]

I'd rather have custom branding...

You can also do both. That's usually what I do in that case.

It's not that much extra work. Use it like another spoke in the linkwheel.

[tomw]

Originally Posted by George Wright

What's really great is if you can brand so well that your blog name becomes a popular search term.

If you really think she has a chance of becoming a house hold word after the fact then go for the brand and let the search keyword happen.

George Wright

Exactly. Who'd ever have thought the term "Squidoo" would become what it did. There are thousands of examples - and with blogs;

The Motley Fool
Slashdot
A List Apart
Gizmodo
Salon
The Register
Stereogum
Mashable!

Tom

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Is the blog meant to be read, or is it just fodder for the search engines?

If it's meant to be read, if it's meant to be something people will visit regularly, then go with a creative title.

Of the blogs I read on a daily basis, not one of them has a keyword rich title. They all have something more memorable.

Something like "Hair Regrowth Treatment" is going to be trounced (in Web 2.0) by something like "Frank's Follies" (as in follicles) where Frank's described all the treatments that he tried that didn't work (like spray-on hair, etc.) and promotes the treatment that did work.

You have to balance SEO and Social Networking. Boring may work for SEO but not for social networking.

You can strike a balance by using the techniques others have suggested. You could also use a title like: "Hair Regrowth Treatment - Frank's Follies".

[JohnMcCabe]

As others have said, it really boils down to what she wants to accomplish with this particular blog. If she's aiming to build an audience, a "sticky" name can help - several examples have already been posted.

Setting aside my "marketer" cap for a moment, I've become jaded to keyword-named blogs. I'm pretty much convinced that I'm going find yet another "review" blog where the product with the highest rating just happens to pay the highest commission. I see those three reviews (and it is usually three) with no other content, and I'm out of there.

So unless I'm actually trying to research possible affiliates or something, I almost never click through to blogs with obvious keyword names. A keyword url and a catchy name still has a chance to get me to atleast scan the home page for something of interest.

FWIW

[achivement84]

Of course the importance to have a proper blog tiltle comes from the same importance of choosing relevant and good keywords.You should choose key terms that people looking for.The name should give important information about what`s your blog about so more people can finde you.

B.Regards

[JBorhez]

Originally Posted by SuzanneH

I'd also go with branding. And besides, it's her blog, right? Don't stifle her creativity. :-)

Suzanne

I'm not trying to stifle AT ALL but...

Point well taken!

Thanks

[JBorhez]

Originally Posted by DogScout

You can also name the blog with a keyword friendly name, and use an image over it that can have her 'silly' name.

This sounds like a plan!

Thanks Dog!

[JC-PureProfitsHQ]

And as a friendly reminder, for her <title> tags, she might want to do this:

"Main Keyword That People Are Searching For | Silly Title"

Search engines put more value on the keywords that come first in the title tag.

[JBorhez]

Originally Posted by TMG Enterprises

You left out the most important information in the original post and I don't know how people could give you an accurate answer without it - what exactly is your girlfriend hoping to do with her blog?

Tina

Hey Tina,

You have a valid point and I should have given more detail but...all the comments have been brilliant and extremely helpful nonetheless. I believe a lot of the specific angles have been covered in this thread, whether her blog is for hobbie or IM.

That said: The topic of her blog has to do with being a Doula and it's related topics such as childbirth, home-birth, natural childbirth etc, etc.

She will soon be pursuing a career as a certified Doula. So, I'm thinking business purposes for her blog! But w/fun on the side of course!!

My thinking is as follows: If she's going to have an online presence anyway, why not optimize?

Any thoughts?

Much appreciated!

[JBorhez]

Originally Posted by JC-PureProfitsHQ

And as a friendly reminder, for her <title> tags, she might want to do this:

"Main Keyword That People Are Searching For | Silly Title"

Search engines put more value on the keywords that come first in the title tag.

Thanks JC....you know I'm fairly new to all this stuff and have just recently become aware of the | and the >> for title tags.

I appreciate your comment!

[homeworkin]

Inadvertent Google ads are a PITB, and yes, they do pick up on a single word, even if it is a modifier. One domain I have has the word "hot" in it. As in "hot products in this niche." Dang Google keeps giving me lingerie ads.

Try convincing Google that a domain name with the word Adult in it is NOT a porn site. I have a web site for people with an adult form of learning disability. Google is so sure it is a porn site that they rejected the domain for parking even with three attempts to get a real person to see it. It is totally obvious it is an educational site if a human looks at it.

That said, I have several blogs that are named cute things with no key words and they do well for what they are. My boring name blogs usually hit the first page of Google for those key words almost instantly.

[JBorhez]

Thank you all for helping us make a decision!

Best wishes!

[Dennis-White]

I would let her choose her own, something silly, and fun might draw more viral traffic