Authentic Real Estate Marketing: Does the Name of Your Blog Really Matter?

I think a good blog name is important. I have a blog called LuxuryTexasRealEstate.com because that is my main focus!

Great information!  Back to the drawing board....and I thought Chris's Chronicles was cute...sure doesn't say anything about what I do though,..

Fascinating Margie... Do you think that name might alienate some people from taking part in your community?  

I'm not sure there is a group of people online who are looking to take part in a community about luxury homes in the state of Texas (especially if it was clearly run by a real estate agent!).   Personally, when I name a blog, I start by thinking of the existing community I want to tap into as I think the name sets the stage for blogging success...

I agree, after all if you don't get their attention, who's going to read it?

Of course a good blog name is important... problem is, I am horrible at coming up with them!

Justin, 

You bring up an interesting issue...  If you're looking to name a website, I actually think the AR community would be a great place to get some feedback.   Try proposing some ideas on your AR blog and I bet you'd get some interesting ideas thrown back at you.  

The reality is that just articulating the community that you want to host on your site is often enough to generate your own ideas!  :)  

Hey Dustin,

What are you doing in that photo?  Feeding a starfish with a baby bottle?

LOL!

I'm holding a big lizard at my daughter's friend's birthday party!  It was a great day where they brought in the Lizard man and he got to show off snakes, turtles and a bunch of other "large" animals to the kids! 

I agree, title must be eye catching! Just like your email subjects!

Dustin ,

I have a question - if you were focused on a luxury market or in my case waterfront / beach how would you start the process of creating a name for the blog that was for the right market but wasn't effective.

We had actually started one (baby stages) called Luxury Living In Tampa Bay - our thought was to showcase and discuss things around that theme - boating, golf, beach bars, waterfront neighborhoods, sailing, yacht clubs. What do you think - are we on the wrong path with that? I'm learning and totally open to suggestions.

What I have learned since I started blogging on localism is that I have a passion for our beaches and waterfront. I've lived on the beach for most of my time hear and just love everything about it so I find I know the communities, the local beach bars, fishing, fishing captains, little known parking spots etc.

On the flip side I am neutral on Golf - played before having kids late in life - don't have the time to spend on it and since they can't be involved I just have no "passion" for it.

 Sorry to get carried away I guess your blog was very thought provoking for me - thanks & I appreciate any feedback from others.

Cyndee,

You're talking about all the right stuff...  Nothing is going to keep your blog more alive than if you are working to create a community around a topic you are interested in! 

I love just about anything to do with the ocean... beaches, waterfront, swimming, etc., so, personally, I think you've found a great topic! 

My only suggestion on the name is to be cautious when using terms like luxury or remarkable in the name... Using loaded terms implies to the internet user that they aren't getting the "real" deal, but rather a version of a city/neighborhood/community filtered through the eyes of a real estate agent.    

In some areas that are truly remarkable (Beverly Hills and Malibu in LA come to mind), you can probably get away with that kind of "wow" factor in the name, but for most areas (too many in LA to mention), you aren't going to pull the wool over anyone's eyes with a name that makes a location sound better than it really is... 

I don't think it is an understatement to say that I prefer to be understated because that is an easy differentiating factor in real estate (differentiation being a good thing in my book!).   I went with Rain City Guide for my Seattle blog because it conveyed an sense that I was building the local real estate blog that  would give "straight talk" (i.e. it rains a lot in Seattle!). 

Despite the lack of ideas I've given you, hopefully this helps!  :)  

Chris: Looking over your profile and blog, I get the impression that you have quite a "bold" voice!  :) 

I went with the easy, my first thought was something like "classic city" something because that is the local nickname for Athens, Georgia.  But then I started thinking about my audience and the keywords that I am now targeting.  "Athens Ga real estate" is covered up by H*megain, etc...so I've been concentrating on "athens ga relocation" and have really seen my results move up on Google, most importantly, I've also gotten 2 leads in the past 10 days from relocating buyers after this shift...so I went with allaboutathensga.com.  I think I'm also going to pick up a few more domains with relocation in them and point them to this url.  Is this too generic?  I don't want to hijack this post , but I've gone back and forth with this and would love opinions.

Michelle,   I like AllAboutAthens, because it has the AAA ring to it!  :)   But it does feel like it is a HUGE project to take on that could get overwhelming for a small team.    Are you planning to take on the local newspaper covering news, events, sports, business, etc.?     Personally, I'd opt for something much smaller, like "a little piece of Athens" so that new readers won't be underwhelmed when they reach your site for the first time.  Sometimes a little bit of understatement can go a long way to building up credibility.