Podcast Names : How to find the right name for your podcast

It is said that you should not judge the book by the cover, but many people do that to make their choice and it is important that they make it in your favor.

Podcast names are very difficult to choose and can consume a lot of time. At the same time, they are essential to make the right first impression.

Now that you have selected your podcast topic , let’s find the right name for your podcast !!

Are the podcast names really important?

The answer is, yes, they are. Your podcast name and the logo are the first things people are going to see when they stumble upon your podcast? If they don’t like it, they will most probably skip and go to the next one.

So, it is important to have a catchy name and a nice logo for your podcast to get some attention. Remember, people have not seen you , not heard of you before, they are going to judge your show by the name and the logo, and it is important to entice them with a nice one.

Sometimes people starting new with a podcast, become so obsessed with selecting the right name that they end up wasting a lot of time doing it.

When you are at the planning stage and finding the right name for your podcast, it feels like the most important decision you will ever make. Getting the right balance of clarity, creativity, depth and knowledge about the topic can make it really difficult to make the right decision. But once It is done, it is done. You should just move on.

There are various ways to select an appropriate name for your podcast.

Using your own name for the podcast

There are many popular podcasts that are named after the host. In many cases, however, the hosts are already popular by means of their blog or on a YouTube channel or they are already a celebrity.

It becomes easy for them to use their name in the podcast. For someone starting new, it might be a little difficult to use the actual name and get the right first impression.

It is sometimes better to have a short description of your show followed by your actual name.

Something like : Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Most Of the podcast apps, however, have a certain limit on the number of characters in the title. Please be careful of that while selecting the title for your podcast.

Independent of whether you provide your name or not, since you already provide the data for the author tag when you create a show. If people search by your name , they will still find your show.

Using your brand name

If you already have a blog or a YouTube channel and you are starting a podcast to support the same business, then it makes sense to name the podcast with your brand.

You already have an audience and it might be easy for you to connect with them with the same brand name. However, you should keep it in mind that the name for a Blog And the name for a Podcast are two different things.

Name the podcast correctly to depict your brand, rather than using the same name.

If you plan to host your own podcast, then choosing the right domain name is also important. An SEO optimized podcast name will certainly help you to rank better in Google search engine while maintaining your brand name.

Using Creative, non-related podcast names

We can also call them clever podcast names. Instead of directly attacking the topic that you want to talk about, you can pick a name that relates to the topic but has a completely different meaning or it may not have a meaning at all. The creative names are supposed to sound good.

If people relate that name with your show, then they will find it. It may not necessarily exactly depict the topic.

But if you are interested that the audience finds you by doing a research on Google or in the podcatchers, then it might be difficult to select a creative name. Selecting a creative name is easier for someone who is already known and already has an audience.

If your target audience is going to search you online. It is better. Go stick to either a descriptive or a keyword type podcast name.

Keyword type podcast title

You should not choose keywords just to rank on Google and forget about the relativity part of it. The podcast title must reflect the topic that you want to talk about. It should relate to your audience. And at the same time, it should be creative enough to reflect your personality

Choosing keywords as a podcast title may look too artificial l and people may not click on it. Finding the right balance of the keyword nature of the title and authenticity is important. Goole search engine has matured significantly, and semantic search is the norm of the day and if your content is good and people like it then Google will find it.

Descriptive type podcast names

This are by far the easiest option to name your podcast. You can describe what you are going to talk about and then that’s it. That’s your title. Descriptive podcasts titles can be easily searched by the audience and they can relate to it. However, they are not keywords and it might be a little difficult to rank on Google on the random keyword search.

However descriptive titles generally rank better on a topic search and since the search engines are moving toward semantic search, this method can be a fruitful one.

Can I use the word Podcast in my title?

Well, every podcast used to have the podcast name in the title. But it has become a stereotype. And people have stopped doing it over the number of years as the podcast industry matures. Everyone now knows that it’s a podcast. So, it’s rather now redundant to use the podcast in your name.

How to arrive at the right name : What process to follow

In most cases the name of the podcast will just come to you, it will click!

But if it doesn’t then there some other means to arrive at a good name.

Brainstorming for podcast names

Brainstorming can be used as a formal process to come up with a podcast name. You can brainstorm yourself or within your family or with friends. If you are a business, then brainstorming can be among a group of employees.

You can get a piece of paper and scribble down as many ideas as you can. Don’t be too judgmental at the beginning. Just go through the list of ideas that are generated and think about what would most relate to the topic that you are going to address?

In more formal environments, a ranking method can also be used where everyone ranks their favourite names and a combined score is used to select the final name.

Sometimes a funny or an informal title may just work.

Using a name-generator

You can try or name generator, which will help you. To find the related names to your podcast. There are many websites or podcast name generators available online. Just google it and you will find dozens of them.

Here are some of the examples

• kopywritingkourse.com
• businessnamegenerator.com
• biznamewiz.com

Get inspiration for podcast names

Get inspiration. There are a lot of ways in which you can get an inspiration for your podcast name. You can just search for some synonyms.

Some websites which are talking on the same topic or other podcasts what other people are talking about? These sites will help you come up with ideas that are a step or two closer to your target name.

You can search for books on the topic of your podcast, that may also throw up some nice names. But try not to copy someone else’s idea.

Searching podcast directories or podcasts in your niche? It is a great way to see what other podcasters are doing and take inspiration from that.

Dos and Don’ts for podcast names

• A Happy Name : Ensure that you get a happy, positive tone and a nice vibe about your show with the podcast name. A dull, negative or a lame title will certainly you throw you back.
• Avoid Duplicates : When you are selecting the name for your podcast, you should definitely Google it before you finalize something. As there may be already another podcast with the same name. It is really frustrating sometimes to spend a lot of time deciding the name of your podcast and finding someone already has that name?
• Avoid Similarity : Even using a similar to a pre-existing name can be a bad idea. As the audience may get confused.
• Use your name Properly : You need to use the name of your podcast properly and integrate it into your logo , artwork, your podcast intro and advertisement as well.

Right name is key to getting your podcast found.

When someone searches for podcasts on a topic or subject, they will be presented with a list of options. Users will scroll through the list of the podcast names with the logo and episode titles.

Hence it is important to remember what people may search for and relate the podcast, episode title to that. At the same time, it should not be keyword focused and spammy.

And though having clearly and descriptively named content is a best practice, it doesn’t guarantee that you will rank to the top of any search results.

Podcasts that are running for a longer duration generally stand a better chance of ranking for a search term compared to a young one. Search engines are always looking for trust in your content from the audience before giving you the precious top rankings.

Some topics such as health, personal finance, fitness, cooking, weight loss, etc. are really competitive and it may take a while to grab the attention of the audience, it might be many months before you get ranked in a decent position to have any meaningful audience.

If you are new to the podcasting, then you can read our articles on Podcast Basics here.