name
Naming a podcast for the first time can be the most challenging phase of your podcasting career.
A poorly named podcast will fail to attract and engage new listeners. There is an old saying, “You only have one chance to make a great first impression.” So if you want to attract your target audience from the get-go, then you need to come up with a name that makes an excellent first impression.
In this guide, we will share some tips to help you come up with the perfect name for your podcast.
Creating a Unique Podcast Name
A good podcast name needs to have the right balance of clarity, humor, and creativity. And to come up with a name that has all the right ingredients, you need to ask yourself a few questions. What are the factors you need to consider? What makes a podcast name stand-out? What are some of the best tips that can help me pick out a good podcast name?
In this article, we will go over the following topics to help you pick out a catchy podcast name.
- Make a list of ideas for your podcast name suggestions.
- Check for duplicates
- Choose the type of name you want to use for your podcast
- Using the word ‘podcast’ in your podcast title
- Optimize for search engines
- Test your podcast name before the launch
Make a List of Ideas for Your Podcast Names
The first thing you need to do is brainstorm name ideas. Look for keywords related to the subject of your podcast and start listing them down in a spreadsheet.
You need to come up with ideas that reflect the content of your podcast. This will make it easier for your potential listeners to find you.
Let’s say that you have a podcast on H.P Lovecraft stories, and you name it “A study in emerald” that would sound very generic. To make it more relatable, you’d be better off naming your podcast related to the subject matter. In this instance, “Cthulhu Walks the Earth” makes more sense as Cthulhu is the central character of H.P Lovecraft books.
Generating a list of ideas can take a lot of time. But if you use our free podcast name generator tool, it will generate ideas for you in seconds. Not only that, but it will also let you know if the domain name of your podcast is available or not.
Now that you have a list of potential names for your podcast, it’s time to evaluate each one of them and pick the one you like the most.
Every person has their own evaluation criteria. You can build your own criteria, or you can use the evaluation criteria shared below.
- The name should be short and use common phrases.
- It should relate to the subject of the podcast.
- It shouldn’t be generic.
- It should be unique.
- The name should have a nice ring to it.
- The name should be memorable.
Once you have shortlisted the ideas, you should now ask your peers and potential target audience what they think about the brand name. This is a critical step whether it’s a podcast, startup, business, or blog!
Ask them about the first thing that comes to their minds when they hear the name of your podcast.
The goal here is to make sure that they can understand what the podcast is about just by hearing the name.
Check for Duplicates
Now that you have a list of podcast names, it is time to look for duplicates.
Do a quick search in the podcast directory like Spotify or iTunes and find out if anyone else is using the name you picked. You should also search on Google just to be sure that the name you chose isn’t already taken.
If you’re out of luck, then you might find that the name you had your heart set on is already taken up by someone else. And worst of all, you also find that they stopped posting episodes a long time ago.
This can be very frustrating. So what do you do? Do you go ahead and use it anyway?
You probably shouldn’t, especially if the other podcast is established and popular. It would cause confusion among your listeners because of the similarity and prevent your own podcast from growing.
There are two things that you can do in this situation. You can go back and try to come up with a better name. Or you can get in touch with the podcaster and ask them if they can give it to you or you can offer to buy it off them.
However, if you’re catering to a local audience and someone in another country has the same name, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Choose the Type of Name You Want
You can choose from the three options for naming your podcast.
- Creative podcast names
- Descriptive names
- Podcast with your actual name
We will discuss these in more detail below.
Creative Podcast Names
How do you come up with a creative name for your podcast?
Creative names are often built around a play on words or by rhyming words together. You can also use an esoteric term related to your topic or niche.
An esoteric term is likely to be understood by a group of people that are interested and are passionate about a certain subject. When you pick a certain term from your subject matter, it will attract your potential listeners as only they will be able to relate to it.
For example, if you name your podcast “Platform 9 ¾,” Harry Potter fans will instantly know that your podcast topic is on the Harry Potter lore.
Creative names are a good option if you want to target a very specific niche or an audience. But if you want to target a broader audience, you will have to make your name a little more descriptive.
Descriptive Names
People often think that descriptive names are boring because it spells out exactly what you are going to be talking about in your podcast. Like for example, “Nutritious recipes for babies,” doesn’t sound interesting.
But there are two main advantages to having a descriptive podcast name. The first advantage is that it makes your podcast show easier to find on podcast directories and search engines. Descriptive names make it easier because you are using relevant keywords your listeners are searching for in your podcast name. And the other advantage is that you become more identifiable to your target audience because your name describes the topic you will be talking on.
You can also merge your creative name idea with a descriptive title to make it more interesting. For example, “Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men.” This podcast name is very clever, and it’s using all three options of naming a podcast. It’s creative, descriptive, and it also uses the actual names of the showrunners.
This brings us to our third category, using your actual name in your podcast.
But before we get to that, we have a quick warning that you shouldn’t stuff keywords in your podcast. You could get into trouble with Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Stuffing keywords would prevent you from streaming from these platforms, so proceed with caution.
Use Your Actual Name
Using your actual name in your podcast only works if you already have an audience. Otherwise, it offers no advantage when you are first starting out.
You won’t be able to connect with your target audience because using actual names offer no hints on what the podcast is about.
If you want to build yourself as a brand through your podcast, then we would suggest that you come up with a name that merges all three naming options together. For example, a name like, “Patt Flynn’s Passive Income Discussion,” will help your target audience identify you and the topic of your podcast.
If you are using your actual name, then you should make sure that you optimize your episode titles with related keywords. This will improve your podcast’s searchability by making it easier for your potential listeners to find their favorite podcast on search engines and directories.
Using the Word “Podcast” in Your Podcast Name
Though there is no harm in having the word “podcast” in your podcast name, it can be a little redundant. When someone is searching for a podcast directory for new content, every result they get is a podcast. Adding the word “podcast” would just make it unnecessarily longer.
And like we have mentioned before, if you want your podcast name to be memorable, then keep it short and simple.
Optimize Your Podcast Name for Searches
As a podcaster, you would want your show to be ranked at the top for the keywords that are related to your topic. This will help you get you more subscribers when someone is searching for a keyword in the podcast directory.
You can optimize your podcast by using SEO (search engine optimization) friendly keywords in your podcast name, episode title, provider name, show title, show notes, and subtitles. Just be sure that you don’t spam the keywords, or else you might get pushed down the rankings or, worse, get removed from the directory.
Having an optimized title and name isn’t the only factor that can get you ranked higher. You also need to have engaging content that encourages your readers to subscribe to and share your podcast.
How to Optimize Your Podcast for Search Engines
The process of optimizing your podcast for search engines is very simple and straightforward. All you have to do is follow the steps below.
- Get a domain name: You need to build a website to promote your podcast. For that, you need to get a domain name exactly the same as your podcast name. You can use our business name generator to check for domain availability on Bluehost and Godaddy. While you are at it, also check if the same name is available for your social media channels.
- Optimize your website using related keywords: Add related keywords in your titles, headings, and content. This will make it easier for search engines to identify the topic of your podcast.
- Publish the transcript of your episodes: Every time you put out an episode of your podcast, make sure that you publish the transcript on your website. Optimize the transcript with the keywords you want to rank for and let the search engine do the rest.
Since you are just starting out, it might take a while before you start showing up in search results, especially if you are covering a competitive topic. But don’t let that discourage you, keep putting out good content and keep your listeners engaged.
We also recommend grabbing the same or similar name as handles on social media platforms so that you can grow your podcast brand.
FAQs
1. What should I name my podcast?
You should name your podcast something that is relevant to what the show is about. This makes it easy for people to know what your podcast is about from the name. Follow our guide above to get expert tips on how to find the right name for your podcast.
2. Are podcast names copyrighted?
No, podcast names are not copyrighted, they can be trademarked. A trademark “is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.”
Copyrights protect “original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” Podcasts meet this criteria and are therefore copyrighted. You can file an official copyright for your podcast show to have legal documentation for it.
3. How do I know if a podcast name is taken?
You need to run a search for the name on popular podcast platforms like Apple and Spotify. You can also check Google and YouTube. You can search for “example name podcast” to get more relevant results.
4. Can I trademark a podcast name?
You can trademark your podcast title, logo, artwork, and tagline. Most people think of trademarks only once they have a successful podcast, but you can trademark it at the start as well. We recommend grabbing the domain name as well so that no one else can start a business with the same website name.
We also suggest registering social media handles as soon as you can.
5. What should I avoid when naming my podcast?
Analyzing common mistakes beginners make, here’s what you should avoid:
– Irrelevant words that have no meaning to your topic
– Long confusing titles
– Your own name unless you’re popularly known for something
– Names that are already taken by other podcasters
You can use AI tools like our free name generator to help you narrow down your search.
6. Can I use a podcast name that is already taken?
You can if the name isn’t trademarked. You can check if it is in the trademark database of your country. If there is no trademark, you can use the same name but this can confuse your audience and make you lose out on listeners.
We hope that our tips helped you in picking a cool podcast name. Naming a new podcast isn’t always easy. It takes careful consideration to come up with great ideas. Every minute you spend looking for a memorable name is worth it, no matter how long it takes.
If you want to save some of that time, you should try our podcast name generator tool. Enter the keywords related to your podcast, and it will generate hundreds of ideas.
Evaluate those ideas through the tips we have shared above to come up with a great podcast name.