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“What’s in a name?” That famous line from William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” comes to mind when thinking about YouTube channel names. With YouTube’s popular growth over the last two decades and video content being consumed more and more, being able to be found and displayed within the platform for the videos you create seems more and more important. A YouTube channel name is one item that helps with your discoverability. Linktree, a tool for creators to earn and organize their online content, dives deeper into creating YouTube channel names below.
Why Does Your YouTube Channel Name Matter?
Your YouTube channel name is important because it is the foundation of your brand identity on the platform. YouTube allows for multiple accounts to have the same channel name, which is one reason why there are also YouTube handles. Your channel name is part of the few items people on YouTube see when your video is displayed in the platform’s results. Your channel name is displayed alongside your video title, description and thumbnail. Taking those items into consideration, having a YouTube channel name that is clear, memorable, and easy to type into the search bar seems important for having your channel name stick out. Once your YouTube channel is live, the next step is figuring out how to get more subscribers and how to see your subscribers so you can grow and keep track of your audience.
YouTube’s Popularity Online
Taking a step back, YouTube is widely referred to as the second largest search engine behind Google, but it is also increasingly considered a social media platform. With that in mind, coupled with people consuming more and more video content, being able to be discovered and found within the platform could be important for your online presence. Being discoverable also opens up other options for creators, from how to make money on YouTube without making videos to how to post a YouTube video on Instagram as a post or story.
How To Pick A YouTube Channel Name
Some factors to consider when deciding on what to use as your YouTube channel name:
- Is the name easy to remember?
- Is it easy to spell for when people search for it?
- Is it relevant or related topically to your niche or your existing online (and offline) brand?
- Is the name available on YouTube?
What’s The Difference Between A YouTube Channel Name And YouTube Handle?
YouTube uses both channel names and handles, and there are some major differences between the two. One big difference is that YouTube allows multiple accounts to have the same channel name, but a YouTube handle must be unique from other accounts. Another difference is that a YouTube handle always starts with the @ symbol and does not contain any spaces. However, a YouTube channel name can include spaces, have capital and lowercase letters, and contain symbols and emojis. One more difference between a channel name and handle on YouTube is that a handle creates your direct web link, whereas your channel name does not change your direct web link.
Should You Change Your YouTube Channel Name?
For the most part, you should stick with your YouTube channel name after creating it. However, some examples of when you should consider changing your channel name include but are not limited to:
- When you start changing the topics your content covers
- If your channel name is confusing to your audience
- If your YouTube channel name is off brand
If you do decide to change your channel name, it might be a good idea to also look into changing your handle name. You should also let your audience know if you’ve changed the channel name so they know where to find you after you’ve changed it.
For those wanting to learn how to change your YouTube channel name, you can use a YouTube channel name generator to figure out what names are available. YouTubers and creators should also know how to turn on comments on YouTube and what a highlighted comment means on YouTube, which can help keep your audience engaged with your channel.
This story was produced by Linktree and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
