4 Tips to Choosing the Right Business Name

Starting your own business can be an exciting time, but it requires a great deal of forethought and planning to get off to the right start. Whether it’s a travel company or a T-shirt startup, one of the most important decisions you will make is choosing your business name.

The right name helps to give your business an identity, allows your customers to find your product or service, and makes it stand out from the crowd. Ultimately, it will form a key part of your business branding and become one of its most important and valuable assets. Listed below are some helpful tips to help you find the perfect name for your business.

1. Choose a name that is easy to spell and pronounce

Keyword searches are one of the most common ways people search for businesses these days, so it’s important that yours is easy to find online. Do not risk the chance of potential customers not being able to find your business quickly enough and seeking out your competition instead. Word of mouth still holds a lot of value, so don’t underestimate the power of referrals or simple recommendations.

2. Think long-term

With success often comes expansion, and as your business grows you may choose to enter into new areas. A good example of this is when ‘Starbucks Coffee’ changed its name to Starbucks in 2011 to signal its decision to enter the food market in addition to beverages.

Opting for a name that is too narrow could hinder your prospects in the future and the cost of changing your name could be detrimental to your brand. Try an AI business name generator to give you some ideas.

3. Carry out an online search

If you have decided on a name for your business make sure you carry out a thorough online search to make sure it is not in use elsewhere. Failing to do this could cause confusion for your potential customers and may also lead to a claim being brought against you from an existing business operating under this name.

In such a case, you may lose your right to trade under your chosen name and be required to change it. You may also have to pay damages to the other party.

4. Register your domain name

Once you have taken the steps above and have chosen a name, make sure to register a domain name as soon as possible. These can be snapped up quickly, so the sooner you reserve yours, the better. Domain name availability can be checked on various sites such as Domain.com and Godaddy.com.

If your preferred domain name has already been taken, there are often alternatives available to choose from instead. It is recommended that you choose a name that ends with ‘.com’, as it gives the impression of a well-established business and is preferred by search engines compared to other extensions.

If your preferred choice is taken but is not in use, contact the owner to see if they will consider selling it to you.

With these four tips in mind, you have answered one of the key questions in setting up your new business.