What is one major “don’t” for new founders working on ideas for naming their company?
1. Don’t Forget About Search
“Don’t choose a name that is similar to a popular business or a product. If you do, it will be hard to rank high in the search results when someone searches for your business on Google or another search engine. If they don’t see your website when they search on Google, they might just forget about your business entirely.”
2. Don’t Ignore .CO Domains
“People are getting used to non-dot-com names, so don’t break your bank trying to buy “yournameidea.com” off of a domain broker when “yournameidea.co” is available. Go for .co.”
3. Don’t Pick a Hard-to-Spell Name
“If you have to spell your company name over the phone to anyone, that’s a problem. People do one of two things when they hear your company name: they either go to www.YourCompany.com or they Google “Your Company.” If your company name is impossible to remember and/or spell, you’re going to lose lots of customers who simply can’t easily find you!”
4. Don’t Stress Over It
“Don’t spend so much time looking for that “perfect” name — especially at the expense of creating a great product and service. I’ve found that great names just happen and often aren’t engineered. Even a great name can’t save a bad business. So grab some buddies and some beer and just start throwing stuff out there. The most lasting company names, band names and baby names seem to happen that way.”
5. Don’t Name It After Yourself
“The chances are very high that your name isn’t right for your business. Does it alliterate well? Roll off the tongue? Make your brand too male or female? That’s your ego talking if you think your name should be on the door. The right name is only a list of 500 possibilities away.”
– MICHAEL PORTMAN, Birds Barbershop
6. Don’t Forget to Look at all Formats
“You have to make sure a name sounds good and reads well. In our hybrid digital and offline worlds, people will not only be hearing your name on the news (hopefully) and in videos, but also reading it in articles and on blogs. Be sure it looks good in all formats.”
– VANESSA VAN EDWARDS, Science of People
7. Don’t Make It Complicated
“Keep the company name short and simple — it should be easy to spell and easy to remember. If possible, incorporate the industry you’re serving into the name, as well as what sets your company apart from the competition.”
– ANDREW SCHRAGE, Money Crashers Personal Finance
8. Don’t Invest Without an IP Lawyer
“I help launch and name dozens of companies each year. Particularly, if a company name is not unique, it is often worthwhile to invest in having an intellectual property attorney review the proposed name before spending thousands of dollars on marketing and on building your legal foundation. This is because the name might need to be changed if it is too similar to an existing name.”
– DOUG BEND, Bend Law Group, PC
9. Don’t Be Too Specific
“Don’t go for a name that is exactly what you’re planning on doing. What if the company has to pivot ever so slightly and you’re hampered down by this name that you chose? Think ahead, and make sure the name is unique within your industry (trademark laws) and easy to remember for your future customers and press that will cover your company!”
10. Don’t Forget to Consider Consistency Across the Web
“You’ll be at a disadvantage if your website domain, Twitter and Facebook names don’t match. It doesn’t have to be perfect. For example, we’re fortunate to have the domain Scripted.com, but we use “getscripted” for our social media accounts. Be as consistent as you can across all of your Web presences.”
– RYAN BUCKLEY, Scripted, Inc.
Originally published by StartupCollective. Syndicated with permission on KillerStartups.com.
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StartupCollective
