Things to Consider Before You Name Your Business

I don't know about you, but I love a good checklist! I suppose you may have figured that out, since I love to make lists! Goal lists, dream lists, to-do lists, etc. I'm sharing my list of "Things to Consider Before You Name Your Business" as my "Tutorial Thursday" post today. Although it's not technically a tutorial, I think a checklist qualifies!  

Even a few years ago, most people were doing a good job if they were checking GoDaddy.com to make sure their biz name URL was available before selecting their business name.  Today, there are a few other important things to consider, thanks to the importance of social media and the way folks are using it. 


Things to Consider When Naming Your Business

1. Determine the top search terms/trends related to your business category.  Do you know what search terms people are using most often when searching in your business category? Google has an amazing tool to help with this, called Google Insights for Search! Use Google Insights for Search to track search trends and top search terms.  It's also super-helpful if you're aware of your biz category overall, but are not so sure about the popularity of niches within your category.  For example, if you're starting a blog/website about cooking, it will be helpful to be aware of search trends related to cooking and recipes.  Did you know the most-searched recipe-related search terms are: "chicken recipes", followed by "food recipes", then "easy recipes", and then "cake recipes".  Great information to know! Even if you already have a biz name, site and blog established, this tool is great for brainstorming about future blog topics / web pages.
2. Is the web domain available for your (new) company name? www.Godaddy.com has a tool to provide you with this information. Very handy!
3. Will the company name fit into 15 characters or less for a Twitter handle? For example, the wonderful Jacqueline Whitmore uses @etiquetteexpert as her Twitter handle.  It's a perfect 15 characters! If your biz name is wordy, it may not fit well.  Sure, you can abbreviate a word, but you don't want to have to do this for every word in your biz name!
4. Is the Facebook Business page name available? For example, visit www.facebook.com/yournewbiznamehere and see if someone else has already taken the name. This is something you'll want to know, and will be helpful when considering your business name. 

Laura Catherine Otero is a marketing professional and blogger in Charleston, SC who has been active in social media since 2005.  If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to this blog via Email or  RSS. Laura can also be found on Twitter (@LauraCatherineO), Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

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