Part 5 of this ongoing article looked at the kinds of organizational structures for small businesses. I discussed the reasons why incorporation is a good way to protect your personal assets as well as separate your personal finances from your business finances.
In part 6, I’ve settled on my business structure and I’m ready to come up with some business name ideas. Naming your business must be done when you complete the registration process through your state.
Choosing A Good Company Name
Naming your company is like naming your children. The name you choose is for the life of the company. You should give serious thought to your company name because it may impact your advertising and the branding of products and services as your company grows.
Here are some ideas you might consider when deciding on a good name:
- Use Your Own Name – Many business owners include their own name in their company name. If you are offering a service in your local community and you want people to associate your name with the service, then combing your name with the service may work very well. Names like “Smith and Jones Plumbing” or “Robert Jones Carpentry” may be highly effective. You can also use one name like “Dyson” , “James” or use your own initials if you want to brand yourself.
- Combine A Geographical Location and Service - You may want to associate your company’s service with a particular location to target specific customers. For example, a real estate agency specializing in a specific region may have a name like “South Side Realtors” or a trucking company which services the Atlantic coast of the US could be called ”East Coast Trucking.”
- Use Your Product Name - If you prefer to focus attention on your specialty product, you may want to create a company name that uses your product and some descriptive adjective that makes your product sound desirable or describes how it works. Names like “Ride On Toys” , “Quality Air Purifier” and “Creative Cakes” are some examples of this idea.
- Make Up A Name - Sometimes it makes sense to devise a company name from words that describe sounds like “Google” or “Bing” or create a name like “Poosawantos.” It is important to recognize that these types of names may invoke the public’s curiosity but will take more work to associate the name with a product or service. These types of names do not sell themselves as well as other choices.
A Good name For An Internet Business Must Include Keywords
For an Internet business, the name of the company and the domain names you chose for your websites will be much more critical than in a brick and mortar business. Why? A brick and mortar company has signage to help define what the company is about. As people drive or walk by a brick and mortar business, they can see signs with words and images that describe the services the company offers. But with an online business, you are limited to words and phrases to be found in the search engine’s catalogs. No matter how many images you have on your website, a visitor must first find you through the search engines. The written word will be king when it comes to attracting visitors to your online business.
Before choosing your company name, do some keyword research to determine what keywords people use to search for the service or product you will be offering. Try to embed a “high traffic keyword” (one that gets over 3000 searches per month) into your company’s name. You can find high traffic keywords using Google’s keyword tool. Follow this same approach to naming your domains. Although it is possible to name your company or domains in a less descriptive way, you will have to have a larger advertising budget and it will take longer to get the word out about what your company has to offer. It is much more difficult to get search engine ranking without using exact keywords decribing your service in your company names.
Registering Your Company Name
Once you have decided what your company name will be, you should register that business name with the state where your company will be incorporated or the state where you live. Most states have a website that offers complete instructions about how to get your company name registered. They require you to perform a search to make sure your company name is not taken by someone else. Then you must simply complete the application process and pay a fee to register.
In part 7, I name my company “Poosawantos, Inc.” ( Because… I like to do everything the hard way?!) And, I start looking for a hot niche for my first website. Coming soon!
Good work ! Keep us posting, you are very good writer.