A Technical How-to for Choosing Your Business Name
Kiersten P Mosley Mosley 
Coming up with a great name is one thing. Coming up with a great name that nobody else has thought of already is quite another! Here's why
BLOG SERIES: HOW TO CREATE A BRAND FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL LOVE
Overview: Coming up with a great name is one thing. Coming up with a great name that nobody else has thought of already is quite another! In this post, we’ll discuss:
Why finding a unique company name and corresponding website domain name is important
Some hints on the technical aspects of finding that unique name
Steps for securing your business name, domain name, and social media handles
Where to go if you need help
A brand is all about standing out from the rest. That’s why it’s so important to ensure your name stands out, too. Here’s how…
Why Finding a Unique Name is Important
In our previous post, 3 Creative Secrets for Naming Your Startup Business, I mentioned that choosing the right name is an exercise in branding. We looked mostly at the creative aspects of finding a name. You want something that is:
Memorable
Relevant
Connects emotionally
But there are some technical considerations as well.
What Comes First, Domain or Company Name?
As the saying goes, “What comes first? The chicken or the egg?”
For example, what comes first: the company name or the domain name? Trick question! The answer is, that you should be thinking about both at the same time. Otherwise, you could face one or more potential issues. Inconsistent naming:
can lead to brand confusion with your brick-and-mortar store, your website domain, your social media channels, etc.
makes it more difficult to build a unified brand and in turn trust.
- can send people in the wrong direction.
clients typing the wrong domain name (e.g. the sneaky nytime.com vs. NYTimes.com)
clients going to the wrong domain extension (e.g. .ca vs. .com)
can lead to conflicts and potential liability on your side if the names you choose are in conflict with a name that is registered. NOTE: This includes names registered after you choose a name; if theirs is registered and yours isn’t, you may have a harder time proving name ownership.
You want all your URLs and social media handles to be immediately identifiable. For example, CN has CN.ca as its website, CNRail as its Facebook handle, CNRailway as its Instagram handle, and CNRailway as its Twitter/X handle. You see that there are slight variations, but regardless you know immediately what the company is. No confusion here!
You want as much consistency as possible with the company name, domain name(s), and social media handles—and preferably no difference at all.
Sounds easy. But the problem is, most of the generic names are already taken…
Company Names Need to Get Creative to Find the Right Domain Name
Here are some common words and corresponding domain names that could work well for your business, but aren’t available:
Zebra.com (taken)
Swimming.com (taken—likely for sale at a very high price)
Amazon.com (taken—no surprise there!)
Type in whatever word comes to mind, and chances are it is already being used or someone has bought it with the thought of selling it to the highest bidder. That’s why you see names like Lyft, Reddit, and Flickr—they take a common word and flip it with an uncommon spelling.
But be careful here—some market research shows that today’s consumers find these name changes gimmicky. You may be better off to use combinations of words spelled correctly. For example, dragon.com is taken, but as of this writing, corduroydragon.com is available.
And although you want a shorter name that people can type in, the reality is that most will never type your name in. They find you in a Google search, an online ad, a QR code, your social media post—you’re only a click away! Better to be unique than short, but bonus points if you can be both!
Case Study: Lana B
Recently I helped a client rebrand by taking a number of her business interests and combining them under one company. Lana B. is a coach, a speaker under the name Safe Stress, and an entertainer under the name The Ukulele Lady. Her current web domain SafeStress.ca didn’t fit her combined brand, so we had to come up with a new name.
Previous branding for Lana.
We decided that since she is the brand, it might be best to go with the name she’s known by: Lana B. However, although lanab.com was available, lanab.ca was already taken. The domain name was being used by a teen for her blog, so we tried to contact her to see if she would sell… no response. We even tried using Google’s broker services, but didn’t have any luck there either.
However, we couldn’t shake the fact that “Lana B” was simply the best name for her. Ultimately, we got creative with the domain name extension and registered LanaB.live, which works really well with the brand.
New branding for Lana B.
Note that we didn’t get rid of SafeStress.ca—you want to keep that name for at least the foreseeable future for a couple of reasons. First, if past clients are looking for you through your old address—or have linked to you on their own websites—they won’t find you if you cancel the domain name. Second, you don’t want someone else buying it and spoofing you or your business. We forwarded the old domain name to the new one so old clients can still find her.
3 Steps to Secure Your Company and Domain Names
Once you’ve found a company name that you like that has an available domain name, it’s important to lock all of them down ASAP. Just because a domain name is available now doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow. (BTW, lanab.com is taken now too, which goes to show you have to move fast!)
- Check availability
Business name: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/choosing-business-name/en/choosing-business-name-2-find-out-if-name-taken
Website domain: https://domains.google/intl/en_ca/
Social media handles: https://checkuser.org/
- Get feedback
Working with a professional marketing company like For Users’ Sake is a good start!
Ask your business-oriented and creative friends what they think of the name and how you’re going to use it. Explicitly ask for honest feedback.
Ask specific questions instead of, “What do you think?” Explain your goals and your brand, and ask if they feel the name(s) reflect those ideas.
Be gracious with feedback. Don’t get defensive—they are trying to help you. Be overly thankful for their input. (A coffee shop gift card or some other token of appreciation isn’t out of the question!)
Take friends for coffee and get their feedback.
- Secure those names!
Register the business name (you can purchase provincially, nationally, etc.) Also, register/copyright any slogans you decide on.
Purchase the domain names. If you are a Canadian business (or any other nationality other than American), it’s best to get the same name* in both .ca and .com
Sign up your business on the social media platforms you’ve chosen
*If you’re a Canadian company, I recommend using the .ca and pointing the .com to the .ca domain name. Your web designer will know how to do this. It’s always good to secure your .com name as well to avoid possible future confusion with competing companies, either coincidentally or intentionally.
Need Help? You’ve Come to the Right Place…
Naming and branding your company can be tricky. Even if you are naturally creative, you may not have the time or energy with everything else you have on the go to give the branding process the attention it deserves. Besides, we can always use an outside—and professional—opinion!
Contact me, Kiersten Mosley for a free initial consultation. In about 15 minutes, I can show you how I can help make the most of your branding exercise so you secure a business name and website domain that resonates with your customers.
Let’s get your name out there!