Choosing the Best "Dot Com" Name for your Company

One of the greatest challenges facing new companies today might not be securing start-up capital, selecting a location, or even hiring trustworthy and hardworking staff. The biggest challenge facing new companies today can be creating an effective, workable, and unforgettable new business name.

There are professionals who guide businesses through this difficult task. Elizabeth Goodgold, Chief Nuancer of The Nuancing Group, a San Diego-based company specializing in building company and product identities is one professional who helps companies find their identity. "Naming is to marketing what location is to real estate," emphasizes Goodgold. "Naming is the critical element in a dot com’s success."

Goodgold has worked with companies like Etoys.com, Proflowers.com, and HNC Software, among many others, to create unique brand identities through naming, vanity phone numbers, and domain addresses. When advising e-based companies on selecting their domain, Goodgold offers the following 10 useful guidelines.

Strive for Unique
Your goal is to differentiate your product from its competitors; you do not want your name to look or sound like any other. Although difficult and time consuming, it can make the difference between success and failure.

Easy to Say
It is important to have a name your customers can pronounce. With so much of your marketing riding on word-of-mouth advertising, you don’t want to lose customer referrals. Creating a name that rolls off the tongue will make it easier for your customers to encourage others to visit your site.

Avoid Acronyms
It is also important to avoid using acronyms in your "dot com" name. According to Goodgold, research shows that acronyms are 30% less memorable than words. "What might be clear to you, may hold a completely different meaning to your potential customer," said Goodgold.

Visually Appealing
You want a "dot com" name that is visually appealing says Goodgold. Keep in mind that the Internet does not allow for symbols or spaces between words. Some companies have incorporated alternating capital letters with lowercase letters to make "dot com" names more readable. When capitalization doesn’t work, you might have to opt for a completely different name similar to what happened with Southside Eye Associates in Indianapolis. They recognized that the "e" from "Southside" would butt up against the "e" from "Eye" actually making an eyesore. Instead, they opted for a new domain altogether called____________.(WHAT WAS IT?)

Spelling Simplicity
Spelling is an important part of your name. Goodgold encourages business owners to choose a name that is simple and easy to spell, because if your customers are unable to spell your name, they will not be able to easily visit your site.

Register likely Misspellings
Registering likely misspellings can capture the potential customers who might not spell your name correctly. Although initially more expensive, in the long run, it can direct more traffic to your company’s web site. "It is not a coincidence that Bob Vila owns ‘BobVila.com’ and ‘BobVilla.com,’" says Goodgold.

Travels Well
With the web being used internationally, it is important to create a brand that can be used in other languages. You will want to check and make sure your name not only translates well, but also has no actual interpretation, sexual connotation, sound-alike connotation, negative expressions, or colloquialism, suggests Goodgold.

Capture the Shorthands
You may also want to acquire all of the nicknames or abbreviations for your name. "The attention span of consumers, as well as the whims of popular culture quickly assign nicknames and abbreviations to popular sites," said Goodgold. "For example, monsterboard.com recently acquired monster.com and Barnesandnoble.com acquired bn.com," she said.

Acquire All Domain Suffixes
"There is no monitoring the distinction among .com, .net, and .org, so you should protect yourself against a competitor by acquiring all of them," adds Goodgold. "It also ensures that users will land at your site regardless of which domain suffix they enter."

Never Negotiate Yourself
There may be times when it seems as if all of the good domain names are taken. If the name you want is taken, Goodgold suggests employing an expert to anonymously negotiate the deal instead of contacting the domain holder directly. Using an expert can save thousands of dollars to cybersquatters.

Creating a "dot com" name is a difficult task and one that should be taken seriously. It is important to research your industry, know your competition and choose a name that will help define and brand your company in the marketplace.

Don’t be afraid to go to an expert when choosing a "dot com" name for your company. Similar to accountants, lawyers, and real estate agents, naming experts can help you find a business identity that will help you accomplish your business goals.

Barbara Coles is owner of Coles Media & Public Relations, Inc. (CMPR) a full-service public relations and advertising agency specializing in media relations, community relations, organizational training, crisis communications, governmental relations, grassroots publicity campaigns, graphic design, creative advertising campaigns and media buying.