What’s In A Name?

One of the most difficult things that you might have to decide on is a good name for your internet business or website. And while it may only take a short amount of time and little to no resources to come to a decision, the name that you choose can have a big effect on the success of your enterprise.

So, how do I choose a good name?

There are a few key characteristics of a good name: memorable, unique, and easy-to-spell.

Memorable

Above all, a good name should be memorable. You want to make sure that your visitors remember your website’s name after they’ve left. This will help them return and/or refer other visitors.

To make a name memorable, it should be:

• short & sweet. The longer the name, the harder it is to remember.
• composed of common words. It is also good to avoid a name which contains any symbols, greek characters, and any other things which are not common to most website visitors. Additionally, if you opt to use your last name, it might be good to avoid using it if it is uncommon.
• easy to pronounce. If users can pronounce it, they can remember it. Even better, if they can pronounce it, they can tell others about it.

Another way to make a name memorable is to select a name which references the subject of your website, or products contained within.

Unique

To create your own brand, you need to select a name which is unique.

For example, think of all of the Ray’s Pizzeria’s that you’ve seen. Clearly, this name is not unique. And even if there is a small standalone mom & pop operation using the name, it is still easy to think of it as related to the other Ray’s pizzerias. And if you were to casually recommend the restaurant to a friend, they might mistakenly go to a different Ray’s. Obviously, you see the problem.

By opting for a common name, you may be unwittingly sending your visitors to a competitor. Additionally, if you opt for a common name, your website may get the stigma that is attached to a name. (What would you think if you met someone named Adolf?)

Another great thing about having a unique name is that users will easily be able to find your website when searching for your name. For example, do a simple search for ‘velvet blues’, and take a look at our position.

Easy-To-Spell

Last, but not least, the name should be easy to spell. These days, people go straight to the internet for information. Your website name should be easy for a user to type without mispelling. If it is easy to mispell, consider buying all common mispellings.

For more information on choosing a name and selecting appropriate domain names, see What Makes A Great Domain Name?.