Are you thinking about creating new businesses, but have not yet decided on a name? Then you’ll need to run a name search for business to ensure you don’t choose one that is already taken. Taking the steps laid out in this article is important to avoid legal trouble and help your brand stand out in the marketplace.
Picking a memorable and easy to spell brand is ideal to make it easy for your audience. For example, Hyundai is one of the most misspelled brands in the world, so make your name easy to understand to avoid being on this list. In this article, you’ll learn the reason why running a name search for business is important, and we will give you some strategies for deciding on a name of your own.
Why Run a Name Search for Business
In the following section you’ll learn the top reasons to run a name search in the first place. You’ll see that it’s one of the more important steps early on to avoid running into issues down the line. Here are some of the things you should keep in mind:
- Stand out in the crowd: you’ll want to avoid choosing a name that sounds too similar to ones already competing in your marketplace. Therefore, by spotting the names that are already taken, you can avoid confusing your customers.
- Avoid legal trouble: you are not allowed to choose the same name as other brands that have registered their company. This leads to legal trouble, which you want to avoid since it will cost attorney fees.
Register Your Business
You will need to register your business as a legal entity before you can secure your name. Therefore, make sure that you take this step before looking for a name. It would be counterproductive if you find a name that you want, but it gets taken by the time you register your business.
Registering your business requires that you register with the Secretary of State’s office or use a business agency. The latter is a time-saving measure that ensures you register successfully in the states where you wish to sell products.
How to Choose The Right Name
When doing a name search for business, you need to consider the type of name that’s a good match. Here are a few ideas to get going:
- Simple: it’s essential to select a simple name that will not confuse your audience. Ideally, it should be easy to spell and memorable. This ensures customers can recall the name after seeing it for the first time.
- Descriptive: you may want to try a descriptive name that is self-explanatory. For example, if you have a plumbing business, you may want to use “Plumbers4You”. This makes branding easier since customers can immediately understand what your business is about.
- Owner’s name: you may want to leave a legacy by calling the business after your name. It could be your first name, second name, or a combination of both.
- Get name feedback: it’s a good idea to get some feedback on the name that you choose. Therefore, you can see if your target market likes the name, or if it sounds too strange for your niche.
- You can change it: once you’ve selected a business name, there is no reason why you cannot change it to something else. Even a few years after starting your business, you can change the name to something that’s more appealing. However, changing the name means you will need to create a relaunching braiding strategy, so customers understand the name is different yet it’s the same business.
What Kind of Business Names to Avoid
As mentioned previously, avoiding the name with difficult spelling is a must to ensure that customers can find you online. Many customers will want to search for your name on Google. If they can’t find it because of a confusing seeping, they might give up and go with a competitor.
Also, you should avoid geographic names since it limits your ability to expand. Initially, your business might be limited to a specific geographic area. However, as you grow, you may want to expand worldwide. Having a name that’s geographically limiting will confuse customers if they want to use services outside of that suggested area.
Naming Rules For Different Business Structures
You’ll also need to consider the modifications required for different business structures. You may want to consider the type of base name you choose with respect to the modification. Here are the most common business structures to consider:
- Limited liability corporations: these types of businesses usually include phrases like limited liability company, or the acronyms L.L.C. or LLC. These companies are usually set up to protect small business owners from liability.
- Corporations: businesses that have officers, directors, and shareholders are usually registered as a corporation. The name usually includes with link corporation, incorporated, company, or limited. Also, abbreviations can be used such as LTD, CO., INC, and Corp can be used.
- Informal business structures: the naming rules for informal business structures are not strict. This typically refers to partnerships or sole proprietorships.
Domain Availability
You’ll need to see if the domain for your business name is available. Ideally, the “.com” version of the name is available, since this will be your primary one. You can also secure other versions of the domain name if you wish to launch your business in regions across the world.
You can check the domain availability by going to a hosting company like GoDaddy or HostGator. Note that it can take a while to find domain names that are available for common names. Also, in some cases the cost of a domain can be high – it depends on what you’ve selected.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, the name search for business process is important and you need to get it right. The tips in this article will steer you in the correct decision. However, if you make a mistake, you can change the name. The only drawback of changing the name at a later date is that you need to spend money rebranding.
