Your Business URL: Play The Name Game
I received a ton of phone calls and emails this year under the category ”naming your business website”.
Maybe it’s because I was frequently in the top 20 at Google this year for “naming your website”.
And maybe I was highly ranked at the big engine because I posted a free multimedia ebook last year about naming your small business website. My ebook gives you links to free online name storming tools, as well as guidance on what kind of name to pick for your website.
Aside from written words, I also provide links from my book to some of my videos and podcasts that also shed light on the whole “what to name your website” issue.
Now, some folks like to hire me for the whole “corporate naming exercise” process, and some like to do it themselves. The book gives guidance for those bootstrapping young businesses that want a “do-it-yourself” experience. (But for those of you who prefer specific hands-on coaching, I’m happy to talk to you, too!)
Because the book doesn’t cover many of the oft-asked URL questions:
- Should I register many domain names for my business, including trademark product terms and frequent misspellings?
- What if my coveted name isn’t available?
- How do I handle cyber-squatters? (those are the enterprising devils who mass-purchase domain names so that they can extort, ahem, I mean sell them back to you?
- Should I just use dashes, acronyms, or stick a little syllable in front of my desired name if it isn’t available?
- What about using all lower case, Title Case, or CamelCase?
And then there are all the questions many businesses don’t even think about asking –
- Is canonicalization really important?
- Is case sensitivity an issue?
- Why should I standardize on page naming conventions?
- How many domain names should I buy? How should I link them to each other?
And so on….
Anyway, in my opinion, the best business urls share three important characteristics:
- short
- memorable
- unique
Some of your favorite websites — the ones you visit frequently and tell your friends about — they all share these three features.
How does your URL stack up on these three? And if your name isn’t short, unique, or memorable: what are you going to do about it?
What’s the impact of changing your name and address?
Related Posts:
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
[…] Picking a great name for your business website is important. If you want to try the DIY approach to naming, you can read my book, watch my videos, or listen to my podcasts about naming your business. Just apply the information to “your company website” instead of “your business” – and you’ll be heading in the right direction. […]