Six Key Factors in Selecting a Brand Name that is Competitive Online

Selecting a name is the most important thing you will do for your brand, product or business. In today’s environment there’s more to finding a name than a catchy word or phrase. To be competitive it must meet greater criteria than “Does it sound nice?” Here are six ways to think ahead and launch with an edge.

1. Is it trademarked? A no-brainer but sometimes overlooked.
2. Will people remember and spell it? You’ll want them to be able to go to your site or search online directly upon recall. A quick test is to run the name by a few friends. If you get an instant look of puzzlement and they aren’t able to recall this information after a quick explanation, you’ll have had more opportunity with anyone than your new audience.
3. Will it bring with it SEO benefits? Is it too competitive to rank for? Is it a highly trafficked keyword? Will put your business on page 1?
4. Is the domain taken? Go for a .com
5. Is it an already established online brand? Search Facebook pages, Twitter user search, and do a general Google search to ensure your brand will take its rightful place. You might think you know your competitors, but an online search will tell you who you’re really competing with for attention.
6. What’s the story? Brand names are most memorable which carry a personal story behind them. Nice sounding words that were randomly made-up put your new brand at risk of not resonating with an audience. Opt for authenticity. If you try to fake a story around you’re favorite made-up words, they’ll eventually find you out. And, you won’t care as much about the brand as you would for something authentic.