Choosing your company name can be a bit like naming your child; it’s a very important decision and it will cause you problems if you change your mind at a later date.

In this article I’ll look at five common mistakes people make when choosing their company name.

• Not checking if the domain name is available

If you’ve got a company name in mind, it’s critical you check that the domain name is available online preferably the .co.uk or .com version.

You may have a brilliant company name, but it will lack impact online if someone else has already got the domain names and you end up having to choose something else which isn’t quite so good.

• Not being imaginative

You might be called John and your business partner called Dave, but that doesn’t mean your business name should be J&D Plumbing for example.

Some of the best known brands have short one word names such as Google, Nike and Amazon. Google may not be the success it is today if its founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had called it S&L Search Engine.

Take your time to come up with a name that’s a bit more memorable than the obvious and easy choice.

• Spending too long deciding

Believe it or not, some people spend months deciding on a company name, when they should be getting on with starting their business.

Yes, your company name is important, but don’t let the decision drag on too long; have a brainstorming session with your business partner, a friend or family member then make up your mind.

• Coming up with something that’s hard to spell or pronounce

Some company names are very clever but they don’t always work too well because they’re difficult to spell or pronounce.

An easy to spell company and domain name will allow people to find your website that much quicker if you plan on having an online presence.

An easy to pronounce name also makes life easier for you, your customers and suppliers. If you have a name that nobody’s really sure how to say properly, people will associate negative feelings with your business.

• Choosing a name that’s too long

Let’s say your name is Andrew Armstrong and you’re a photographer in Newcastle Upon Tyne. You wouldn’t want to call your company Andrew Armstrong Photography Newcastle Upon Tyne as it’s a bit of a mouthful and would also be a long domain name for someone to type in online.

As per the examples mentioned above, short and succinct name can work really well both online and offline as they’re easy for people to remember.

What stages did you go through choosing your company name? Are you happy with it or do you think you made a mistake? Please leave your comments below.

Image Credit: BlueAce

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 18th, 2011 at 8:54 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.