Selecting a name

The .com advantage. A .com name has the strongest value, and is the address that most people will automatically use when looking for your company online. However, the most common .com names such as business.com, carpets.com, and even common combinations of popular words such as mybusiness.com, are already registered. Try different combinations of your company names – candyfinefoods.com or candyfinefoodsinc.com - and also your company names plus your business type – candycatering.com – when looking for potential .com names. Watch for confusing elements. Since you may need to verbally pass on your domain name, whether over the phone or on the air, it's important to determine whether the name will be easy to pick up and remember, or whether you'll need to spell it out each time. Difficult to spell words, words that can be spelled in different ways (two vs. 2), and stylized names (Nzone vs. enzone or endzone) all have the potential to have this problem. Double letters can also be confusing, for example when joining the words girl and links into a single name girllinks.com many people will wonder whether they should drop the second "l". Shorter is better. Shorter names can be easier to remember, easier to spell, and fit more easily into print materials such as your business card. Make it relevant. It helps to choose words that are relevant to your business. For example, Fred's Carpets should not register a name like "blueskyandroses.com", as people would likely be confused about what business you are in. However, unusual names can be effective when applied effectively, as they can stand out in a crowd. Fatbrain.com, which provides businesses with online bookstores via their corporate intranets, is one example of this. Test the name. Before making your final selection, test the name over the phone with some friends and colleagues. Tell them the name and ask them how they would spell it, just having heard it spoken. Ask yourself how it will fit on your business card when used as an email address. Compare it to competitors to see if it is confusing, boring, or if it is likely to have longevity.