"What's in a name" is many questions rolled into one when creating a brand that needs a name. It may seem simple but there is more to it than just checking for another business with the same name. One doesn't need a registered business to buy a domain name so the name you want may be available for the legal registry but not for the domain registry. Then there are social media accounts where the name you want is taken. These are just things to consider for availability but also perception, insinuation, geography, culture, industry, and more. The name of your business or brand is the first impression. Listen to the podcast, where I cover this topic more in-depth.
Domain Names
Today, there are more choices than the traditional .com we're all accustomed to. It is fairly easy to find a domain that matches explicitly your desired brand name. Having said that, this is something you want to look at with the same priority as ensuring it isn't already legally registered. Social media accounts have a little more flexibility to work out something matching and consistent, but domains should be considered a little more carefully. It is also important to understand the entities behind domain names and how they work so I'm providing some helpful links for you to learn more about how your domain name works.
Platform Profiles
There are a growing number of social platforms to choose from and as AI speeds up development there will probably be more just around the corner. Given those facts, there are a couple of things to consider. The first and most obvious is ensuring nobody is using the name you want for your brand or you're going to have inconsistency across channels which can lead to consumer confusion and is disruptive to bringing consumers through to conversion.
The second consideration I'd like to bring to light is future-proofing your brand name name. If you have a great idea, chances are someone else will too. You can counter future use of your brand name by others in a couple of ways; creating a name that can be trademarked or carry copyright by using a unique spelling of a word in the name (misspelling a word), or by creating placeholder accounts on all available platforms to hold your name, even if you aren't going to engage that platform. You may want to consider reserving the name on platforms also because factors may change and the platform becomes a point of interest for a marketing target.
SEO Considerations
Consider a few factors when it comes to your brand name and search engine optimization. Most SEO software by default uses your website title in the HTML tag for the page title, which may be outside the optimal character count. To handle this you can go for a shorter name or go into the setting for your SEO plugin and configure the page title to not use the website title in conjunction with the page's given title. Reference your help documents for assistance with configuring this setting.
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