Business Name Tips-5 Tips For Creating Your Business Name

The first thing people do is decide that they want to go into business for themselves. The second thing they - normally - do is begin to think of clever and unique names for that business. Some want to keep their family name, others are obsessed with being first in the alphabet so they use names like aardvark plumbing.

Grab a cup of coffee. Let's chat about choosing your business name.

1 - Forget about your family name or being first in the alphabet for right now and narrowly define your niche (your focus in your business) and what problem you are helping people to solve by being in your particular business.

• For purposes of simplicity and illustration I will use my own business name: bookkeeping & more by watkins, LLC. (bmw, llc.)

2 - Once you have defined your niche and what your focus is going to be for your market, look at the market itself. Look at Omgili.com and search for people who need solutions for the services you are offering and look at what words they are using to describe their problem or problems in your niche.

For me it became "How Can I save Money on my taxes, How can I save Money, bookkeeping tips, saving money, save money . . . ." You get the picture. Those are the words that the people who I wanted to reach are using to describe their problems that I am willing to solve for them.

3 - Do your own SEO (Search Engine Optimization) research on those words with some free keyword tools. You have a couple of options - Use them both. Those are a) Google Free Keyword Tool and b) Google Wonder Wheel. There are more free tools available too, these are just two I have in my 'tool chest' and use regularly.

4 - Give less thought about whether you'll be first in the telephone book then you do to thinking about how you can be first in the search engines. Telephone books don't count in the race for SEO ranking.

4a) - Stop thinking about how much you want your family name to be in your business name if it gives you no points in the search engines. Unless you are on the first two pages of Google then you will be invisible to your customers. Think about using your family name in a slogan instead, or a 30-second "memory hook." Family names only work well if they are unique, but if you are Smith bookkeeping then you will be lumped with the other three million Smith bookkeeping services with nothing to make you stand out. A1 at the beginning of a business name has lost its appeal for the same reason. Dr. Kadavir Surgeon is catchy, but seriously - would you call that person first for your operation?

4b) - Begin to establish yourself as a credible source on the internet by writing some articles for publications like Ezine, HubPages, Squidoo, and many others. Give an interview on something you do incredibly well for an already established blog or website-in your niche. Write ten articles to begin with. This process will help you begin to brand yourself as a knowledgeable expert in your field.

5 - Name your business according to how people will look for YOU in your niche. You'll have to keep branding yourself - Don't just write ten articles and then disappear. Be consistent and dependable. If you dedicate yourself to a branding technique then keep it up - don't abandon it. You will gain more credibility as tenacious than as a quitter.

• I originally named my business in 1999, when the telephone book was still a great tool. The internet surprised my generation much like the computer took away the typewriter, but now I'm giving away my age LOL!

5a) - Establish a presence (a business presence) on social media outlets - FriendFeed, FaceBook, Digg, Twitter, etc . . . and create a "buzz" about you, what you do and how you help people in your niche.

5b) - Don't be afraid to change your name if your original name choice falls flat with your market. But be proactive on this one and do it early. A name change late in the game can lose you customers - About 5% to be exact.

5c) - Register your name with your local government office. Seek out Trademark and Copyright protection if you feel it is necessary.

• If you want your name to be twice as big as your logo, do your homework first and name your niche.

• My original name was "bookkeeping & more," but my friends strongly advised me against that name early on and can you guess why? Because they saw me more as a "BMW" than they did as a "BM".
• Would I have named my business that same name today - No, but I will modify my slogan (Memory hook) as needed instead of going though a complete name change.  That's because of how cost effective it is at this point plus, how long I've had that business name.
• Thank god for friends - Ask them for input!