The Ins and Outs of Creating a Good Business Name

Whether you're opening a bakery, starting a career as a Twitch streamer, or launching an e-commerce store, branding is crucial. Creating a good business name that's also unique, memorable, and suitable for your business is one of the most important steps you'll take.

The good news is, you always have a lot of options for compelling business names. All it takes to find the right match is a little brainstorming and an open mind. Once you have the perfect business name in place, marketing your business should become a lot easier.

In this article, we'll help you get started by discussing what you'll need to consider when deciding on a business name. Then we'll show you some tools that can help you out. Let's get to work!

Why Your Choice of Business Name Is Crucial

Often, people pick names for their websites almost at random. This is a mistake, however, as the name you use will become the symbol for your brand. There's a difference, for example, between shopping at “Joe's Tackle Store” and “The Fish Emporium”. One sounds like a small-town shop, whereas the other wouldn't look out of place as the header of an online storefront.

The point is that your website's name needs to be memorable. If it isn't something people can use to identify your brand, that can negatively impact your business' performance and growth potential.

There are plenty of examples of dominant businesses using names that seem almost random, such as Google. This is a perfect example of a short and simple name that's nonetheless very unique. Other popular brands, such as Apple or Facebook, employ a similar strategy (albeit using more familiar terms).

Of course, those brands have a lot more going for them than just a memorable name. Still, choosing a strong business name is a simple way to increase your own business' chance for success significantly. Plus, the right name can make your links look more appealing, which can lead more people to click on them.

What to Consider When You're Creating a Good Business Name

Although each brand and situation is unique, there are several characteristics that most top-quality names share. These names are:

• Easy to remember. This usually has to do with the length of the name and the words you decide to use. Shorter names are typically more memorable, which means it's best to settle on a one- or two-word option.
• Easy to type. Along with being easy to remember, it shouldn't be a chore to type your business name into a browser. If people can't remember how to spell the name, they'll have more trouble finding your site.
• Unique. Copying the competition can be tempting. Your name needs to be unique, however, or you risk people confusing you with other businesses.
• Relevant to the right niche. In most cases, it's smart to choose a business name that gives people an idea of what your business does.

Keep in mind that these aren't hard and fast rules. However, they can help you come up with better business name options. Imagine, for example, that you're trying to come with a name for a cooking blog. Here are some of the names you might consider:

1. Joe's Cooking Blog
2. Joe's Kitchen
3. The Low-Carb Blog
4. The Corner Bistro

Out of those options, the first and second aren't very strong. They're not particularly memorable or unique, and they rely on the titular Joe having enough of a following to carry the brand.

Options three and four are a bit better, however. They're more creative but still easy to remember, and they give you an idea of what to expect from the site. While these aren't the most unique business names you could come up with, they satisfy all the necessary criteria.

Even once you know what to look for, however, coming up with lots of business name ideas to try out can be a challenge. With that in mind, let's introduce a couple of tools that can help you during the brainstorming process.

2 Tools to Help You Come Up with a Memorable Business Name

The tools we're going to discuss in this section can help you come up with a broad range of name selections. Not all the options they show you will be fully relevant, of course, which means you'll still need to be picky (and keep the above considerations in mind). Still, these generators are a perfect way to get started.

1. Shopify's Business Name Generator

Shopify's Business Name Generator is a simple tool that takes one or more keywords and generates names based on them. For example, here's what you get if you input the keyword “kitchen”:

As you can see, Shopify adheres to our two-word-max business name recommendation. The combinations may seem a bit random, but that's deliberate. The main purpose of a tool like this is to help you get the creative juices flowing. While you may not use any of these exact suggestions, chances are one or more of the combinations will give you some great ideas.

2. Namelix

Namelix is one of our favorite name generation tools. That's because it not only helps you brainstorm brand names, it also suggests logo ideas. Here's what you get when you input the same “kitchen” keyword we used earlier:

Naturally, you can't just lift the logo ideas you see here. However, if you're more visually inclined, seeing brand name ideas alongside logo suggestions can be a much better way to come up with the perfect fit for your site.

Conclusion

There are a lot of iconic brand names in the world of business. Words like Google, Facebook, and Apple don't mean much on their own, but they're unique and memorable names, which helps all three giants stand out.

When it comes to choosing a business name for your own business, we recommend that you consider multiple options. To start the brainstorming process, you can use tools like Shopify's Business Name Generator and Namelix. Just remember that whatever name you settle on should be short, unique, and memorable.

Do you have any questions about how to come up with a strong business name? Let's talk in the comments section below!

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