They say, ‘What’s in a name?’ but it means a lot for a business.
The domain name for your startup establishes your digital identity, determines credibility, and affects brand recognition.
Imagine naming your startup domain as tech-hub033.com. This long alphanumeric name might be flagged as spam as it doesn’t seem trustworthy. Instead, a name like techPro.com is more professional and credible.
But here is the catch: naming your startup domain is a long process.
It requires your time and research skills to ensure relevancy with your business.
In this blog, I have compiled every possible information about choosing a domain name for your startup.
Let’s get started!
Content Index
- How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Startup?
- Challenges of Choosing a Name for the Business
- Tips to Help You Choose Ideal Domain Names
- How Can AI Help in Choosing the Best Domain Name?
- Conclusion
How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Startup?
Finding the perfect name for your business is essential, as it should be a name that aligns with your vision and resonates with the target audience. Here’s how I did it:
Brainstorm
The first step is to write all the names, ideas, and words that come to your mind. I had ‘PayFast’, ‘Swift’, ‘Rapid’, and the like on my list. This helped me expand on these names, create new innovative ones, check their availability, and improve.
Seek inspiration
After the first brainstorming, the next step is to explore different environments and gain perspectives to spark your creativity. Here are a few ways to help you get more creative:
- Step out from your regular environment. For instance, I visited libraries, trade fairs, art galleries, and SaaS events to draw inspiration
- Look into different art forms. Read books, watch movies, and explore cultures and languages. This is especially helpful if you have a global target audience, as you can learn different words and their meanings in other languages
- Study industries. Research how different industries name their businesses. For instance, tech companies generally go for short, catchy names like Zoho, Keka, or Intuit, while fashion brands choose more elegant names
- Use name generators. Online name generators work as a good starting point and can provide you with naming ideas
List the names
Once you have gathered names and inspirations, create a list. Group the names with meaning and keep the names that resonate with your business separate. This will bring clarity and help you make the best decision.
For example, Zoom, the video conferencing tool, has a unique name that fits perfectly with the product. It represents ‘zooming in’ (of a camera) to virtually connect with people.
Strike off names with negative connotations
Go through your list to cancel names with negative associations. Consider the language, research its origin and history, and use tools like Google Translate to see if the name has negative meanings in any language. This helps avoid misunderstandings, legal issues, and reputational damage.
Analyze your competition
Study the names of your direct and indirect competitors and look for similar patterns or trends they follow. This will help you think of names that stand out and are not identical to any other name in the industry.
Do a trademark search
When you have the final list of names, conduct a thorough trademark search to ensure the names are available. Skipping this step can result in legal troubles and even rebranding. I used the Intellectual Property (IP) India website to conduct a trademark search. It allowed me to rule out names that were already registered.
Consider uniqueness
Along with trademark search, check if the domain name is available in ‘.com’ or ‘.biz.’ Both of these domains are universally recognised and ideal for businesses. Further, consider how your brand will perform in the search engine results. Choose an uncommon, SEO-friendly name that unrelated search results won’t outperform.
Once you have the final five names, ask your family, friends, mentor, and potential customers for their opinions. It will help you understand how well the names resonate with your target audience. Thus, you can fine-tune your choices and finalise.
Now that you know how to choose a domain name let me tell you that choosing ‘Nimbbl’ (The Name) was not easy. It took me months to zero down the brand name. Why? Let’s discuss.
Challenges of Choosing a Name for the Business
Knowing the how-to isn’t enough. You must be aware of the challenges that might crop up when choosing a domain name for your startup. Here are a few.
Availability and premium pricing
Put a finger on it, and it’s already taken. This was precisely the case when I started looking for domains. Most domain names were unavailable, and short, fintech ones had sky-high prices that didn’t fit my budget. Even the seemingly unique names had been registered.
Trademark issues
This is the trickiest part of choosing a domain name. You must be careful about trademark infringement. Suppose you choose the name ‘Swipe’ and then find out that a small payment processor uses a similar name. So, follow your legal advisor’s suggestion and avoid trademark issues.
Brand consistency across channels
When choosing a domain name, you must also check if the name is available across social platforms. This makes the process even more challenging.
For instance, you choose ‘Swipe.com’ but find that @swipe is taken on X (Twitter), Instagram, and other platforms. This can confuse your customers and make brand identification difficult.
Memorable names
Your domain name should be easy to remember. Hence, the shorter, the better.
While looking for my domain name, I came across an experience shared by Sankari Nair, COO of Recall. She said, “A name that can become a verb creates a stronger brand. I was an early employee at Uber, originally ‘UberCab.’ Back then, no one would say, ‘I UberCabbed here,’ but today, ‘I Ubered here’ is natural.”
So, I wanted a name that people could use, like, ‘I Nimbbl-d you the amount.’
Tips to Help You Choose Ideal Domain Names
Many things go on when you’re selecting a name for your startup. Does the name sound good? Does it have any unintended meanings? What emotions does it evoke? Is it quick to type and easy to remember?
To help you, here are a few tips to stick by:
- No numbers and hyphens: Hyphenated names and numbers aren’t easy to type. Users have to switch between letters and number keyboards. Therefore, the chance of typos is higher
- Choose scalable names: Suppose you start a coffee business and name it ‘mycoffee.com’, but later on, you decide to expand beyond coffee. Instead, with names like ‘jolt’ or ‘blend’ you could add more related products to your brand
- Check domain security and privacy: Check if the domain registrar has robust security features, such as WHOIS privacy, client-side lock, etc. Also, choose domains that come with SSL encryption to secure the data exchange between the website and its visitors
- Choose short and easy-to-pronounce names: Choose names that are simple and clear. It’s best if you keep the name under 15 characters. Long, complicated words decrease readability and memorability
How Can AI Help in Choosing the Best Domain Name?
AI can be of great help when choosing a name for your startup. While name-generating software can give you ideas, social listening platforms can help you pick creative phrases and words from social media conversations. Likewise, you can use AI bots like ChatGPT to help name your brand. Here are a few prompts you can try:
Prompt 1: Imagine you’re a domain name generator, and help me choose an engaging and catchy brand name. Here are the details to focus on [Describe the type of name you’re looking for, business industry, and brand personality]
Prompt 2: Please list unique and memorable domain names for my FinTech startup that align with my brand vision and target audience. [Input important information about your target audience, brand values, and brand personality]
Prompt 3: Please suggest 10 unique domain names that make my FinTech startup stand out from the rest of the industry. Please keep the names aligned with the brand’s personality and target audience. [Provides insights about your target audience, brand personality, and the emotions you want the brand name to evoke in the audience]
Conclusion
A domain name is an extension of your brand. So, spending months to finalise a name is worth it. Throughout naming my startup domain, I’ve learned the final decision takes much more than picking a short, catchy word.
Whether building a tech solution or starting a fashion brand, consider your domain name a brand investment. This impacts your audience’s response, brand identification, and awareness.
So, take your time and find the perfect domain name for your business.
