Your potential clients should be able to easily remember your business name. However, they also need to be able to find it easily if they’re looking for it in a phone book, directory or online. So choosing a business name such as “Phorgetmeekknot” is not a good idea.

While we usually encourage the unique, we also suggest that you be unique without the difficult spellings. Your business name should also be easily pronounced, which is why, for instance, we discourage our clients with predominately American clientele from using French words or names.

The test: If someone were to say your business name on the radio, would people be able to remember it, spell it correctly and easily translate it into a properly spelled dot-com address for surfing at another time during the day? A good name is something that can be mentioned on the radio or over the phone, without a lot of explanation. A great name does this and is memorable.

Have a visual element.

What popped into your head when you read “Phorgetmeekknot?” Most people wouldn’t visualize anything when they read this name. Generally we are hard-wired to “See” images when we read or hear language. Incorporating a visual element into your business name can be a powerful aid to customers’ memory and a powerful advertising tool. So you want your business name to have a strong visual element to it.

Also, think about colors and images when you’re choosing the name. Colors and images will be an important component of your business logo and other business promotion materials and your business web site. Colors and images have strong emotional associations that you and your team should take the time to consider as well.

Many words suggest both literal meanings and emotional meanings. A word’s literal meaning can be positive, neutral or negative depending on the emotional associations that people generally make. The classic example is the difference between “Mom,” which has a very positive literal meaning and “Mother,” which has a neutral connotation. It would not be advisable to name your company Mother’s Toffee when Mom’s Toffee has a more positive underlying suggestion.

When you create your business name, choose words that suggest positive meanings that people will associate with your business. Of course these meanings must be suitable for your business. So, don’t name your business Dad’s Cookies if you’re going to be selling Tofu.

You need to be sure that your new business name gives your potential clients some clues about what you actually do. That’s why almost all banks have the word “Bank” in their name, and bars include words such as “Pub,” “Saloon” or even “Bar” in their names.

Including information about what your business does in your business name also makes it easier for potential clients to find your business in phone books and directories on and off-line. Including a descriptive component in your name can help customers understand the nature of your business.

However, you should avoid including descriptive elements that could quickly become out of date or inaccurate. We encourage our technology clients to not use technical abbreviations or words in their business names as those terms can quickly become archaic.

This is vital because you want your clients to be able to remember your business’s name so they can tell other people what it is. It’s also important for promotional purposes. You want a business name that will fit on a business card and stationary, look good displayed on a sign or in an ad and work well as a domain name for search engines if you choose to use search engine optimization. So, keep it as short as you can.

That being said, avoid abbreviations or initials as a startup. Your name is part of your branding so it needs to convey meaning. Standalone letters do not convey meaning. This is a case where it is not wise to emulate the big boys. Names like IBM and DHL while now household names, are not good names for a startup, because they carry no meaning. You can shorten to initials after you have developed your image, but it will be easier to develop your brand image if you start with a name that have meaning built into it.

If your top competitor is Jewelry Works, you should not choose the business name, Jewelry Worx or Working Jewelry. You need to choose a name that will distinguish you from your competitors. Better to be bold and stand out than be timid and blend in.

Owning a good dot com domain name has a tremendous value. If you believe the Internet will play an important role in the future of your business, you’ll want to factor the availability of dot com names into your name choice. It’s easy to find out what domain names are available, and which ones are taken. Use free online resources that determine the availability of a particular name. While .net, and .us are other options for the most part they are not seen as having the same status as a dot com, so keep that in mind depending on your target market and their status sensitivity.

You must be sure to choose a name that does not violate the intellectual property rights of another business or organization with the name you choose, which could put your ability to use the name in jeopardy. Use the internet to research whether there are other businesses with your name or search businesses by name with the State government division in charge of registered businesses. When searching a database, try different spacing and word combinations to find all possible matches. For example, try Prairie Dog, PrairieDog, PrairieDog.Com and Prairie Dog Café.

If trademarking your business name, you should search the US Patent and Trademark Office website before settling on a business name. You may want to hire an attorney to do this work for you.