Choosing a proper name for your business

When I started working with web design projects one of the first books someone gave me was The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding by Al and Laura Ries.  This was 2000 so many argue that the book was written prematurely.  Anyway, I am not going to debate the quality of the book, just go to Amazon.com and read the reviews.

I just remember that one of the topics that struck me was the Law of the Common Name and the Law of the Proper Name.  Just to put it in simple terms both laws refer to the naming of Internet businesses or domains.  The authors argue that you must choose proper names in order to stand out and that common names make you invisible.   For example, Amazon.com has been successful using a proper name while companies like Toys.com or Pets.com weren’t.  The case studies are endless in terms of proper names success:  Google.com, Zappos.com, Twitter.com, Facebook.com, etc.  Just try to imagine navigating sites with names like Search.com, Shoes.com or Books.com.  It just doesn’t have the same feel to it.

Of course it doesn’t, it’s called branding.  When you use a proper name, a brand name, for your business you can develop a set of values, feelings and characteristics that define your brand.  Common names are just generic terms that are hard in terms of brand development.

So that brings me to two a few recent thoughts:

Candy.com

I was amazed to see that someone paid 3 million dollars for Candy.com!  I know, I know, the domain is great, its short and defines the whole category.  But wow! 3 million!  My main concern is branding.  Just go to Candy.com, for me its kind of difficult to grasp what they are about besides the obvious.  Do they have the largest variety of candy across the web?  Do they ship for free?  Are they own by a specific candy maker or brand?  I don’t know, even the logo looks kind of generic.

Focus on the brand, then focus on Search Engine Optimization

I am not a huge fan of Search Engine Optimization.  I know it is important for many businesses, specially those that conduct transactions online and need to be found in order to sell.  But I think the constant focus on SEO is placing branding and product development on the back seat.

Just to give you an example, I was listening a few weeks ago as a colleague was enthusiastically describing how he was managing to increase the search engine positioning for his website using SEO techniques.  The problem, he had only managed to get the site to the third page of results in Google and only for rarely used search terms.  Even if he was starting to crack the second page of results I was less than impressed.  What are the chances someone uses that obscure term to find your site?  What are the chances someone navigates to the second or even the third page of results at Google or Bing?

Focus on product development and branding first.  The key to success is for people to search for you by using your brand name or just knowing your url.  Be remarkable first, in that way people will link to your site, maybe clients won’t need to search for you, they will find you in press releases, links, social media sites, news stories, etc.

No more generic urls please!

Puerto Rican streets are full of small signs that companies have placed to promote their websites or businesses.  It’s pretty sad actually, not only do the signs have a negative effect on the environment and aesthetics of the Island, but I don’t think they are effective at all.  What kind of service can I expect from mascopiadorapormenos.com, paginasdeinternetbaratas.com (ok, I just made that one up) or simply companies that market themselves as: “Limpiamos Muebles”, “Páginas de Internet” or “Recogemos Escombros”.  Make an inventory of all the attributes and characteristics you want your product to reflect, then use it to choose your business name, then continue to express that values in all your interactions with customers.  That is the first step in creating a brand, not simply a business.