Seven checks before choosing a brand domain

A useful brand domain can be remembered, typed and recognized. Stuffing an address with keywords or shortening it into an unreadable abbreviation can make promotion harder. A small naming test before registration is cheaper to organize than changing packaging, ads and links after launch.

Run seven checks

• Say it once and ask someone else to spell it.
• Look for confusing letters, numbers and unnecessary hyphens.
• Compare it with your product name and public profiles.
• Search for similar brands and relevant trademark records.
• Consider whether it allows the product to grow.
• Compare registration and renewal costs.
• Keep the account under the business's control.

Test three names in the same setting

Put each candidate in a spoken introduction, a search-result title and an ad mockup. Ask people unfamiliar with the project which address they remember. Team preference alone is less useful because people who already know the product can overlook the cost of understanding it for the first time.

Availability is not a rights clearance

A domain search is not a trademark assessment. WIPO's Global Brand Database is one research starting point, but a result does not establish rights in every market. Include appropriate brand checks in the purchasing process before making a large commitment to a name.

Record the final decision

Write down the primary address, its owner and its renewal plan. Give supporting campaign or defensive domains a clear redirect strategy. A stable official address is easier for customers to recognize than several nearly identical sites.