How to Choose a Corporate Name

There are many elements that go into choosing a business name.  Most business owners want a name that not only describes their business but has good marketing potential and stands out from the crowd.  But, more importantly, names have to meet the legal requirements set by the jurisdiction of incorporation.  This is where things can get difficult!   You can choose a name that sounds really cool and fits perfectly with your business, but the government may think otherwise.

To avoid the disappointment of a name rejection, here are some tips on choosing a name that fits with your business AND the legal requirements.

Create a distinctive element.

This is what sets your business apart from others.  Whether it be a coined or original word, geographic location or family name it is important to be original and creative when coming up with this element to avoid infringing upon another company name.

Add a descriptive element.

This part tells the customer the type of business the company does.  For instance, if you’re a tech company you may want to use something like ‘Software’ or ‘Telecommunications’.

Choose your legal ending.

This is the easy part.  Legal endings come in various forms but all incorporated companies must have one attached to their name.  The legal names used in Canada are Inc., Ltd., Corp., Incorporated, Limited, Corporation.

      Make your name memorable.

      An easy to spell name with positive connotations goes a long way in marketing your business.  Keep in mind how this name might look as a logo, on a website, in signage and used in other marketing collateral.  

The criteria used if there is confusion with another company is the distinctive character of each name, the visual or phonetic similarity, the ideas evoked, the manner in which the names are used, notoriety of the name, potential competition between the companies, the nature of services provided, and the territory served by the company.

To avoid paying for numerous name reports, doing a pre-search of corporate names can help you get an idea of what names are already in use.  To avoid disappointment, come up with at least 3 variations of your name, all of which you are happy with, so that if your first choice is rejected you have other options that can meet the requirements.

What Google’s Acquisition of Zagat Means for Your Small Business

For months, Google has been telling everyone that local is going to be huge. With that in mind, Google purchased Zagat (a local restaurant review and group deals site) in September 2011. The acquisition helps Google provide some trusted review content and deals for their search users in their local region. By integrating Zagat content into Google search results, they offer a better experience for users, including a great offline presence that they can build off of. But, what does this acquisition mean for your business?

Local marketing is the new space

One thing that Google has noticed is that consumers are looking for search results that are related to their region. So, instead of providing general search results that are not relevant, it’s providing more results related to the city you live in (for example: “electricians in Toronto”). 

This has created a need for small businesses to optimize their website for local searches, targeting prospects for specific keywords related to their expertise and location. With the Google Panda update, search results have become more accurate, where businesses can target their prospects more accurately making SEO extremely important.   

Local reviews have become key to building credibility

Zagat offers small businesses the opportunity to build their credibility through customer reviews. Simply put, the more reviews a business obtains, the higher in the search results that it ranks, resulting in higher visibility.  

With more importance being put in a customer review, small businesses must account for integrating reviews as part of their online search strategy. So what should businesses do to take advantage of the newer local marketing trend? They can do the following:

·         Integrate Google Places page as part of their marketing strategy:  Make sure that you’re listed in Google Places, and are optimized with the proper keywords. 

·         Create a customer review strategy: With the mix of social media and search, businesses must now be hyper-aware of customer reviews in all spots from social media sites to directories. Your strategy must include how to deal with negative reviews.

Is mobile the new battleground?

The acquisition of Zagat has provided a Google a way to provide much deeper results for their Google Places, making them more competitive and providing a better user experience for both business clients and users.  

Most importantly, it has allowed Google to provide a great value for mobile search users through its Android apps and integrate Zagat / Google Places results into Google Map results. The best place for these results would be in mobile search. After all, when you search for a restaurant, don’t you always Google it on your phone before making a choice?

CorporationCentre.ca celebrates Small Business Week

Celebrate Small Business Week and find your perfect business name with CorporationCentre.ca!

CorporationCentre.ca is offering FREE name pre-searches to all our customers from October 17 to October 21.

A name pre-search provides a preliminary search through the NUANS database to provide results that show an “exact match” the names you are submitting to register or incorporate your business. By checking the availability of your name before conducting a NUANS search, you can save time and money spent on multiple NUANS reports!

Click here to find out more about name pre-searches and to order your FREE report.

Please note that your order must be placed between October 17 and October 21 ONLY to receive the promotion.