Your Company’s Name – It’s Where It All Starts

I’ve had a number of clients over the years ask me why their company never shows up on search engine results.  There can be any number of reasons why search engines aren’t “seeing” your website.  However, I’d like to discuss one that often times is missed in the rush to “optimize” a web site.  A key reason for search engine invisibility can simply be the name of your company.

When Google looks at a search term, it tends to first think of it as a brand before anything else.  Ann Smartly, writing on the MarketingProfs website (www.marketingprofs.com) gives an example of the results for the term “Armstrong”.  She indicates that most people would think of “moon”, “space” or “Tour de France”.  Most people would be wrong.  Google shows “Armstrong Flooring”, “Armstrong World Industries” and “Armstrong One Wire (an internet service).  The astronaut and the bicyclist follow these “brands”. ; As Ms. Smartly says, “Google seems to favor brands and is likelier to suspect that your intent is navigational instead of informational (go instead of know).”

One way of winning the war is to instead of fighting a battle against multiple opponents; try to make your brand name unique.  This can be challenging if you have a common name.  “Jones Consulting” would be a pretty poor choice.  There are a lot of companies with that name out there.   Renee Jones Engineering Consulting would be better, but with such a common name, you might need to look for a more unique usage.  “Rock Springs Engineering Consultants” would, as I write this, probably come up first in Google as there are no companies showing up with that name. 

The idea is to become the dominant interpretation of the combination of words in your company name. Google suggests that if you can make your name and brand stick together, you instantly become a dominant interpretation.  Using this concept, a company called Renee Jones Mining Engineering would likely rank number one on Google.

So there you have it.  Before you worry about optimization of your site, and certainly before you sign incorporation papers, spend some time searching names on the internet.  A unique business name can be an important first step in achieving online visibility.

Have you had problems naming your company?   Do you have a great name?

Comments

[Denzel Deon]

The naming your business after the location in which it now resides is both confining and commonplace. Many fine naming ideas can crop up there, particularly if the place-name you've identified has some history or particular claim to fame. Hot dogs named "Coney Island", western wear named "Durango", golf equipment named "Pebble Beach"

[A Facebook User]

Thanks for the write up Michael. Another thing potential website owners should keep in mind is that search engines need to be informed that a website is available to crawl or index. Not all websites online have been or will be indexed without manually submitting them. It's sad because people think they are set and forget.
Also, I believe using the name of your brand in conjunction with your location can and will help but only if done correctly. Local business listings can also help dramtically when it comes to a website being easily found in search. I would also agree and recommend people avoid using generic and common names when developing their web presence. I discuss things like this on my fb page at http://www.facebook.com/ComebackMarketing Stop by and say hello and let's get a discussion started.
Thanks again Michael, you always share good information.

[Justin - Five Sprouts Stitching]

The above comment gives great advise about crawling - I always submit any changes to webmaster and the results are immediate. As far as naming your buisness and S.E.O goes - those are great points. If you are not front page, top spot for your own buisness name that would not be good. You should not have to optimize for your own brand. It is hard enough for whatever keyword you are going for.

[Social Bookmarks]

That’s a great site you folks have been carrying out there.
http://www.socialclipmarx.org