Getting your name online

I've just been trawling on the internet to find a name for a new business idea. It's one thing to know what you want to call a business. It's another to know for certain that no-one else has thought of your name too.

So having spent an innordinate amount of time now trying to find a domain name that fitted the business idea, and that hadn't already been snapped up, I thought I'd share my story as a way to help anyone else through the maze.

First stop is The Australian Business Registry, an Australian Government initiative where you type in your name to make sure no-one else is trading under that name.

Okay, you're right. Your name hasn't been registered. But before you get all excited, it pays to check the other realm of business activity, the World Wide Web.

It's one thing to have a business, it's another to have an operating business and not be able to use that name online as it's already been registered by someone else.

There are lots of domain providers that you can use to find out if a particular business name is available as a domain name. I like going to Crazy Domains as it's quick and easy to navigate. You simply type in the name you want for your business (or already have) to find out if the domain name is also available.

There really can be no worse moment when the name you've had your heart set on, or (worse) already have been trading under, has been registered by someone else. In my case, the name of choice, which has been available for months, has just been snapped up. Literally from under my nose!

But I'm not alone. I've even heard of an artist who doesn't own her own name as a domain because she inadvertantly allowed a dealer to use it on her behalf a few years ago. There are ways to contact whoever owns your name to see if they're open to you buying it off them. They may or may not, and prices vary.

There's also the added complication if you want your profile to appear more global. What you have to do is find an available name for a .com.au and then try to match it with the same name but with a .com prefix. Seems that so many of the good names have already been taken in the realm of .com. It's really the quick or the dead.

So my tip for any small business is to go online to make sure your business name, or personal name if you're a sole trader, is available to own as a domain name. Even if you're not yet developing a web presence (which you really should be), it's a peace of mind exercise.

Just get in quick!

Margie