Business name different to website name - bad idea?

[CatJumperTwat]

I wasn't really sure which topic to post in!

I'm starting a freelance business where the only 'front' to the business will be a website. I don't want to say the actual business name for obvious reasons, but it's a play on words. E.g. if I were going to design bespoke matches, it'd be called A Bright Spark.

The problem is all the sensible domains for that name (like ABrightSpark.com) are taken. Not by people with the same business name, but by those companies who buy up domains then ask for £££ for them. They're asking a lot more than I want to pay.

I can however get something like BrightSparks.com. But I really want the business name to be A Bright Spark, not the plural. Would it be a bad idea to have a domain that doesn't exactly match the business name?

Most of my work is likely to come from personal recommendations. In reality I'm providing a service rather than a product, and the recommendation would probably be, "I had some great matches made by a woman called Cat Jumper, let me get you her details," rather than "I had some great matches made by a company called A Bright Spark, Google them."

Any thoughts?

Could you use catjumper.co.uk as the address and the business name?

Everybody spells my name wrong, even when they're replying to an email where it's in my address AND my signature. I felt like that would cause even more problems!

Other people providing the same service typically use a business name rather than their own name, too.

It depends OP, for my business I had make sure it all matched as my clients had to have trust in me. (clinical)

It also depends if your planning on using SEO for your advertising, google my business ect is all interlinked and if google feels something is amis it could rank you lower. A different domain is enough to rank your SEO lower.

If it was something like buying matches and I searched A bright spark but the email didn't match I would think that the business had changed names in the past due to difficulties or companies being closed down.

Have you registered as a ltd company yet?

I'll be a sole trader, I think. I'm still in the research stage.

SEO is one thing I really need to look into. It's a very crowded market, it will be a small business (I'll still have my full-time job), and the proposed name is an idiom, so I'll probably never be near the top of the search results. Business will come from people sending each other my details directly, or from sites with directories of people providing my service.

If your business is going to come from referrals, I can’t see why the name of the business matters that much. I understand the pleasure of a clever name, but you shouldn’t let that over-ride sensible business decisions. I use M Williams & Son rather than Mr Windows (not real names!) because they’re better, not because their name makes me smile.

It may all come from referrals but who knows where it will all go. For sure have names consistent I would think
Good luck. A bright spark indeed !

@CatJumperTwat

I'll be a sole trader, I think. I'm still in the research stage.

SEO is one thing I really need to look into. It's a very crowded market, it will be a small business (I'll still have my full-time job), and the proposed name is an idiom, so I'll probably never be near the top of the search results. Business will come from people sending each other my details directly, or from sites with directories of people providing my service.

If I could offer one bit of advice it would be to not get hung up over the name. If your selling matches ( I know your not) A bright spark doesn't tell the buyer you sell matches. You could be an electrician.

It might be worth asking a google ads expert to have a look at what the most used search key words are when some one is looking on google for products like yours. Try and work that in to your name and see if that is available for a domain - this would massively help your SEO for free.

Dont rely too much on recommendations if you want this to take off. They will be sporadic. To keep it ticking along you do have to do some advertising.

Google ads are expensive and they bring clients in but my ad manager did months of work on my SEO (which is free listings on google) so if ever my paid ads were off I would be visible on google on the first page, if you are on the second page of google you might as well be invisible. SEO will list you on google my business also( so if some one types in sandwich shop near me) you will appear as you will be in their location.

If it just something you are going to do as a hobby or pin money I wouldn't think it would matter too much but if this is something you want to really take off you need to be all over it

What about MyBrightSpark, if available?

I agree completely, I'm just unsure how un-sensible it is to use the name I like or if it will make so little difference that I might as well go with it. I'm not sure how I'd feel as a potential client if I went to BrightSparks.com and then the logo said A Bright Spark. I definitely see Evesgarden's point that it could plant a seed of mistrust.

wearebrightspark
getabrightspark

Etc - add a word before.

It would plant a huge red flag and I’d go elsewhere - really because it would make no sense and not sure I’ve bet seen it. I’d assume one or other had gone under and you’d resurfaced with another name and not changed online presence. I’d not trust money with you.

For example -

If I was a chiropodist and my business name was 'Perfect Feet', a lot of people would think I actually sold shoes. The name has no baring really on what I do.

If I changed my name to 'The chiropodist - Manchester'

People would know exactly what I did immediately , it would improve my SEO ranking for free and most likely be available for a domain. People would also search for 'Chiropodist Manchester' and I would pop up on google - for free.

Mine isn't tied to location, so they'd be searching for "name of service," and my little site would be buried way down in the rankings no matter what its name. The top results are all directories (which I'd join) or paid ads.

Thanks all for your posts. Thinking about them and forming replies has made it pretty clear there's no good reason to use the name I want, but there are good reasons to match the domain. I'll go with matching (no pun intended).

Could you have a website name that is completely different but more specific for what you do?

For example, B and W's website is DIY.com.

So, using your example, your business could be Bright Spark but your website could be matchesforsale.com.

The other advantage to this is that on business cards etc you get the idiom name but you also get a website address which sort of explains it - it makes it very clear what you do. I think this is preferable to having a website name that is nearly-but-not-quite your actual business name, as that could just be confusing,

Good luck with it - am intrigued about what your business is now!

Sorry - that should say B and Q. Fat fingers!

I think you need a different name, one that's not an idiom and one that has an available domain. Have you checked whether the name (or a sensible shortening) is available on social media too? Even if you're not planning to use social media, you can't run the risk of someone else setting up an account with the name.

We have a hyphen in our website and our email address. Clearly no hyphen in business name. Our website is needed for credibility and recruitment (informing recruits about what we do and the culture we promote) - we do not win work through someone googling us - it's all won through word of mouth and tenders.

After all your advice and suggestions, and polling some friends, I've bought a domain like BrightSparksMatches.com. It's obvious from the name what the business is, but I still get my pet name in there in some form.

Next up is building the website!