Performing a General Web Search Before Deciding on a Name for Your Business
Post #3: Be sure that you don’t choose a name that has already been used (avoid getting into trouble with your new business name)
In this Substack, I will walk you through the process of starting, operating, maintaining, and — if needed — selling or closing your own small business.
Today, I will show you how to verify your potential business name ideas via a general web search.
👉 Subscribe to this Substack if you want to learn how to setup, operate, maintain, scale, etc… a small business. The Journey began with Post #1.
To review:
You decided on WHAT service or product you want to offer, you realized WHY you chose this one [Post #1]; and,
You made a list of IDEAS for potential business names [Post #2].
A Quick & Easy First Step
Performing a general web search is the first step for verification, which I briefly listed in Post #2.
It is best to start with this step because it is relatively quick and easy to do.
Do keep in mind, however, that this is not a comprehensive method of verification — it is just an easy starting point. We cannot rely on this one method alone.
All you need to do is conduct a web search for each (one at a time) of the name ideas you captured in your list.
Top 10 Search Engines
As of September 2024, the top search engines used in the United States, ranked by user engagement (source) are:
Google: Dominates the U.S. search market with a significant majority of users.
Microsoft Bing: Holds the second position, serving as the default search engine for Microsoft products.
Yahoo! Search: Utilizes Bing’s technology to deliver search results.
DuckDuckGo: Has gained popularity for its privacy-focused search experience.
Ecosia: An eco-friendly search engine that uses ad revenue to plant trees.
AOL Search: Maintains a niche user base despite a decline in popularity.
Ask.com: Formerly known as Ask Jeeves, it offers a question-and-answer format.
WolframAlpha: A computational engine providing answers to factual queries.
Internet Archive: Known for its Wayback Machine, allowing users to access archived web pages.
Yandex: A Russian search engine with a modest U.S. user base.
Choose your favorite search engine from the list and see what you can find.
If the name you are searching for does appear in the search results of any of these engines, you can probably cross that name off of your list of ideas.
If the name you are searching for does not appear in the search results, try another search engine just to be safe.
It’s a Numbers Game
It is possible that all of your potential business name ideas have already been claimed.
It’s just a numbers game — so keep trying!
Sometimes, the key is to be creative.
You may need to try a unique combination of letters, numbers, or other characters.
Next Steps
In the next Post, I will go into more detail with a second method of verification.
👉 Continue the Journey with Post #4 —>
