Fit
Why a name reached you
We write about a name only when one company stands out as its natural owner. This page says what kinds of names we keep and how that company is chosen, so you can judge the reasoning yourself.
The kinds of names we keep
All of them are .com, all are real words people already use, and all describe something a business sells. We do not keep invented brand names, hyphenated names or names that lean on someone else's trademark.
We do not publish a list. The name you are asking about is almost always the one in the note you received; if you are after something similar in your own field, say so and you will hear plainly whether we have one.
- Product words
The plain name of a thing sold online or in stores: a kind of cookware, a type of skincare, a piece of outdoor gear. These suit the brand that leads that product or wants to.
- Category words
A word or pair of words for a whole shelf, not one item: the category a shopper types when they have not picked a brand yet. They suit an online shop that sells across that shelf.
- Service words
What a service company does, said the way customers say it. These suit an operator with several locations, or one planning to grow beyond its first city.
- Market words
The name of a group of buyers, a trade or an occasion. These suit a company whose customers already describe themselves with that word.
How the company is chosen
What we look at before writing
Before a note goes out, Claire reads the company's site, its products and how it describes itself, and asks four questions. If the answers are weak, we do not write.
- Does the name say what they sell?
Not something close to it, not a word that could be stretched to fit. The name should be the thing on their own product pages.
- Would they use it?
As the main address, as a second address that forwards to the main one, for a product line, or for email. If we cannot picture any of these, the fit is not there.
- Could it confuse anyone?
If the name would point people toward a competitor's trademark or a different business with a similar name, we leave it alone.
- Are they the right size?
A company too small to use the name well, or so large that it would never reply to a plain email, is not a good match. We look for the ones in between.
We may still be wrong about your plans. If we are, say so and we will not raise that name with you again.
Ask about one name
Type the domain and the contact page opens with it filled in.