Getting found starts with the right name.

Your website name is a business decision. It is the name people hear, remember, recommend and type into a search bar. A strong name gives your promotion somewhere to land and can make every mention of your business work harder.

A descriptive name can help people discover you while looking for what you offer, even if they have never heard of your business. A distinctive brand name gives people something recognisable to search for when they want you specifically.

That is why the domain deserves serious thought before you spend heavily on design or advertising. The best choice should fit your audience, communicate the right idea and give you room to grow.

You can combine both approaches: a distinctive brand supported by a descriptive tagline, page titles and content that explain exactly what you do.

Finding a good name is harder when many short, useful domains are already registered. Some are being used by businesses; others are held for resale. Domain trading can put an attractive name beyond the budget of a new business.

A name needs more than an available web address. Search it before committing. If the results are dominated by unrelated businesses, established products or similar spellings, you may have to work harder to make your identity clear.

Look for a name with a strong connection to your idea and enough distinction to stand on its own. Keep a shortlist and test it aloud: can someone hear it once, spell it, remember it and tell another person where to find you?

• Check the exact name and likely spelling variations in search.
• Check your preferred domain and the social handles you intend to use.
• Think about the countries, languages and audiences you want to reach.
• Avoid names so close to another business that visitors could confuse you.
• If a domain carries a premium price, weigh its fit and commercial value against your whole launch budget.

Distinctiveness belongs in the website itself too. Give people a clear reason to choose you: a useful service, first-hand knowledge, original tools or a better experience. Make that difference obvious on your homepage.

Your name gets stronger when your pages explain it clearly. Give every important page a relevant title and a description written for the person deciding whether to visit.

The page title

Say what the page is about and include the brand where it helps recognition. Put the most useful information where it is easy to see. Avoid repeating keywords or giving every page the same title.

The meta description

Summarise the page, explain its value and give visitors a useful next step. Search engines may use this text in the result snippet, or choose a passage from the page that better matches the search.

Use a concise title and description that read well. Character counts are useful editing guides; display space varies by device and search result. Focus on clarity rather than treating 60 or 160 characters as an absolute rule.

Keep the main heading, homepage description and site name consistent with your actual offer. Domain words can contribute to relevance, alongside page content and other search signals.

Support the name with pages that answer real questions. Explain what you do, who it helps, where it is available and what someone should do next.

• Be original. Add your own examples, experience, product details, photographs or useful tools.
• Make it easy to use. Keep navigation clear, text readable and important actions obvious on a phone.
• Keep pages fast and accessible. Compress images, use descriptive image text where needed and organise content with meaningful headings.
• Help discovery. Link relevant pages together, publish a sitemap and allow public pages to be crawled.
• Build a reputation. Earn relevant mentions and links by offering something useful. Keep business details accurate and content current.

Apply the foundations across search engines. Use their tools to check what has been discovered and indexed, then improve the pages people actually need.

Check results for both your name and the services people search for, in the countries you serve. A search for your exact brand and a search for a broad service answer different questions about your visibility.