Naming your drop shipping store and its visual appeal are key to your business success. There are many reasons why customers might choose to shop at a drop shipping store. It’s all about the vibe you create in and around your store, which is made up of several elements:
- The way you provide your customer service;
- The way you communicate with your potential clients in mass media (blogs, social network accounts, etc.);
- The message you transmit to your target audience through your brand identity.
And that’s why it’s really important to cover such aspect of creating brand identity for a drop shipping store as its naming.
Drop shipping store naming: general ideas
Basically, drop shipping store naming is one of the first steps of creating a new venture.
As soon as the drop shipping business niche is chosen, naming becomes quite a challenging issue. People commonly ask what should they do – if a drop shipping store sells really different items, how can they find a name that would suit them?
Here’s a list of the main ideas you need to follow during the drop shipping store naming process.
What should you do during drop shipping store naming?
Never forget about SEO
It may sound obvious, but for an online store, the traffic is mostly generated through search engines. This is why it is a good idea to choose a name that contains the most important keywords. Or, at least, it should be really similar to them. This is how you can be sure that people looking for this or that item or product category will see your store name in the search engine results page. That will work especially well in case your drop shipping store has a really narrow and specific niche.
Think about your domain name
It’s typically recommended to have a domain name that matches your store name. It is really logical, because when Internet users visit your store, they expect to see something similar to what they have just read in the title. Also, again, it’s really good for SEO and for generating healthy organic traffic.
At the same time, your domain name should be relatively short and clear, and also it shouldn’t be already taken by someone else! Don’t forget about it.
Use your imagination
As you’ve already understood, it’s the best idea to include a keyword into both your store name, and the domain name. So, you need to carefully think about all the keywords that are relevant and good working, and write them down. Take that list, and try to make a name out of every keyword you’ve chosen.
Still, if your product offer is too diverse, or if none of the keywords makes a good name, try something different. After all, even if you don’t include any keywords in the store name, you can still do a lot for SEO if you later use these keywords on product pages, in meta descriptions, etc.
So here’s the same question again: how can you make up a drop shipping store name if you don’t rely on any keywords?
To answer this, think of the following: what would communicate the style of your store and the overall message you want to deliver?
Here we are going back to the atmosphere of your drop shipping store and the ways to reflect it in your branding.
What is your store like?
Is it classy? Is it cute? Is it masculine? Is it punk?
How can you tell your audience about it? What can your customers expect from your store and their overall shopping experience? Consider this really carefully because that’s your starting point.
When you get an overall understanding of the message you want to convey, it’s time to get creative.
You can’t create a catchy name on the basis of your product offer, keyword, or a store image? Play with words!
For example, you can grab a dictionary and look for synonyms for these words. Any related, analogous and similar words can work great for a successful drop shipping store naming.
Still no ideas?
Okay, then, pick a name that has no relation to your products at all. Yes, that’s also possible. It can be anything, even a variation of your name or nickname. You can even use an imaginary word: make up something that doesn’t actually exist. Why not? At least it will be exotic and unique! It will surely draw the attention of your clients, and they will memorize it really easily.
Drop shipping store naming checklist
So you think you’ve found (or invented) the right name. To make sure it’s exactly what you need, ask yourself these simple questions:
- Is this name taken?
You need to check if somebody else has taken this name or something really similar. You don’t want your customers to get confused. Also, if your store name closely resembles some trademark or a well-known company, you will likely bear some legal responsibilities.
- Is it easy to remember and spell this name?
It should be easy for people to type in this name without errors. Also, the essence of drop shipping business means that anyone from any country on the globe can buy something from you. People who don’t speak your language should also be able to type in this name and find your store.
- Can you go global with this name?
The global nature of drop shipping business means that you should be really attentive about the meaning of your store name. Will it sound silly or offensive in other languages? Of course you can’t check it in all the 3,000+ languages that exist in the world, but you can go for at least the top 10 most spoken languages.
- Is a suitable domain available?
As you remember, it’s best to get a domain that is identical or really similar to your store name. This is why you need to check if you can buy one.
- Can you promote this name in social media?
It’s wise to use the same name for all the social media accounts because it works great for your brand recognition.
Basically, you need to look if someone has an account in social media with a name that looks like yours. It’s definitely not good when buyers mix up several accounts because of their similarity.
- Can you make a joke or a rhyme with this name?
Rhymes are really easy to memorize, that’s why they are so commonly used in creating names, slogans, and taglines.
- Will this name work well with other products and niches?
One of the main advantages of drop shipping business is its flexibility. As soon as you feel that you’d like to try yourself in a different niche, you can always modify your product offer, or start targeting a new customer audience. But will your store name still work in these new surroundings?
There is no doubt that all the elements of your drop shipping store branding must follow the same idea and concept. This is why drop shipping store naming and design should go hand in hand: that’s how you ensure integrity of the brand image, and that’s how you help people recognize your store and differentiate it from competitors.