Register Your Alberta Business Name

When starting a new business, one of the first things you will need to think about is the name you want your business to be known by.

Every day, people are inundated with marketing on the radio, TV, billboards, etc. It’s really hard to stand out from the crowd, but having a great name that catches people’s attention and gives a great first impression will help a lot.

At Registries Plus in East Calgary, we have a lot of experience with helping people to register new businesses. We would love to help you get your business started on the right foot.

Choosing an Great Business Name

1. Be memorable. A good business name is one that people can easily remember. A lot of your business will come from referrals, so you want your name to be top of mind. Names that rhyme (Max Tax Services, Smart Mart) or alliterate (Hattie’s Hair Haven) or play on words (Tippy Toes Nail Salon) all do a good job of keeping your business top of mind.

2. Be meaningful. A lot of times new business owners will choose something that means something to them. It’s more important that the business name mean something to your customers. A lot of new business owners will chose their own name or initials because it means something to them. While “DJRL Drywall” may be a special name to you because it’s the first initials of yourself, your wife and your two kids, it doesn’t mean anything to your customers and it’s not easy to remember!

For example, you can take a cue from your location (i.e. Martindale Nail Salon, Penbrooke Drycleaners). One advantage of this approach is that people will often google using a location that is convenient for them. If your business has that location in its name, you are more likely to be at the top of their search results!

Another idea is to select a name that reflects qualities your customers are looking for in the service you offer. For a nail salon, you may want to use words like: Gleam, Lavish, Indulge, Lacquer, Shine, Bliss.

3. Be online. These days, internet search results are extremely important to help customers to find you, especially if you are not in a high traffic location. You can easily check out available domain names using a service like GoDaddy and use this information to narrow down your business name selection before you spend the money on a NUANS report.

It’s important to remember, though, that securing a domain name does not guarantee that the name is available to be registered in the province of Alberta. On the other hand, if you find a website for a similar business operating in Alberta using the name you have selected, then you know that this name is likely not available (and you wouldn’t be able to get the domain name either, so it’s not a recommended choice). While we don’t offer domain registry services, we are more than happy to set you in the right direction – just come in and talk to one of our friendly Corporate Advisors.

NUANS Name Search in Alberta

If you want to register a Named Alberta Corporation, you will first need to complete a NUANS Report in our office, for a cost of $52.25 (includes GST). This report will secure your selected name choice for 90 days. We suggest that you choose three different business names and be clear on your order of preference. We will pre-screen your first choice first. If it’s not available, we will move onto your second choice and pre-screen that choice.

If the pre-screen for all of your business names indicates the names cannot be registered, we will allow you to select new names for a nominal fee. We really want to make sure you get the right name for your new business!

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This post was written by Shannon Vander Meulen