It is getting more and more difficult to find good names for companies. The URLs for most common words are privately owned and often carry a hefty price tag. As a result, many entrepreneurs are now in the business of creating words. This can work really well for startups, but only if they keep a couple of rules in mind.

First, the name should be phonetic. This way when someone hears about the name from a friend they can likely spell it when they get to a computer. Similarly, when people read the name, they should know how to pronounce it. Otherwise there will be a lot of people butchering your company's name.

Second, the name should only have a few syllables. Long names are more difficult to remember and more difficult to spell correctly. You want to make it easy for your customers to remember and find your company's name on their first try - they may not try a second time.

Third, the name and URL need to be available. Technically, this means that no other company with a similar business is using your company's name. You should scrub the internet and corporate listing services to make sure you are the only one using that name in your industry.

Finding out if the URL is available is easy to do. Go to GoDaddy.com or one of its competitors and simply search for the URL. It will tell you if it is available. If it's not, you may be able to find out who owns it.