How to Register a Great Domain Name (Even if the One You Want is Taken!)

May 21st, 2008 | Posted in Getting Started | No Comments

So you’ve decided to launch a new website, and now you need to register a domain name to go with it. Unfortunately, when you do a search – the .com name you really want is taken. Should you register a .net or .biz domain? What can you do to get a name your visitors will remember? Keep reading for the insider tips to getting a great domain name – even if the one you want is taken!

Back in the early days of the web, savvy businesspeople learned early on that once you register a domain name – you can own it for as long as you pay the yearly fee.

In those days, the fee was $100 or more per year for just one domain name (that same $100 could buy you around 14 domain names today!) so the “early birds” who embraced the web first got the prime online real estate: one-word, easy-to-remember “dot coms.” Words like golf.com, realestate.com, and others were quickly snapped up.

As word quickly got out, the next wave of domain name registrations spread like wildfire. Business owners everywhere grabbed their piece of the Internet pie before their competitors. Soon, even domains as ridiculous as bbbbbbbbbbbb.com were being gobbled up as the availability of names ending in “.com” became less and less.

These days it’s likely that every dictionary word out there has been taken. Who has use for all these names? Many of the people registering them are domain name speculators – folks who register heaps of attractive names in the hopes that someone will pay a handsome sum of money for them.

Call it an unfortunate “side effect” of the web – but since they were “first”, there’s really nothing you can do if the name you really want is taken and for sale, short of paying the (often outrageous) fee to get it.

The good news is that you can still get a great domain name that may even be better than the one you originally had in mind. Plus, the new name you come up with may have some unusually good benefits to go along with it! Here’s what to do:

• If the name you want is already taken, consider adding on an extra word that describes what you do. For example, let’s say Jane wants to start a bakery, but JanesBakery.com is taken.

She could register something that specifically tells what kind of baked goods she has (and since domains are as cheap as $6.99 each, you can register a lot of different ones for different products!), she could register JanesBirthdayCakes.com, JanesHomemadeBread.com, or JanesBakedGoods.com to name a few.

Think a little about the products you offer and see if there are domain names related to each of the main ones.

The great thing about this is that if someone types into a search engine “Birthday Cakes” or “Homemade Bread” – since your site has those words in it, it will likely be in the top search results as opposed to having just registered “JanesBakery.com”

• Register a name that doesn’t have your business name in it at all. For example, if Jane’s fictitious business name is Jammin’ Jane’s Bakery, but JamminJanes.com is taken, consider a domain name like HomemadeBakeryBread.com, or GourmetChocolateChipCookies.com.

Domains like this don’t have your business name in them, but if someone goes to a search engine and types in “gourmet chocolate chip cookies”, you can bet your domain will be high in the search results – if not the number one spot!

• Look for deleted domains – Sometimes, for whatever reason, people let their domain names expire. When this happens, the name eventually gets re-released into the public and can be registered again.

You can find these domains by searching for your ideal keyword (like “bakery” or “baked goods”) on sites like www.domainsbot.com, www.justdropped.com or www.deleteddomains.com

When you search for deleted domain names, you can do a “Power Search” or an “Advanced Search” to specify if the name should be a certain number of characters, if it should exclude numbers or hyphens, or even where your searched keyword should appear in the results.

As a side note – this method was exactly how I found the domain iElectrify.com back in 2002.

• Don’t Bother with .BIZ, .NET, .INFO or .NAME – Most people will immediately end a web address with “.com”. Unless you’re a definite non-profit organization (.org), go with .com wherever possible. Other domain name endings like .biz, .net, .info and .name often confuse potential buyers.

Just imagine saying the domain name out loud on a television commercial. That’s widgets-dot-name! Huh?

With these tips in mind, you’ll probably come up with dozens of new ideas for a great domain name. The good news is, in just a short time you’ll be able to snag a great domain name that’s unique and memorable, without shelling out a hefty fee to domain speculators who “got there first”. Good luck!