14 Strategies to Use If Your Desired Domain Name isn't Available.

There are many challenges of running a business or maintaining a popular personal profile online in the recent digital era. One of them is acquiring a proper domain name connected with your popularity or in tandem with the whereabouts of your business.

There have been instances when the domain name you sought has already been taken. So what will be your next step? Kindly read this article topic on “11 strategies to use if your desired domain name isn’t available."

1.  Try Finding the Domain Name at Auction and Marketplaces

If you are not able to get the contact number of the owner of your favoured domain name, try finding the same on a domain auction site/marketplace. The names can be found on advertisements or generic pages. Usually, owners list their domain names at auction places. Some of the top auction sites are

• NameJet
• Bido
• AfterNic
• Flippa
• Sedo

The advantage of visiting these sites is, even if you had not found the favoured domain name, chances are a good alternative may be found

 2.  Perfect and Exact Domain Name

Kindly note, that there is no rule that to succeed in business you should have a perfect domain name in tandem with your popularity or the industry. What really matters, is the amount of work you put in your website according to the recent technological changes, the speed of the website and the content. For example, Amazon, the e-commerce giant has a river as its domain title and not words such as bestecommercesite or onlineseller, correct?

3. Know The Tricks Of The Trade

If you have a trademark or already have an existing business that is synonymous with your desired domain name, then you can use them to your advantage. You have purchased the trademark in the first place so the law considers you as the person who gains the right to possess the brand name.

If your business has been set up before the domain owner has purchased the favoured name, then you possess the right to make the owner discontinue from using it and you may also stake claim to the same term for acquisition. In this case, you can file a cybersquatting lawsuit or infringement.  

4. Buy It

A very easy and simple tip, except for the option not many throw their hats in the ring. They search for their favorite name on the register site, and when they find that it has already been taken, they move on to the next name in the bandwagon.

However, you can check with the owner by knowing about his/her details on Whois.com or whois.net and then contact them to know about their price. Or else you might seek the services of domain registration name brokers to get your desired name.

The DomainTool Domain Monitor can track changes in the registration status, and when you find that the owner has not renewed for the next term, you can buy the name.

5. Include A Verb To The Desired Domain Name

If the domain name owner refuses to part with his./her name, then you can add a word (verb). The advantage is you can even use the name in the URL and not search for other alternative options. The popular verbs that are added to brand names are “get” "go" and “try.” The best example will be – getmytrip.com

6. Add A Word That Is Short And Synonymous With Your Brand In The URL

Ask.com is and company started serving from 1996 by David Warthen and Garrett Gruener with the domain name of askJeeves.com in 2015 after considering few things and changes it acquire another domain as ask.com in 2016, which served their service purpose for decades. However, you have to ensure that the word added does not give a negative or funny impression neither miss the niche on which your business or proficiency is based on.

7. ccTLD

A .com extension is always sought after by everyone, but you can also consider a ccTLD in the country of your residence. Although, the name .us did not make a splash in the domain names, however, .co.uk, .com.au and .de (more preferred) have touched pinnacle heights. For example, The Eugene, the luxury apartment in the New York City still uses the abbreviation NYC in its domain name.

8. Other Alternate Options with domain extension - .Net, .Info, .Biz or .Org

If you have not got a .com there are options you can use other domain extensions such as .Net, .Info, .Biz or .Org and etc. However, kindly ensure that you know the challenges you will have to face for using a suffix with a name that already has a .com name.

9. Other Options With Synonym Tlds

In many cases, kindly note if the domain name is already registered, you have less chance of acquiring a .com. However, you have to work hard at building trust, so add a TLD that is synonymous with your services and easy for the customers to remember.

For example, the popular website Lipsy.TV which was created for online store has the TLD.tv in its domain name. But tv actually means related to video streaming site. so latter on the lipsy.tv redirected to lipsy.co.uk which is the primary site of this brand.

10. Domain Hacks

There are many popular sites such as Matthew Mullenweg’s blog which uses the rule, and if you are after a trendy domain name, it can work wonders for you.

For example, Visual.ly but which is easily understandable and easy to spell. However, if you have the name ma.tt you will have the disadvantage of getting looked over by search engines.

11. Adding Abbreviations

You can add words in the form of abbreviations to your domain name to get a .com. For example, Fox Plumbing and Heating website is FoxPH.com.

12. Catchphrase

People easily grasp catchphrases in their subconscious mind and they can make perfect URLs. For example, Musician Gareth Emery’s online radio show that is Electric for Life uses this URL.

13. Hyphens

To get a favorite name, you can use hyphens in the symbol, although many enthusiasts will balk at this idea. However, some popular sites are Merriam-Webster.com and Go-Gaia.com.

14. A new brand name

You may have to put the brain cells to work again, but after failing to succeed in getting your desired domain name, you may definitely choose a better one. Do you know that Google’s first name was BackRub?

Conclusion

Agreed, a .com is trusted by most online users, but the public are also getting used to other TLDs and other domains extension. The new domain names may take time to get registered in the minds of people, but they are definitely here to stay.