What If The Perfect Domain Name Is Taken?
Domain names are getting harder and harder to come by. You can spend countless hours performing keyword research and settle on a domain name that is perfect for your business only to find that when you’re ready to purchase it the domain name is already taken. There could be any number of reasons why this happens:
- Someone else had the same or similar idea that you had
- A domain name taster purchased the domain name
- A domain name investor purchased the domain name for its resell value
- The domain name has been in use for years
If you find that someone has a domain name that you wanted, visit the website to see what is on it. If there is a website on that domain name you can check the WhoIs information and see when they purchased that domain name. You’ll know right away whether it is a new website or an old one. If the site has been there for more than a couple of years, there is a good chance that the owner is making money on the site or plans to keep it. If the current owner purchased the site within the last year then there is still a chance that they will let the domain registration expire. You can sign up to receive a notice when a domain name expires and be the first one to purchase it if it does.
If there is no website on a domain name that you want you can contact owner and see what they want for the domain name. If it is a domain taster I’d walk away and not give them anything at all. They likely will ask for inflated price anyway. If they can’t make any money on the site within five days they will give up the domain name and you can have it anyway. So subscribe to the expiration notification.
If an investor has the site you can contact them ask what their price is. Be sure you can evaluate a domain name’s value and don’t overpay. Some investors are reasonable. All they want to do is turn a profit on their investment. If you can evaluate a domain name’s value and reach an equitable agreement then you can have your domain name after all.
If you can’t reach an agreement with the current owner of a domain name that you want and you are ready to start your business then you’ll have to get another domain name. Look for domain names that are similar to the one you want, that use your important keywords or branding concept, and that will help you attract the targeted visitors that you want. Many new domains are being sold on a concept I call phonetics now. Instead of spelling a word the way that it is normally spelled, the domain name purchaser will drop a vowel or get creative, as in the case of del.icio.us or ma.gnolia.com. Flickr is the example of the dropped vowel type domain name.
Whatever you decide to do about your domain name, make sure it makes sense for your business.
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