What to Do When Your .COM is Taken?

Ever thought of the perfect name for your brand or idea only to find out the exact .COM domain is taken? With 150 million+ plus .COMs registered, there is a chance someone snagged the domain before you. Here are a couple of ideas to help you navigate this sticky situation:

Widen the Net

Try adding a prefix or suffix to your original search term. Instead of Phoenix.com, try something like PhoenixeOnline.com or the industry you focus on eg: PhoenixDryCleaning.com.

While you can get creative with prefixes or suffixes, remember to keep it simple. We strongly recommend avoiding hyphens and numbers as they tend to confuse users, especially if they hear the domain on the radio, or from a friend. 

Go Local

.COM may be the popular choice but local ccTLDs, city-specific domains are serious contenders too. If you or your business are based in Australia domain extensions like .COM.AU, .NET.AU may be right for you. Oh, and there are city-specific options like .SYDNEY, .MELBOURNE that would be just right for a restaurant, boutique, or more in the city. There’s a whole list of these depending on where you are located.

SEO Experts at Moz.com state – ccTLDs are the single strongest way to show search engines and users that site content is specifically targeted to a certain country or region.

Look Beyond .COM. Personalise It!

Industry and Vertical Specific: You can find a descriptive domain ending depending on your goals. If you are setting up a website for a pub, you could register something like PoorRichards.pub or even EverybodyLoves.beer, instead of the boring BusinessName.com. There’s a domain ending for almost every industry, you can be as broad as .ART, .DESIGN, .TECH, .TRAVEL or be as specific as .PLUMBING, .MARKETING or .DENTIST.

Selling Something?: If you are an E-commerce business, you’ve got .STORE or .SHOP to choose from. They indicate right you are an online store even before the user visits your website.  These look especially good on your business card & stationery.

Use a Domain Hack: A domain hack usually means splitting a word into two to find the exact domain. eg: Easi.ly instead of Easily.com? There are 10+ domain endings to make you stand out from the crowd.

Broad and Global: You could also try to find the exact search term in other generic domain endings that don’t tie you to a certain location of industry. You can choose from .GLOBAL, .ONLINE, .XYZ, or trusted old-timers like .NET, and .ORG.

Alternatively, find out if your .com is listed for sale on Afternic, Sedo, or by contacting the existing owner. An already registered domain could cost you a few hundred to thousands of dollars, assuming the current owner is interested in selling the domain.

Hope these choices help you continue your online journey and find a domain as unique as you. We also have a definitive guide to different kinds of domains that can help you find yours.