4 Effective Strategies To Use If Your Desired Domain Name Isn’t Available

In collaboration with our friends at ShortDot SA

Picture this: you come up with the perfect business name, tell everyone about it, design your logo, build social media hype about your new brand identity, and set up marketing campaigns around it only to realize that the exact match domain name is not available.

What do you do in such a situation? Do you rethink your business name? Do you tweak it? Do you settle for a weird or misspelled domain name? Do you add a hyphen or a few extra letters? Unfortunately, this seemingly small hitch can bring all your ideas, plans, and progress to a grinding halt.

Your domain name plays a crucial role in building your online identity and establishing credibility on the Internet. Your domain name also plays a huge role in determining the success of your marketing campaigns and brand building ambitions.

Fortunately, though, there are some very effective alternatives to deal with the unavailability of your exact match domain name. Here are 4 effective strategies to rely on if your desired domain name is not available.

1. Try our different domain extensions

Every business wants a short, memorable, and meaningful domain name on legacy domain extensions like .COM or .NET. The unavailability of names stems from the fact that these domain extensions have been around for decades, and thousands of websites have their names registered on them. This makes finding exact match domain names or actual words quite tricky.

There are now hundreds of new domain extensions available for businesses to find and register meaningful domain names that match their brand. Certain domain extensions even offer a strong contextual relevance to businesses. For instance, the .BOND domain extension is perfect for finance businesses and investment firms. A name like thefinance.bond is unique, brandable, and communicates a clear message to users.

Several generic new domain extensions like .ICU and .CYOU offer businesses the unique opportunity to register the name of their choice, given that they are relatively more modern domain extensions. If your exact match domain name is not available on legacy domain extensions, it’s wise to look for the same domain name on new domain extensions. Get creative with domain extensions and you can find a suitable domain name.

Who knows? You might find a better fitting domain name with a new extension!

2. Make a sensible adjustment or use a domain name hack

Another smart way to overcome domain availability issues is to give your domain name a creative twist. Add a word that perfectly describes the nature of your business and captures the essence of your brand. For instance, did you know that the electric car brand Tesla used teslamotors.com before they acquired tesla.com?

Similarly, if you are setting up an eyewear brand, ‘Eye See You,’ and eye.com or eyeseeyou.com is registered, you can look for smart variations like eyewear.com.

If all the sensible variations of your name are not available, try a domain name hack. Choose your brand name with a domain extension that completes the rest of your brand name or one that captures your brand message.

Find a domain name like eye.cyou or eyewear.cyou. With a new domain extension that adds a layer of flair and meaning, your domain name will be easier to remember, and your brand positioning is reinforced with a modern domain extension.

3. Pair your brand name with a verb

If the name of your choice is registered on both conventional and new domain extensions, you can consider adding a nifty verb or your location to your domain name. For your finance business, ‘The Brilliant Bond’, you can add a verb like getbrilliant.bond or buythebrilliant.bond. Alternatively, you can opt for brilliantbondusa.com or brilliantbondasia.com.

Make sure to include a verb that fits well with what your business offers, and in case of geographic-specific additions, ensure that you include a broader location, so you have the opportunity to expand to other markets within that area. It’s best to use the names of continents or large countries.

4. Buy your desired domain name

This sounds simple, doesn’t it? However, it may not be that easy if the name of your choice is already registered by someone else. There is a possibility that the owner of your desired domain name might be willing to sell it to you.

In some instances, domain names are bought and parked or left inactive by their buyers. There is a good chance that if the domain name is not in use or up for sale through the original buyer, that you might be able to acquire it.

The caveat here is that most of the time, domain names like these demand a hefty cost, and that might not sit well with your finance team if you’re a new business on a shoestring budget. You can search on online classifieds and auction websites or go through a domain name broker to buy the name of your choice from its owner.

In many instances, you can backorder expiring domain names too. Placing a backorder on a domain name means that if the current owner of the domain name does not renew their registration, you’ll acquire it once it’s available to the public. If more than one party places a backorder on a domain name, the name will go to auction, giving you an opportunity to win the domain.

Finding your domain name

Given the wide availability of names coupled with the contextual relevance that most new domain extensions offer, opting for a name with a new domain extension like .ICU, .CYOU, or .BOND is a great way to stand out from the crowd and build a sustainable online brand. If you can’t find the domain name of your choice, the four techniques mentioned above will definitely help you choose the best domain and build a strong online presence!