Step 7 of 8
The Right Domain

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[Thanks. - The Nameloader Team]

Master of your domain
In many ways, a domain is like your virtual business location. And as with real-world business locations, you may be locked out completely from in-demand locations, asked to pay a premium, or forced to re-think and settle for a location that’s not your ideal choice. This reality is compounded by the fact that every month, tens of millions of new domains are registered. Many by people with the sole intent of reselling those domains at huge markups to people like you. That’s why finding the right domain name can be a major mind bender.

To begin, ask yourself:

• How big a role does your domain play in your idea’s success?
• Does your idea depend heavily on online marketing and sales?
• If you can’t afford the exact domain of your name, is it worth going back to the drawing board? Or editing your name to work?
• Is it OK to merely own your desired name plus a modifier? Say, for example - instead of coremonics.com, you’d settle for coremonicswidgets.com?

If your desired domain name appears to be taken, here are some alternative strategies to consider:

Revisit the Nameloader Mix Names Feature
The name “stone.com” is taken. But using this feature, we created “dartstone.com”, which was a freely available domain at the time of this writing. This name may be less desirable than pointing people to “stone.com” - but hey, you can’t always get what you want.

Sacrifice spelling
Appealing names are easy to spell, read and pronounce. You may need to sacrifice the spelling of your name to find a short domain - just as these websites did:

Go weird or go home
Names that sound weird are less appealing to most people. But nowadays, there’s a growing number of companies taking weird names to sustain their brand on the internet.

Make an Offer
There’s a tiny chance your desired domain is already for sale through a domain aftermarket. In this case, make an offer directly through that market. Here are some services we recommend:

You desired domain may be parked, redirected or in use for some amateur purpose. In this case, you can offer to buy it. If you plan to negotiate a deal yourself, know how to negotiate confidently. You want a smooth and friction-free transfer of that domain into your ownership. Otherwise, we suggest you call for back up. Find a third party like service Sedo.com. We’ve yet to use this service ourselves - but it’s the largest domain aftermarket company, offering a brokerage service that makes offers on your behalf.

Click here to learn more

Add a modifier
If your big idea can succeed without a super-short and appealing domain, register a domain with a modifier. For example, instead of coremonics.com, try a domain like coremonicswidgets.com or coremonicsinc.com. To view a list of modifiers, go to the Mix Names feature on the Nameloader. Hit the “Get Ideas” button above the bit boxes.

Go to Mix Names feature in Nameloader

Choose a different TLD
Does the nature of your business depend heavily on .com as a TLD? If not, consider alternative TLDs to increase the chances of owning your desired domain. Try a country-specific TLD, such as .us, .ca. Or, others like .net .info, or .biz. To view and change your TLD options, onthe Nameloader Edit & Rate Names page.

View/change my TLD in Nameloader

Situation 4: coremonics.com is not for sale, nor is it being used for credible purposes

Consider risks of:

1. Customer confusion between their domain and ours (more on this below). Customers may get a bad impression, thinking we’re not in business
   
2. Uncertainty over the domain later down the road. If it’s purchased by a well-funded competitor, we’d loose customers or end up in a legal dispute. If it’s acquired by a business with negative associations (porn, hate, spam, virus, etc.) our name will be tainted by the association when people search for our site by memory.

More things to consider…

Freak Spellings
Beware! Some names can make for horrific domains. The chances are low, but the humiliation would be oooh so high. You want to avoid travesities of this sort:

Name: Pen Island
Domain: penisland.com

Backordering

If you have to use a modifier or misspelling, backorder your desired domain. Backordering is a low-risk way to try and grab the domain, if and when the owner lets the registration lapse.

Visit snapdomains.com to learn more

Protect Your Domain
There are several ways to protect your domain from others trying to taint your name:

>Buy alternate spellings of your domain - just in case cusomers don’t know how to spell your domain. For example, to protect coremonics.com, we’d buy up: cormonics.com, corminix.com, coremonix.com

>If your domain is fairly short and appealing, purchase legitimate modifiers to discourage others from using your trademark as a name. For example:

Don’t Do Dashes (But Buy Them)
If you’ve got a name that forms two or more words for your domain, then buy and use your domain without a dash. (For example, strawberryfrog.com or coremonicswidgets.com). However, still buy the domain with dashes — strawberry-frog.com and coremonics-widgets.com — to prevent others who may want it. This reduces customer confusion, if people accidentally type in your domain (with dashes), but end up on someone else’s website.

Spelling Your Name and Domain
If your name is two or more words that form a hard to read name or domain, use camelback spelling when you write out the name or domain. TLDs are not case sensitive, so don’t worry about case being an issue

AreaAlpine.com instead of Areaalpine.com
TurnStone.com instead of Turnstone.com

Don’t accidentally let your domain expire!

• Register your domain for as long a period as you can
• Stick a reminder in your calendar - well before your domain expires
• Ensure that your email and credit card are up-to-date with your registrar. Stay informed, so you can easily autorenew your domain when the time comes

Check & buy my domain in Nameloader

Learn more Branding How-To: 8. Trademarking