Let's face it. Many of the simple, easy to remember domain names
have already been taken. So what do you do if you have a product
or business name that you want a domain for, and it's already
taken? There are several different options.
Many domain name registrars will also suggest alternative names
if your domain name is taken. Go Daddy is one of those
registrars. Those names are generally not imaginative, and may
or may not work for your business. The suggestions consist of
adding the following words to the front and/or end of the domain
name you requested: online, home, site, web, live, best, new,
my, the, official.
I have run into some cases where that worked fine. My personal
web page is
www.thepriebes.com. In that case, my wife and I
ended up liking that option even more than our original choice.
Another example is this very blog. I originally tried for
www.GetASite.com. (Terrible design work on that site, by the
way.) As it was taken, the domain name
www.GetASiteOnline.com
was suggested.
Of course, you can try your own variations of this. One
possibility is to tack the name of your city on the end. Two
examples include an Arcade in Oklahoma City
(
www.cactusjacksokc.com) and a non-profit organization that
provides free clothing to needy children
(
www.urspecialedmond.org). Another is to use some word that
works well with your industry. I was designing a site for a
comic book called Haven, and haven.com was taken. We ended up
going with
www.havencomic.com.
You might also simply change the domain to something more unique
about your company. If PetStore.com is taken, you can try for
VisitOurPets.com, or something like that. The key is imagination.
If you absolutely must have a specific domain name, remember to
check some of the less used domains extensions. (Remember, an
extension is the .com or .org, etc.) Some to check include .us,
.biz, .info, .ws, .name, .tv. A complete list of top-level
domains is available at the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
website. However, not all domain registrars sell all the
domains.
About the author:
Tim is the owner and senior web designer at
T&S Web Design. His
company has developed and maintained website for dozens of small
businesses and organizations. Tim also maintains a blog with
free website advice for small business owners,
GetASiteOnline.com.
