How to Find an Alternate Domain Name

Choosing a domain name that is available can be difficult. Find an alternative domain if your first choice is taken.

You find what you believe to be the perfect domain name for your brand new site, only to discover that it has already been taken. What should you do? Here are four viable possibilities you should consider.

The first thing you should do is check to see if there is a website of the domain name that has been taken. In many instances, you will find that there is none. We actually have quite a number of squatters online. Squatters are individuals who purchase who speculate on domain names, purchasing them in the hope of making a profit one day in the future. You can then explore the possibility of purchasing the domain name from the current holder. Domain names regularly exchange hands in this way for as little as $200. However if the seller is asking for an unreasonable price, just move on and avoid wasting time or money.

The second option you can explore is to simply add a hyphen to the domain name of your choice. This is a very easy and yet largely unexplored way to find a alternative to the name you want. Most special characters are not allowed in domain names but a hyphen is, so make full use of it.

Third, you can use an optional TLD (top level domain). If the .COM suffix or TLD is unavailable, you can consider .NET, .US, or even .ORG amongst many others.

The Fourth option would be for you to think up a new domain name while considering a number of ideas to help you come up with a good one. You can use your service category to find an additional word to add to your domain name that will make it unique and available for registration. Alternatively, you can also make use of an online thesaurus to try and find alternate words that mean the same thing as the ones you chose for your current domain name, which is already taken. Also consider product names, adjectives and slogans in coming up with a new domain name.