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What If Your .Com Domain Name Is Taken?

What will be the best option if you miss your .com extension

It is very crucial for a business to maintain an active online presence to connect with their customers and maintain a healthy customer relationship. Did you know the “domain name” you select can also affect the customer engagement of your website? That’s why most of the business owners, entrepreneurs and startup founders are concerned about getting a .com domain name for their business website as .com domain names are more beneficial than any other alternatives that have been introduced by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

When selecting a domain name, it is advisable to get a domain name that matches with your brand name or business name. This is also known as exact match domain name.

So what to do if the .com domain name is unavailable?

As 47% of global websites are using .com domain names for their business and non business websites, most of the time the domain name you search to register is unavailable. It could be either registered already or reserved by someone else to be purchased in the future. When this happens, most of the entrepreneurs give up their .com domain name and search for the alternative domain extensions. Before going to that step, we want you to try the following suggestions to see if there are any chances to recover your .com domain name. Because it is really worthwhile to get a .com domain name specially if you are a startup founder.

What will be the best option if you miss your .com extension image

“Don’t forget to renew, once you purchase your .com extension!”

01. Try Purchasing It

If your dream .com domain name is taken, you have few options you can try before giving up. Trying to buy the domain name is the best option. Even if you found out the domain name is not available, it is worth it to see if you can buy the domain name from the current owner. If you don’t have a huge capital to buy the domain name, there is still a way to make it. How? There are some domain names that are left to inactivate and even expired. In cases like these, you can buy the domain name for a lesser price. So it is always worth it to check further even if you find the domain name is not available.

02. Use an extra word with your Brand Name

Another option you can do is to use an extra word with your brand name and go for the .com extension with the extra word + brand name. This extra word could be a generic word or a keyword you are targeting.

For Example-:

  • If google.com is not available you can go with gogoogle.com
  • If facebook.com is not available you can go with thefacebook.com

But Brinso does not recommend using extra words. No matter if it’s a generic word or a keyword.

One of the best examples for generic word + brand name combination has happened with Facebook. The previous name of Facebook was thefacebook.com but they rebranded their name to facebook.com

Also, the previous name of the SEO giant Moz was seomoz.com as they’ve included their keyword SEO to the brand name.

But later they rebranded their name to Moz.com because google does not recommend using keywords to the brand name.

Another reason why we do not recommend this action is that it makes a sound of imitation. Imitation goes under the violation of 10 brand name qualities. So in a way, this is something search engine unhealthy.

03. Use Numbers or any other special Characters

You can use numbers or any other special characters with your Brand Name. It will help you to get the .com domain extension. It is the plus point here and the minus point is with the making brand popular in usage.

This is also not recommended.

For Example-

  • Amazon96
  • _faceb00k
  • Goo-gle
  • Face-book
  • Ama-zon

 But if you are targeting Chinese or Japanese market you can use special characters

For Example-:

  • (Lùyì Wēidēng) — Louis Vuitton
  • (Gǔqí) — Gucci
  • (Ādídásī) — Adidas
  • (Jīnggōng) — Seiko

Pros of Rebranding with a special character/number

  • It will help you to get a .com domain extension if you missed it with your Brand Name
  • It may avoid the “slurl” issue.

Cons of using special characters/numbers

  • It is an extra character to your brand name.
  • It will be difficult to keep remembering as almost everyone is using Brand Names without special characters.
  • Advertise problems may occur in the medium of radio and word of mouth.
  • Do not have any reselling value compared to others.

You can learn more regarding using a hyphen with your brand name.

04. Use synonyms for your brand name

You can use a synonym word for your chosen brand name. You may get a wide range of options.

For Example-:

  • If your chosen Brand Name is myriad.com you can use one of the following synonyms. multitude, mass, throng, host, droves, horde, oodles, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, zillions, gazillions, bazillions, gobs

Here in this case also using keywords or words which are similar to any other popular brand is strictly not recommended and we have to care much about the vocabulary score too.

 

05. If you have more than one word in your Brand Name try to rearrange the order

You can use this option only if your Brand Name contains more than a word. You can rearrange the order of your brand name.

For Example-:

  • If your Brand name is Googlepro and if you did not be able to get .com for it you can try Progoogle instead of Googlepro.

But we do not recommend using more than one word as your brand name. Look at the most popular brands in the world. Each and everyone using a single word as their Brand Name and also many Popular companies who used more than one word changed their Brand Name into a single word Brand Name.

  • BackRub turned into Google
  • Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web turned into Yahoo
  • Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo turned into Sony

06. Use alternative Language for your Brand Name

You can use alternative language for the brand name you chose. It is not a perfect idea you may not like the suggestions but surely you can get some new Brand Name ideas.

For Example-:

  • If your chosen Brand name is Music.com and if it is not available you can use gaana(which means music in Hindi).

But using keywords for your brand name is not recommended.

What can you do if you need the exact brand name and .com extension along with it?

You have the following options.

01. Use of Acquisition Service providers.

You can look into a site like namekart.com that provides this service and explains your desire. They will handle the process after making the contact with the present owner of the name and make a transfer of the ownership if the current owner agrees.

They will charge a service fee for this.

But still, a brand name with history is against the brand name qualities.SEO advice is not to purchase such.

02. Direct contact with the owner on your own

If you can handle and do the discussions of purchase on your own then you can refer to a site like Whois and find the owner and related details. Then have your own way of purchasing directly.

An additional fee for a service provider is not expended here but in case if you are new to the field this can’t be recommended because you may end up with a higher price or maybe deceit.

03. Another mistake!

Some don’t pay attention to the expiry date of their brand name once they purchase it. Sometimes if a person stays for such a chance to own it you will lose your legal ownership unless you do not take the immediate steps to renew it just as it expires.

There are incidents in which famous companies have met with such issues.

07. Use Acronym Method

If your brand name has more than one word you can use the first letter of each word and create a word with those letters. There are many organizations using this method currently.

Ex -: 

ACL – American Consultants League

ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union

IOC – International Olympic Committee

FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency

HUD – Housing and Urban Development

NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

We do not recommend this method to those who want to start a new profitable business. Most of the non -profit organizations are using this method.

08. Using any other domain extension

Another option you can do is using any other domain extension except .com. The domain extension you choose will depend on the nature of your business.

  • If you are an internet service provider you can use .net instead of .com
  • If you are running a non-profit organization .org will be a perfect match
  • If you are targeting a local area you can use the country extension
  • If you are targeting something related to education you can go for .edu

But Brinso does not recommend these options if you are planning a serious business. Most people think using .net will help you to replace .com but that is wrong. .net is being rejected by many people. Studying more about .com and .net will give you clarification and an idea about what is best among these two.

According to SEOClerk If there is an option to choose which domain extension is good among .net and .com definitely it is .com.

.net was introduced nearly two months before .com but still .com is the king of all the domain extensions. You can learn more about .net from Wikipedia.

09. Rebranding

If all the given options don’t work for you, this is the final option you can try. Rebranding. You could have chosen the world’s best brand name but no one really cares about it if you do not have the .com domain extension with you.

People only care about the following points

  • Are you the official brand owner

According to surveys, more than 95% of users think .com domain name ownership represents the brand owner. If you are using any other extension it may cause trust issues among your customers/clients.

  • How easy to pronounce, remember & type your Brand Name​

People really do not care about the length of a Brand name as long as it is Pronounceable and easy to remember.

Currently, there are many Brand Name reselling websites as well as Brand Name generators available, yet choosing a brand name that is easy to pronounce and type is pretty much hard. However, if the vocabulary score of your brand name is above 6 it’s a good brand name.

Brandroot, BrandBucket, Novanym are some of the popular brand name reselling sites. There are millions of brand names over there but you should be wise enough to choose the best with a high vocabulary score as well as for a low price. You should consider the Brand Name qualities too.

Currently, Brinso is the only Brand Name Reselling site with the lowest price you can find in the market today.

Pros Of Rebranding

  1. You can attract new customers with a new brand name
  2. It is a second chance to evaluate your brand mistakes and design a better brand name
  3. It allows you to achieve new goals for your business

 

Cons Of  Rebranding

It’s true that rebranding can cost you more than the branding itself. But the cons we listed below other than the cost could be minimized with a proper rebranding plan that could save your loyal customers without losing their trust.

  1. Your tendency of losing your current customers is very high.
  2. It confuses your customers.
  3. Customers lose the trust in your brand name.
  4. The cost of rebranding is high.
  5. It requires a lot of research before you start the process.
  6. It can be hard to go back.

10. Add a Verb

You can always try to add a verb for the domain you have chosen. You can use verbs like “get”, “more”,” try”,” fly” etc.

Ex -: If your chosen brand name is “Click” you can go for an option like “GetClick”

Benefits Of A .Com Domain Name

This is why 47% of global websites are using the .com domain name as their online mark. 

  1. .com is one of the original domain extensions ICANN introduced. So Not like many other newly introduced domain extensions, .com is recognized by both new and old internet users. 
  2. .com domain names provide trustworthiness in customers towards the website that the website they visit is not illegal. 
  3. The customer feels secure visiting your website when it is registered with the .com domain name.
  4. Research proved that 90% of internet users assume that your domain name ends with a .com domain extension. 
  5. You become the legal owner of the domain name which gives you the ability to get legal actions if someone uses your brand name. 
  6. .com makes your domain name unique.
  7. .com has a high reselling value compared to the alternatives.
  8. Having .com shows that you’re a well-established company.
  9. The .com has no specific requirements related to TLDs.
  10. Provides you worldwide access.
  11. It encourages reputable companies to link to your site.
  12. .Com guarantees your site to be found on the web.

FAQ

  • How to get a domain name that is taken?

If your domain extension is not available, you can try to get it back by contacting the owner, but here you should make sure that the domain extension you’re requesting has not been used before for any purpose till now. You can visit www.whois.net and check who is the real owner of the domain, so it will help you to contact them and try to purchase it. 

  • What is best if .com is taken?

In a situation like this, the best option you have to do is to go for another brand name idea. If the business that you are starting is a profit-gaining business, owning the .com domain extension is very important. If it’s a nonprofitable business you can use .org and if it’s related to the education industry you can use .edu. But all the brand name specialists in the world recommend using the .com domain extension if it’s a profit-gaining business.

  • When should you use the .Net domain extension?

In some circumstances, the.net extension is still appropriate. If you provide internet, networking, database hosting, email hosting, or other comparable services, you might use it.

You may even wish to choose an a.net domain name if it is genuinely appropriate for your brand.Behance.net, for example, is a popular online design community that uses an a.net domain name for their website. It’s perfect for them since they wanted to be a network of artists, designers, and businesses searching for talent.

The.net domain extension is used by less than 4% of all domain names registered.