I'm sure many of you have logged onto your favorite domain registrar and searched without success trying to find a domain. You may have come to the conclusion that every single domain must have been registered.
Cyber-squatters have made it a complete nightmare to find suitable domains, even the complete abstract domains with random syllables are disappearing like hot cakes! These guys have no intention on creating a relevant website but hope to make a large profit when they resell the domain to the highest bidder. They also generate revenue from these domains with pages filled with advertising links and I'm sure you've all seen them when you have mistyped your favourite websites URL.
Back to the point, finding a domain name can be tough but not impossible! There are many tools online which can make your life much easier.
When you can't find the domain you are looking for generally have two options
Expired domains Premium domainsExpired domains as you may have guessed have not been renewed and are available again for registration. One mans junk is another mans treasure! My favourite place to look for expired domains is at DomainHole.com. Click on the expired search link in the navigation, choose a short keyword and the maximum length of the domain if you wish and there you go! DomainHole will display a list of domains that have expired and which extensions are available. The only downside is that there is no option to exclude offensive words (DomainHole please take note), so be warned!
If you don't have any luck with expired domains, my new favorite domain name search is DomainsBot.com. They don't list expired domains but domains that are available or for purchase at a premium price. Don't run for the hills at the word premium, they really don't have to cost an arm and a leg. The sky's the limit when it comes to the pricing of some domains. Generic one worded domains can fetch tens of thousands of dollars but there are plenty that range from well below $100. When it comes to finding the perfect domain, paying a little upfront is worth it. Note, that this is a once off fee and you will be charged your normal domain registrars rate when it comes to renewal.
What I love about Domain Bot is that it lists so many relevant variations with the keywords you have selected. It's the perfect brainstorming tool if you don't know where to start. Just type in the keyword or if you want something a little more abstract, type in a bunch of syllables you would like to use in your domain. There a host of filters on the left hand side such as sorting by price and excluding hyphens & numbers all of which make it super easy to narrow down the results.
What to do when you've found that perfect domain?
If it's available, great! You can go to your favorite domain registrar and register your domain name immediately. Presto, you are done! If "make an offer" is displayed, you can easily do so. Generally the owners of these domains are expecting a higher price. Making an offer is usually done through Sedo and will require you to sign-up and verify who you are to make sure the offer is valid. It can be a little involved but this sign-up is only required once. Lastly if a premium price is listed you can purchase the domain immediately, usually through either GoDaddy or Sedo. Don't worry you can transfer the domain to your registrar at a later stage.Before you purchase that premium domain!
Before you whip out your credit card you can try contact the owner of the domain directly to try negotiate a better price.
You can do this by going to: http://www.whois.com/whois/yourdomainhere.com
This will list the contact details. I've managed to save a third of the price for a domain I was interested in, so it's definitely worth it. You know what they asking so you can go in lower. Shifty maybe, but I say it's just being thrifty!
Good luck and happy domain hunting!
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