Checking domain availability
There are several tools you can use to check for an available domain name. A tool like the one we suggest below will allow you to check your domain name’s availability with most of the common and some of the new top-level domains.
If your desired domain is available, you can proceed to purchase it. If not, don’t panic! You have a couple of options and we will describe them below in the Premium Domains section.
Purchasing an available domain name
Once you’ve determined whether your domain is available, you will want to purchase it from a domain registrar or web hosting company. Some web hosts will register a domain name for you for free (usually for one year) when you buy a web hosting services from them, while others will do it for you, but you’ll have to cover the registrar fees (an annual fee of $10 – $15 for the “.com” domain).
It’s a personal preference whether to register the name directly, with a domain name registrar, or with the web host. In any case, you want to make sure you are assigned as the owner, the administrative, and technical contacts for the domain name you purchased. If you are buying multiple domains, it might be easier to use one good registrar. But, if you are buying a domain name and planning to make a website or use it for custom email purposes, it will be easier to go with the hosting company (hosting account) and keep everything under one roof.
One thing’s for sure. You have to find a reliable company to register your domain with. There are hundreds of companies available and we will recommend you the best ones from our experience, both registrars, and hosts.
If you decide to pick a company on your own, here are some things to consider when choosing one.
ICANN-Accreditation
Your domain registrar should be accredited by ICANN, a non-profit organization existing to define how the domain name system functions and expands. They coordinate unique identifiers across the world to ensure the web is truly worldwide.
When choosing your domain registrar, you will want to check out the price and top-level domain availability (everyone does .com, but not everyone does specific country top-level domains and the new topic-specific top-level domains).
Here are recommended domain registrar and web hosting service:
Domain registrar – NameCheap
Web hosting company – Bluehost
Premium domain names
If you are trying to get a cool short domain name, chances are high that this name will be taken. Don’t give up too soon, though, many of these domains are up for sale and waiting for their new owners. If you are ready to spend extra dollars, spend time doing research, and negotiate with the seller.
The tricky part about purchasing domains is that you cannot really estimate the value (as you can with cars, phones, computers, etc.) for your negotiations. Salesforce.com paid $4.5 million for the domain name Data.com. Folks from WebFlow were able to buy the webflow.com domain for around $3,000. Recently we’ve helped our friends to find the domain name BoldGrid.com for the regular price of $15.
Each case is different, but, if you’re willing to spend some time and money, you could get the domain name you want rather cheaply. We’ve detailed the process below.
Is it for sale?
You may find that your intended domain name is reserved but available for sale at a premium price. Don’t just settle on the asking price for a premium domain. See if you can contact the seller or service to negotiate a lower price. This tactic is especially effective if the domain has been on sale for a long time.
Your intended domain name may be reserved but available through an auction, such as Godaddy Auction, Sedo, or NameJet. You’ll need to find the desired name and monitor the auction to ensure you get the best price and beat any competing bidders.
Another possibility is that your intended domain name is reserved, but not in use, not publicly listed for sale and not up for auction. If this is the case, try contacting the domain owner to see if they’re willing to sell it. See if the contact details are listed on the site. If not, you can try to find it by looking up the domain owner’s information using a Whois search. In 40 to 50 percent of cases, you’ll find the domain owner information there.
If you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, you can use a broker to buy a domain for you. Some brokers have established relationships with the major domain investors. But remember, a broker will charge a commission rate of 10 to 15 percent of the total sale price.
Research the seller and domain
Does the seller have a documented history of previous sales? Does he have a blog or social media profiles that could give you insight to his standing, views, and opinions? What is his favorite breakfast cereal? Every tidbit of information you can gather on the seller could help you in negotiations.
Before you purchase an already used domain, you will want to see what has been published on that domain in the past to ensure it has a good reputation. You don’t want to purchase a domain that has hosted adult content or has a bad backlink history that you may have to clean up. Use Archive.org to see what content has been on a website in the past and use Cognitive SEO Site Explorer to check backlinks. If something looks suspicious don’t buy it.
Your new domain is going to be your branded business name. You need to ensure that future social media profiles are available. Use Knowem.com to quickly check profile availability for your new brand and instantly reserve handles from services like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. It’s probably not a good idea to buy a brandable domain if its corresponding social profiles that are already taken.
Closing the deal
Be patient when buying a premium domain, the process is completely different from simple domain registration. Rarely will you immediately reach a mutually agreed upon price. Sometimes waiting on a deal for a few weeks and checking with the owner later will result in a success at a better price.
If the price is too high, try to work with the owner to agree on a “lease-to-own” or “partial payments” deal for the domain name. This way you won’t need to pay a big chunk of money up front.
If the owner has agreed to sell the domain, try to get the agreement in writing if possible. Or better, draft and sign a purchase agreement with the buyer. This will legally dictate the terms of the purchase and protect both parties. Next step, you’ll have to make the payment. Don’t just wire money to the buyer once you have reached an agreement. You need a secure transaction to protect you from any fraudulent activities. Use a secure service such as Escrow.com to close the deal.
You’ve got a lot to think about right now, so there’s a final piece of advice you should follow: Don’t rush it. But don’t procrastinate too long, either.
Conclusion
And, finally, don’t stress out. These are all tips to make your experience a little easier and avoid potential problems. Keep in mind that it’s all about you and your brand. If you look around, you’ll find successful sites that have broken almost every one of the rules we’ve laid out in this guide. (Although no one site has broken all of them, as far as we know.) Google would still be a giant if they’d called it Zugzut.com or Goohoo.com. Good branding makes things easier, but it’s still up to you to build it.
It may be a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun, too. The First Site Guide team would like to wish you good luck! If you need help with your choice just contact us.
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