Identify The Auction Websites That You Want To Use
When most people want to sell a domain, they do so through a third-party platform. If youve ever browsed websites for sale, you may already be familiar with some of these platforms.
Take Flippa, for example. Its one of the most popular platforms for buying and selling websites, apps, and domains:
Using Flippa, you can put up domains up for action. As a buyer, you can check out what auctions editors recommend, sales that are close to ending, and more.
Another popular option for buying domains is GoDaddy Auctions. On top of being a web hosting provider and registrar, a lot of users go through GoDaddy to list and sell their domains:
Sedo is another well-known registrar that also enables customers to sell domains through their platform. If you use Sedo, you can access curated domain auctions, peruse domains that are close to expiration, or browse direct offers:
As you can see, the vast majority of public domain sales occur through auctions. For a private sale, its normal to come to a private arrangement. However, if youre putting a domain up for sale and you dont have a buyer, an auction is the most logical way to extract the best price the market can offer.
How Important A Domain Name Is For A Website
A domain name is an identification string that locates an organization or any other entity on the internet. For example, www.arsenal.comlocates an address for arsenal.com at the internet point 199.0.02and a host server named www.
The com part of the domain usually shows the purpose of the organization. For example, commercial in the above domain name. This is a top-level domain name.
One of the key aspects of establishing yourself online is choosing the right name for your website.
The domain must be eye-catching and easy to recall for anyone who sees it. However, there might be a glitch in that after picking your perfect domain name and selecting a hosting provider you find that the name is already registered by someone else.
If you are fixated to this name, then you will have to enter the world of after=market domains.
Speculators have been known to purchase registered domains with no website associated to them and banking on making a profit by selling them later on to future buyers.
This makes buying an already taken domain name thats not used a tricky process, however, this doesnt mean all hope is lost. In reality, it requires you to go about it in the right way to increase your chances of getting the domain.
We have come up with a step by step guideline that will help you increase your chances of getting a domain name thats already registered and not available for registration.
Find A Custom Domain For Your Site
Whether youre working on a blog, an online portfolio, or an online shop, Mailchimp offers custom domains that can make all the difference to your online presence. And theres no reason to stop there. Use Mailchimp to build your website and connect it to our all-in-one marketing platform to really make your offerings stand out from the rest.
Learn more about how to get a free domain name from Mailchimp and how our offer compares to the competition.
You May Like: How Much Is Wix Domain
How Do I Check If A Domain Is Available
We also offer a Domain Backorder service, where you purchase a backorder credit to give you a chance to get the domain you want when it goes to auction.
How To Purchase A Domain That Is Already Taken
Jeffrey is the Co-Founder of Saw.com, focusing on domain sales and acquisitions. Visit www.Saw.com if you want to purchase a domain.
getty
Youre starting a business or undergoing a rebrand, and youve come up with the perfect domain name. The only problem is that the domain is already registered. In this case, you have one of two options: You can either choose an alternative domain name, or you can fork over the cash to the current owner. If your heart is set on your first choice, this article will explain how you can go about acquiring that domain.
Beware of buying the same domain with a different top-level domain.
One unfortunate occurrence I see all too often is when buyers decide to go with a different top-level domain of their first-choice domain. At first glance, this strategy makes sense. After all, its the same name, and its much cheaper! Registrars like GoDaddy.com and Domain.com will often suggest this option when you search for a .com domain that is already taken.
It is a fact that internet users typically enter .com at the end of the domain name when they type into the URL bar. This means if you decide to go with a .net or a .biz, users who end up at the .com could have a much harder time finding you. All in all, I believe its a better decision to pay up for your first-choice domain, and if that doesnt fit your budget, go with a different name altogether.
Visit the domain to see how its being used.
Find the owner of the domain.
Registration date.
Also Check: What Is A .io Website
What’s A Domain Name And Web Address
A domain name is a unique name corresponding to one or more IP addresses .
A web address reflects a domain name , and is sometimes referred to as a URL or Uniform Resource Locator.
A web address is how people find your website on the internet. People can type your web address straight into a browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Safari on their computer, or into the internet application on their smart phone or tablet. People using a search engine like Google or Bing can also find your website by typing in a question or keywords, and searching.
You may also use your domain name in your email address To set up an email address you’ll also need to purchase an email service or hosting, which is different to registering a web address.
Registering A Domain Name
You register your domain name with ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, through a domain name registrar. You’ll pay an annual fee to the registrar , and decide whether to renew it prior to the anniversary date.
Some commercial web hosting companies are willing to pay for your domain name and the registration fees. Sounds generous, but just make sure that they actually register it and list you as the owner. Otherwise, register the name directly with a domain name registrar and have you or your business listed as the administrative contact, technical contact, as well as the owner.
Direct ownership prevents the web host from charging you a crazy fee for the domain name in later years and taking away your ownership rights. The other contacts are less important, but may still be useful, depending on your registrar. For example, for some registrars, the administrative contact’s approval is required before a domain name transfer is executed. If he/she cannot be contacted, the technical contact is used.
Overall the key here is to make sure that you are actually the owner of the domain name. In past years most companies either sold domains or offered web hosting, but seldom did both. Today most companies will offer multiple services including buying domain names, offering web hosting etc.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to register your domain name with the same company you host your website with.
You May Like: How To Unlock Godaddy Domain For Wix
Change The Domain Ending
So maybe the .com version of your domain name isnt available. Thats not too surprising. After all, .com is far and away the most saturated domain ending, which is to say, youre far more likely to find any given .com registered versus any other domain ending.
If the domain you want is taken, then one option you have is to register it with a different domain ending. But not all domain endings are created equal. There are three main types you can choose from, and you might choose each for different reasons or to serve different purposes. Lets take a look.
Add A Verb To Your Domain Name
This is a popular method of getting around a domain name thats already taken.
There are two big benefits to this technique.
First, you can still use your brand name in the URL itself. Second, you dont have to consider different TLDs.
Verbs like get and try are popular choices as additions to domain names.
For example, Pocket uses getpocket.com:
These also tend to look a lot nicer than some alternative TLDs, and theyre usually easier to remember.
You May Like: How Much Does It Cost To Buy A Web Domain
Modify The Domain Name
Your first and maybe most obvious option if the domain name you want is already registered is to change it slightly to try to get around the exact domain name you wanted being already taken.
There are a few ways you could change your domain name to change it enough that it doesnt significantly compromise the meaning of your domain name but still makes it different enough to register.
Scene : When Its An Active Or Partially Active Website
In the second scenario, when verifying if your dream domain is taken, a web page does show up. An active website with content, a coming soon page, and the like.
Since this domain is attached to an existing website, what do you do?
Obviously, seeing a website might suggest that the domain owner isnt ready to sell it. But reach out anyway.
Find their contact on the website and reach out. Alternatively, use a whois lookup as we discussed in the section before this one, to find their contact details.
Remember, you dont have to spend thousands of dollars to get a perfect domain name if you dont have that budget. So if the domain owners are demanding more money than you can afford, walk away.
You May Like: Who Owns Domain Name Checker
What Can I Do If My Domain Is Taken
See if the taken domain is for sale
Sometimes, the domain name may have been purchased by a legitimate business owner, but they never ended up doing anything with it. If thats the case, you can use the Domain.com WHOIS lookup to explore if you can contact the owner of the domain and purchase it at a fair price. You may have to pay a premium, but its worth a try to grab the perfect domain.
Try an abbreviated version of the domain
You can still get the point across and convey your brand by using an abbreviation of your business name in the domain. For instance, instead of www.AcmeCompany.com, you may opt for www.AcmeCo.com.
The easiest way to try out abbreviations is to open up your word processor and create a list of potential abbreviations. Then, copy and paste that list into Domain.coms Bulk Registration tool to see what is available.
Use a new top-level domain
Without compromising the integrity of your domain name, you can simply change the domain ending . Of course, the most used top-level domain is .com, but you have a variety of top-level domains at your fingertips, including .net, .biz, .co, .business and more. Using a top-level domain that applies to your business will help to further convey your brand and the products or services you offer.
Use a tagline or slogan instead
Consult a web design expert
How To Register A Domain Name With Bluehost
Bluehost is a web hosting company based in the United States. Like Hostinger, it also offers a domain registration service. It even includes a free domain name for one year in its most affordable subscription, which costs $3.95/month.
Besides the generic TLDs, this hosting company has a wide array of alternative extensions for various niches such as .ink, .photo, and .guru. While theyre not as popular as .com, they can be an excellent touch to make your website stand out.
To get a domain name from Bluehost, open the Domains page on the site. Then insert a keyword paired with your desired domain name extension on the search bar.
The page will reveal if the domain name is available. If not, choose one of the other options below.
A .com extension costs $12.99/year, which is the average price. On the other hand, the privacy and protection service is $11.88/year.
Click Proceed to start the checkout process. Bluehost will offer to bundle the domain name with a 30-day free trial for a shared web hosting service and a free SSL certificate. An email service plan with Microsoft 365 is also available, ranging between $2.99/month and $3.99/month.
Press one of the Proceed buttons to complete the order. Fill in the billing information and choose a method to pay for the domain name registration fee.
Once done, Bluehost will send a verification email to your inbox to validate the domain ownership. Click on the link, and the domain name should now be usable.
You May Like: How Much Should A Domain Name Cost Per Year
How To Contact A Person Who Currently Has A Domain
If you perform a search for a domain thats already registered, you can click on the domain information” tab which may show you contact information. Note that CIRA protects the personal privacy of individual registrants unless they specifically approve having their contact information displayed in the WHOIS system.
If no contact information is displayed, CIRA has a tool called a Message Delivery Form, which enables people to send an email to the domain registrant without revealing what the registrants email address is. People can use this form to send offers for domains. A word of caution: there are a few scenarios where it may be better to go through a domain name broker.
Web Hosts And Domain Names
You needn’t go to a dedicated registration service to buy a domain name, though. The best web hosting services, such as DreamHost, HostGator, and Hostwinds routinely offer a registration mechanism as part of the sign-up process. Hosting services typically offer a free domain name when you sign up for a web hosting package.
Keep in mind, however, that free domain names are usually free only for one or two years, after which the registrar will bill you for the annual or biennial fee. In other words, the provider of the free domain name pays only for the first billing from the registrar. Also take note of whether or not the provider charges a fee for setting up a domain name. Most services offer to transfer an existing domain name to their servers at no cost, but sometimes you’ll find a setup fee over and above the registrar’s fee.
Please note that not all web hosts give you the option to register a domain name. Cloudways, for example, is a solid web host that requires you to purchase a domain name from elsewhere.
Registrars offer a wide variety of registration durationsone year, three, five, and even ten. Be careful about registering for more than a year, though. First, there might be restrictions on your ability to transfer the domain name should the registrar give poor service. Second, the registrar could go out of business, leaving your domain name without a host. Check the policies closely.
Read Also: Where To Sell Domain Names For Profit