Why Is My Domain Name Unavailable

What To Do When The Domain Name You Want Is Not Available

Having a custom domain is very important for your business and your online brand. It helps to improve your websites credibility your search engine rank.

Choosing a domain name or URL for your website can be a very simple task. A lot of times your first choice may be already taken. Thats no reason to close shop or think of a new idea. It happens to everyone. There are, after all, over 700 million websites in the world and counting.

Still, there are ways you can still have the domain of your dreams, unless you expect to have something like nike.com, then well, good luck.

1. Try an alternative extensionAs of 2012, there are over 103 million .COM domains registered. It is by far the most popular domain extension. This means, that quite often the .COM domain youre after may not be available. There are other generic top-level domains on offer besides .COM. For instance, .NET, .INFO and .BIZ are all other extensions you could consider. Another great alternative is .ORG for organizations and .EDU is an option for educational institutions.

Or if youre not married to the M you can go with .CO, which started life as a country code domain for Columbia and is now . Some high profile names, such as Vine and Walmart , are opting for .CO domains.

In any case, you dont always need a .COM to have a visible online business.

3. Add a keywordIf your business name is not available as a custom domain, why not add a keyword that explains what your business does?

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Your Ideal Domain Name Is Takennow What

Youve just come up with the best idea ever for a business, and the perfect domain name to boot. When you go to register that domain for your website, you realize its already taken. What do you do?In lieu of cueing those tiny violins, its time to re-strategize your domain naming game.

What To Do If Your Domain Name Isnt Available: 13 Strategies

Its part of the struggle of running a business in the digital age.

You come up with the perfect business name.

You design business cards, start all of the official paperwork, and tell everyone about it.

But when you go online to register the domain name, you discover something horrible.

Your perfect domain name is taken.

What do you do?

Do you give up your perfect name? Do you modify it somehow? Add a couple random dashes or underscores? Choose a weird domain name ending ?

Its one of the toughest situations to face as a business owner. It can bring your progress to a screeching halt.

This situation makes you rethink your entire brand.

The question remains: What do you do when this happens?

Ive gotten this question hundreds of times before, and Ive also heard some solutions to this problem.

Quite frankly, not all of those solutions are good.

Your domain name is a big part of any SEO campaigns you run, and it will affect your performance.

If you make a misstep with your domain name, it can negatively impact your SEO in the long term.

A large amount of your traffic will come from users who search your brand name. Its called navigational search. Thats why its good to use your brand name as your URL.

But if you cant, dont worry. There are alternatives that will still work for you.

Over the years, Ive seen what works and what doesnt. I want to share what Ive learned so you dont have to make any mistakes.

Also Check: How Do I Find Out Where My Domain Is Registered

How To Register A Domain Name For A New Website Without Hosting

If youve already purchased a hosting package, are buying domains to sell, or if youre not sure if youre ready to get your web hosting set up yet, then you can still register your domain through HostGators website services.

Simply go to, then enter the domain name you hope to register into the search bar.

Here as well, youll get a message letting you know if the domain you selected isnt available, along with suggestions for alternatives.

You can search until you find one that is available and then select Continue to Checkout to complete your purchase.

Privacy protection will be automatically added to your shopping cart, but you can choose to remove it before checking out by clicking the X next to it.

Research Your Desired Domain Name

Once you pick a good domain name, youll want to check if the domain is already registered. You can use Shopifys Domain Search tool to see a custom domains availability. Another common way to do this research is through a WHOIS lookup.

Before committing to a domain name, youll want to make sure that no other business is using the same one. There are three ways to check:

• Run a trademark search. Head to USPTO.gov and search the trademark database to see if anyone registered a similar name.
• Check social media. Search Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other relevant social media channels to check your names availability. This will come in handy when you go to create your accounts, too.
• Do a Google search. Last but not least, type your desired name into Google to see if anyone is closely tied to your brand.

Read Also: How To Find Out Your Domain Provider

Include Seo Keywords In Your Domain Name If Possible

Try to use keywords in your domain name search, but only if it makes sense. A keyword in your domain tells search engines what your website is about. If you have a good user experience and quality content, you could rank higher in Google search results.

Youll need to get creative and mix keywords with your brand name to make it stand out. Start with a few broad keywords that represent your products, then add your company name.

If you sell apparel, for example, the term apparel could work well in your domain name. Try the formula + = :

• Sunday + apparel = sundayapparel.com

• Dianes + candles = dianescandles.com or candlesbydiane.com

• Cosmik + masks = cosmikmasks.com

Stick to one or two keywords. More can feel spammy and drive people away from your site.

A great example of this comes from Verve Coffee Roasters, a coffee brand from Santa Cruz, California. It chose the domain name vervecoffee.com, which covers both brand and broad keyword and is memorable and relatable for site visitors.

How To Register Your Domain Name

With over 370 million domain registrations, and a 3% year-over-year growth rate, you want to lock in your domain fast.

If youre starting an ecommerce business, you can buy a domain name when registering your Shopify store rather than searching another domain registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap.

By using the Domain Name Generator, you can find and register a domain name in just a few clicks. This will save you time getting your store live, so you can start selling faster.

If youre not ready to register your domain name yet, thats OK. You can use an auto-generated free domain name: yourstore.myshopify.com. That way, you can design your Shopify store and buy the best domain name for you when youre ready.

If youre not ready to register your domain name yet, thats OK. You can use an auto-generated free domain name: yourstore.myshopify.com. That way, you can design your Shopify store and buy the best domain name for you when youre ready.

Read more:

• Domain Name Services: Which Hosting Provider Should You Trust?

Read Also: What Are The 5 Top Level Domains

How To Pick A Domain Name: 20+ Tips To Consider Before Getting A New One

Step 1 Your business purpose

Before even starting to consider domain names, you should first have a clear idea of the type of website or online business that you are planning to launch.

You can always change your mind down the road, but identifying your main purpose is an essential first step.

Ask yourself what you want people to do on your site. If you are launching a blog, do you want readers to subscribe or share content?

If you are setting up an online shop, do you want your visitors to buy your products or sign up for updates about new stock?

Knowing your goal will also help when it comes time for choosing keywords.

Step 2 Keywords

When coming up with a domain name that will work for your website, start by thinking about the keywords and key phrases that you would like people to use when they search for your site.

If possible, you should try and include one or two of them in your domain name as this can make it more likely that search engines such as Google will list your site first once someone enters these words.

Step 3 Price vs Benefit

Not everyone has the money to buy the perfect domain name, but dont just settle for something because you can afford it.

There are some great bargains out there for $10 to $15.

If you can afford it, go for the premium name but if this is out of your budget dont worry.

Think about the benefits that the domain name will bring and how much traffic it will drive.

Step 4 The meaning of numbers

Step 5 Personal names

Your Domain Name Is Not Working Try These Five Easy Fixes

Mduduzi Sibisiread moreTo fix various PC problems, we recommend DriverFix:

• DriverFix has been downloaded by 0 readers this month.

The excitement of launching your very first website can be stymied by domain issues. Nothing is as frustrating as finalizing the design of your website and launching it, only to be met with a DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error.

Fret not, because youre not alone. Being unable to load your website because your domain name is not working is a fairly common problem. One that is remediable with the following steps in this guide.

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Can A Domain Name Be Different From Your Legal Business Name

Yes, in fact, most legal business names are different from the firms domain name.

This is due, partly, to the three letters after the domain .com, .net, .org, etc which are not typically part of a legal business name.

An example, Studio West Photos is the legal business name, while StudioWestPhotos.com is the domain website name.

Subdomains Of Epizycom Are Unreachable

With epizy.com itself being unreachable, all free subdomains of epizy.com are unreachable as well. There is sadly no workaround for this.

If you do need your website to be reachable urgently, you can of course create an additional subdomain for your hosting using another domain name. You can do so through the Subdomains section in your control panel.

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Why You Need A Quality Domain Name

On its own your domain name doesnt mean much. However, your domain name is important when combined with other aspects and it encompasses a major section of your SEO campaign. You may not think it but your domain name does have an impact on your performance. Your domain name is one of the ways people find you on the internet.

If you choose the wrong domain name it can certainly impact your SEO negatively. A poor domain name may make it difficult for your potential consumers to find you. Or even confuse consumers. This is certainly something you want to steer clear of.

It is also important to keep your domain name similar to your brand name. This is because it is a major way that people search for your business online. For example, our business name is SEO Shark and our URL is www.seoshark.com.au. See! If people search for SEO Shark on Google, our website should be highly visible for users to find.

A quality domain name will add so much value to your brand. Your domain name will also help distinguish the type of branding and the direction of your marketing campaigns. Your domain name reflects your image .

It is recommended that your domain name reflects a keyword of your business. Although it doesnt provide as many benefits as it used to, it is still a good idea . When people search for a certain keyword and you have that word in your URL this will show the consumer that you are a business that provides the product or service they are looking for.

Buy The Domain From The Owner

If it seems like you may be able to buy the desired domain name, your first step will be to contact the owner and, if theyre willing to sell, make an offer. The WHOIS database will be your best resource. If you cant get the owners contact information that way, you might have to go through a domain brokerage like Snapnames or Sedo. Such companies may be able to reach out to the owner and make an offer for the domain.

If youre going to try to buy your first-choice domain name, you should carefully consider how much its worth to your business. Some domain owners will set the price very high simply because they can.

If you come to an agreement with the domain owner, all thats left to do is transfer ownership of the domain, which the registrar will take care of, for a fee.

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Flush And Reset The Dns Cache In Windows

After running this command, a console window should appear with a success message. This solution works on the same principles as clearing your browsers DNS cache. Your operating system also saves DNS information and your browser will sometimes try to use this cached data if it cant find DNS information in its cache.

What Is The Difference Between Domain Speculation And Squatting

Theres no single, definitive definition, but generally squatting implies bad faith intent on the part of the person or company that has registered the domain.

That means they have no interest in or intentions of creating a website for the domain or otherwise using it . That person just bought it to sell it for more than they paid for it .

Domain speculation, on the other hand, involves registering domains that might be useful or of interest, but which dont block an existing trademark or brand. For example, instead of registering a variant of an existing companys domain, a domain speculator would register something more general, like weselldomains.com, in hopes that some domain registrar might want it.

Speculators are often more open about the fact that the domains in their portfolio are for sale, as well. Whereas squatters might set up a basic page to make it marginally look like the domain is in use, or create a parking page full of ads to try to get click traffic for extra revenue until they can sell the domain.

Some squatters own many domains, though some will only target a few, since the more domains you own that havent sold yet, the more money youve invested without return. Speculators often own a large portfolio of domains, targeting various industries with a selection of relevant terms.

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Available Domain Is Showing Unavailable On Weebly When It’s Not Registered Anywhere

Trying to set my domain name and weebly’s search is saying unavailable. On whois.com it shows it’s not registered to anyone and I have the option to buy it there. Can someone help me out please?

Chickensintrees.com

Also, if this gets worked out, can I just buy the domain name without a monthly subscription just yet? I’m no anywhere near publishing

Hi, @chicken.

While logged into your account and on your dashboard, click on the menu on the top right and choose Domains, then click on the “register a domain” button you see there. Enter the domain you want to register there. Does it let you continue if you follow those steps?

Regarding your plan, we don’t have a way to let you publish with a custom domain without publishing. One thing you could do, though, is publish using a free Weebly subdomain for now and then assign your domain once you are ready to pay for an upgrade.

Using A Domain For A Website

We need to start with the most common use that everyone on the web interacts with in some way: websites. Within this category, there are thousands of different types of websites – all of which have their own unique domain name. The sheer diversity of websites is one of the most exciting aspects of being on the internet. Looking for novelty socks? Funny animal memes? Stock investment recommendations? There is something for everyone. With that said, there are some more frequent website archetypes that I’m sure you’ve come across.

Retail stores will build their online counterpart to make sales to users on the web – creating ecommerce websites.

Individuals will develop their own brand and share their stories through blogging websites using their own domains.

News distributors will have their news content websites to help users stay informed globally or locally.

Informational hubs will create wiki websites to compile information on one topic or on thousands.

Brands and businesses will represent themselves through their brand websites.

Catalog sites, video sites, video game sites, online discussions/forum sites, social media sites, coupon sites The list is almost endless and, if you search hard enough, you can find a website that fits with what youre looking for. This takes up a large portion of what domain names are known for.

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