Is a Cool Domain Name Still Available

Starting your own blog or website is an incredibly exciting time, but one that can be dulled somewhat when you see that the domain name you want has already been taken. This is especially true when you have spent a considerable amount of time coming up with a catchy name that you absolutely love. The good news is that finding that your domain name is taken does not necessarily mean the end of the road. There are some options available that can make your domain name search end well. Read on to see what you can do to get a cool name with the help of a domain registrar.
When you search the domain name registrar to try and find the name you want, you will most likely search for a.com extension. Finding that the.com name is gone does not mean that it won't be available with other extensions. You could look for.net,.biz,.us and many of the other extensions that are available to you. People are now well aware that.com is no longer the only type of site available, which means they will not necessarily assume that a company that has.com will be the only company of that name. There are still those that do believe.com is the standard, so make sure that the extension you end up going with is visible in all of your marketing materials so that it sinks in with customers.
If your domain web search does not yield the results you had hoped for and you are intent on a.com domain, then it may be time to get a little creative. Let's imagine that you sell golf supplies and are intent on the golfstore.com name but find that it is already taken, think about adding a hyphen to make it golf-store.com. If that is gone, think about thegolfstore.com or some other derivative. The point here is that you can still get a name that is close enough to what you want. Check the domain registrar for all the different options, as you will be sure to find one that fits what you want.
Another thing to consider when you do a domain name search is that someone may have purchased the domain you want, but may not actually be using it. Don't simply give up when you see that the name is taken. Type the domain name into the address bar of your browser and see if a site has actually been put up at that location. If it turns out that there is no site there, you might very well be able to buy the domain from the person who owns it. Check the domain registrar to see who owns the site and to get their contact information. You can then contact him or her and ask if they would be willing to sell the name.
As you can see, a domain name search that seems to end poorly for you can actually still have a positive outcome if you put in a little effort.