Domain Name Registrars

GoDaddy.com - There are many "discount" domain name services, but GoDaddy provides excellent service along with good discounts.

Register.com - One of the largest domain registrars on the web, but there are certain aspects of their services that we do not think are as user friendly as GoDaddy.

directNIC - Another large domain registrar.

How To Find Available Domain Names

There are several services which provide lists of available domains, but the advanced search on GoDaddy.com is one of the best. 

To see how the advanced domain name search works, please go to GoDaddy.com and type in a well known domain such as yahoo.com and hit "GO".

On the next page it will state that the name is taken, but underneath will be a link titled "See more names like this..." Click the link and you will be given a new set of results.

We don't really want variations of yahoo.com, so click the link at the top of the results titled "Additional Results (click here for other variations)".

It is on this page that you can search for thousands of domains relating to your business. We recommend the following settings: .com only, 100 results per page, do not allow hyphens, do not allow numbers, maximum of 15 characters. If you get too many results, try a maximum of 10 characters.

Next, enter the word or part of a word in the "Domain Name Contains" field and run a search. You should be able to find hundreds, if not thousands of domains relating to your business using the criteria above.

Domain Name Tips

Purchase a ".com" domain name extension. If you are running a business, even if you aren't, stick with .com domain name extensions. The only exception to this are country extensions. If you are from another country, then selecting the appropriate name extension is recommended.

Research trademarks similar to potential domain names. It is extremely disheartening to spend a great deal of time developing a web presence only to lose it to trademark violations. Chances are if you are buying a .net, it is because the .com is gone. If there are any similarities between the business, you could run into trouble in the future.

Select a unique, single word domain. Many people believe the "good names" are gone. Even if every .com name was taken, which is far from the truth, thousands of expired domain names become available each day.

Don't use hyphens or dashes in a domain name. Everyone knows the importance of first impressions, and your domain name is one of the first impressions most visitors will see. Dashes and numbers in a domain name somewhat infers you were not able to get the domain name you wanted, or you are utilizing multiple keyword domains to generate traffic. 

Anyone can throw up a website these days, and visitors are looking for any signs they can as to the validity of an online business. Domain names with numbers and dashes in them are a good indication of a "lesser" business. 

If you already have a well established business and are only looking for a web presence to explain your business, then long domains, or ones with dashes or numbers may work well for you.