Why It’s Hard to Find a Good Domain

With nearly 1.7 billion websites existing today, finding a decent domain isn’t an easy task.

11:14 17 July 2021

This difficulty is especially true as the number of websites continues to climb daily. For those individuals trying to launch a new company, finding a high-quality domain at an affordable price isn’t the most straightforward task. There are many reasons a website domain isn’t available. Depending on the domain and suffix, a company, individual, or organization may already own the domain. Likewise, for domain addresses that are popular or would be popular in the future, resellers are quick to purchase domains in bulk for a profitable resale.

 

How to Check if a Domain is Available?

 

Currently, there are websites available online that can help you determine whether or not a domain is available for purchase, free of charge. This domain availability checker will run through registration platforms, among other areas, to establish the status of the website you’d like to buy. Once complete, you’ll have real-time results of domain registrations. Typically, these checkers are different from registration checkers (those identifying the domain’s purchaser). While one will reveal the owner of a website (registration checks), the other will offer real-time results of the domain availability.

 

Reasons Your Website Domain Isn’t Available

 

It- Currently being used. In this situation, a company or individual has purchased the domain and is using it. If the website is current and active, it may be easiest to choose another domain name. Typically, these domain owners are unwilling to sell as their brand or company is attached to the site.

 

- Parked Domain. A parked domain serves as a point of contact, directing viewers to a primary website. Individuals will park domains to protect their brand and redirect traffic from similar sites to their main website. Owners of parked domains are likely unwilling to sell the website domain as they serve a distinct purpose.

 

- Reseller Purchase. These domains are typically purchased in bulk by one account owner at a discounted price. Many times, resellers will own hundreds of domains hoping that someone wants to buy it down the road. If the domain you’re interested in is a resell domain, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to purchase. Resellers will often inflate the domain depending on desirability, readability, and demand. The cost of these domains can vary significantly from marginally increased to thousands of dollars to buy.

 

- Purchased But Not Used. Often, these domains are purchased by an individual hoping to start a business or company that falls through. Maybe they don’t know how to create a website, perhaps the hosting has lapsed, or maybe they were impulsive and bought without thinking. These domains are often easily purchased for cost or a slight increase.

 

- Expired Domains. An expired domain isn’t quite for sale and isn’t entirely sold. These domains are often purchased under a set time lapse (for example, two or three-year contracts). Typically, hosting companies will automatically renew the domain if there’s a credit card on file. If the domain expires (meaning they have not renewed), the original domain owner is given a period to repurchase the domain before it becomes available again. If there is a domain you’re interested in that’s recently expired, consider contacting the domain holder. Chances are, important domains are on an auto-renew policy with their hosting. 

 

Be warned, reaching out to the current domain holder may allow you to purchase the domain, but it may also remind the account holder to repurchase the domain. The repurchase of the domain will prevent you from buying the domain unless they choose to sell.

 

How to Find a Good Domain Name

 

Finding a good domain name is a matter of researching, brainstorming, and considering other options. While many website domains ending with .com are taken quickly, different domain suffixes are still available. With the proper marketing, search engine optimization (how easily a search engine can find your website), and determination, these less common suffixes can perform at an equal level to the original .com website. If you’re committed to a .com suffix, try different variations of your preferred domain name. Sometimes adding a few words into the domain is all it takes to find an available site.