Finding Your Dream Domain Name

Not all the good ones are taken, but many are. Experts suggest you choose your company name first, and go from there

by Karen E. Klein

I am naming a Web startup company, but I'm struggling since so many dot-com domains are taken. I feel that an easy-to-find dot-com domain is critical to the success of my new business, and I also need to have a simple, yet unique name. I want to be easily "Google-able" but also to ensure that I can identify media coverage as it appears and not be confused with other businesses.

—M.S., Waltham, Mass.

You're right, it is getting more difficult to create business names that are free of trademark conflicts and also available as Web site domains, especially in the computer and consulting industries. The problem is that everybody wants the online equivalent of beachfront property, but "It's a little too late in the Internet land-grab to have such high expectations for an exclusive domain," says Steve Cecil, a business-naming expert with Wherewords.com in San Mateo, Calif. "All the common-usage dictionary words have already been registered."

But don't despair. Branding and naming experts suggest that you worry less about your domain name and more about finding the right name for your company itself. Your domain name can be any number of slight variations on your company name, or it can even be another string of words entirely. If it's properly optimized for the major search engines, and you're delivering good value to your customers, your business can still find success.

The Skype's the Limit

Finding a good domain name is helpful, but it won't make or break your business, says Michael Weiss, partner at Imagistic.com, a Southern California software and services firm. "Being able to have santabarbaraloans.com would be great for your branding and name recognition, there's no doubt about it," he says. "But sbloans.com is not bad, and neither is sbmrtge.com."

Cecil agrees, "If you can't afford to buy the beachfront property, another option might be ocean-view property instead," he notes. "Space.com, tube.com, and snap.com were not available—but myspace.com, youtube.com, and snapfish.com were. Google (GOOG), Cingular, and Joost were devised because googol.com, singular.com, and juiced.com were already registered. Skype (EBAY), Zillow, and Kazaa, on the other hand, are fanciful neologisms, which can be imbued with any meaning in the way an empty bottle can be filled with any liquid."

Internet business expert David Ross, of Oak Park, Calif., suggests that you start by choosing the best name for your business without worrying too much about the domain name. Once you've got a business name you're happy with, draw up a list of workable domain names. These may be plurals of your business name, or the name with hyphens, numbers or words such as "pro" or "online" added, suggests Caroline Melberg, founder of Small Business Mavericks. Most important, your domain name should be short, memorable, not easily mistaken for another popular domain, and tough to misspell, says Truman Hedding, vice-president for Internet marketing at Boulevard New Media in Los Angeles.

He Who Hesitates

"Your list should include names that might represent acronyms or abbreviations of your business name," Ross says. Put the best names at the top of your list, then go to WhoIs, which allows you to check whether various domains are in use. Once you find a name on your list that is available, Ross says, register it immediately.

"I like Omnis Network, as a registrar because it's cheap—$6.95 a year—and it accepts checks without any extra fee if you don't want to enter a credit card," he notes. You should also register the same name with a .biz extension, he says.