{"id":21403,"date":"2017-10-05T09:12:38","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T09:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freelogoservices.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/05\/domain-name-taken-solutions\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T16:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T16:55:19","slug":"domain-name-taken-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freelogoservices.com\/blog\/domain-name-taken-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Domain Name Taken? Try These 7 Clever Solutions Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a long time coming, but you\u2019re finally ready to launch the business you\u2019ve been dreaming about for years! Your plans are set, you chose the perfect company name, and you\u2019re itching to start promoting your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, wait. You use a <\/span>domain name search<\/span><\/a> tool only to find yourcompanyname.com is not available. How could your domain name be taken? <\/span><\/p>\n

It happens. Short .com domain names can be hard to come by these days. <\/span>The number of domain registrations worldwide has surpassed 329.3 million.<\/span><\/a> While you might think your name is superbly original, many of the \u201cgood\u201d names are already taken. <\/span><\/p>\n

It could be that someone is already using it for a website, or they just liked the name and wanted to claim it. Maybe they have a future business idea that they haven\u2019t yet pursued. There are several reasons why your company name may not be available as a .com domain. Don\u2019t panic \u2013 you have options!<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, you can try to purchase your domain from the current owner if they\u2019re willing, but you\u2019ll be limited by how much you\u2019re able to pay. Sometimes that just isn\u2019t a practical option.<\/span><\/p>\n

Note: Before you buy an alternative domain, make sure someone else isn\u2019t using your business name. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

If your dream business name is already trademarked, you don\u2019t want to step into legal issues or cause customer confusion. This may be a sign you need to start fresh with a new name.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there are no trademark infringements on your business name, but the .com domain you had in mind is taken, there are plenty of ways to get creative. Grab a team of co-workers or friends and start brainstorming with our list of seven clever things to do if your domain name is taken.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Insert words before or after your company name<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s say your ideal domain name was holisticmarketplace.com. You could start by trying theholisiticmarketplace.com or myholisticmarketplace.com. Experiment with variations that tend to work with your business name, but keep it as simple as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Add an action word<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a simple modification, but this can be a real game changer. Let\u2019s take Ralph\u2019s Pet Food as the company name. You can\u2019t find any other businesses by that name, but ralphspetfood.com is not available. <\/span><\/p>\n

Play with add-on verbs like getralphspetfood.com, shopralphspetfood.com or buyralphspetfood.com. Not only does it work, but it provides a not-so-subtle call-to-action message.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Include a relevant term that isn\u2019t quite<\/em> your company name<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s say your company name is Filter Photography but filterphotography.com is not available. Play around with ideas like memoriesbyfilter.com, filterphotographypro.com, or filterpics.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Try incorporating geography (if it makes sense)<\/h2>\n

Incorporating cities, countries \u2013 even states won\u2019t work in every case, but it can be a relevant way to narrow down your domain options. Let\u2019s say you have a Nashville-based country band named Old Blue Truck but oldbluetruck.com is taken. Instead, nashvilleoldbluetruck.com could work.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Come up with an all new word<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a fact that there\u2019s a lot of competition for domain names that other people might think of. You could always redesign your domain or business name completely by inventing a new word. Think about it. Google pulled it off! So did Zillow and Zazzle and Yahoo…<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Kick-start your creativity with tools<\/h2>\n

Fountain of inspiration run dry? Don\u2019t despair. Try using a <\/span>domain name search<\/span><\/a> tool to auto-generate domain names. <\/span><\/p>\n

7. Use a different domain extension<\/h2>\n

If you <\/span>really <\/span><\/em>love your chosen domain name and the alternatives are just not working for you, you can always use a different domain extension<\/a>. .Com is the most common, but the range of TLDs (Top Level Domains) continues to grow. With hundreds of TLDs available, there\u2019s a lot more flexibility today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, depending on where you expect a lot of your online traffic to come from, many visitors may never even realize that you\u2019re NOT a .com. If traffic comes from referral links (like social media) and searches, visitors to your site will most likely not notice your domain extension. Some of the more common extensions you\u2019ve probably seen are .biz, .net., .ly, .guru, but there are also options for various industries, like:<\/span><\/p>\n