Unless you don’t care about branding or simply believed your product or service can sell itself, you most likely need a short, easy to remember brand name. Once you decided on a brand name, then you need a matching domain name for your business online. Because most of your potential customers expected your website will be at your brand name plus the .com, you should try to get the best domain name for your brand.
Although the domain name annual registration fees are low, chances are that the domain name you wanted is already registered by someone else. Unless the name you want is owned by a large corporation, chances are that the name you want belongs to a domain investors. Chances are that you won’t be able to get the domain name you want cheaply.
If the domain name you want does not have a website, it does not mean it was not being used. Often a website was just small part of what you can do with a domain name. There might be servers using sub-domains, the owner might also be using the domain name for just email addresses.
Please keep in mind that domain name costs varies, often the prices were based on factors such as length, keywords, how easy was it for users to remember or to spell, and search engine popularities.
.Com names are more costly be because its popularities. If you can’t get the .com domain name for your brand, try to get other less popular extensions such as .net, .io, or .AI.
You can make offers to the owners directly via the website, or very often, domain names are also available at marketplaces or via brokerage services such as GoDaddy, Sedo, Afternic, Epik. but because marketplaces and brokers often charge hefty commissions, many domain owner may quote higher prices for their domain names at popular marketplaces.
Here are some of the articles related to premium domain names:
- Why Choosing Premium Domain Names for WordPress Websites?
- Are Premium Domain Name Worth It?
- Why are Premium Domain Names So Expensive?
- Domain Bias in Web Search (Microsoft)
Here is a partial list of my domain name portfolio. Please use the contact form if you are interested any of the names or have any questions.