When you find out the .com version of your domain is not available, it’s very common for the domain registrar to recommend that you get the .net or .org domain. Our friends at WPBeginner recommend “If you want to make any kind of business website, then you should always use a .com domain name extension. It gives your website a familiar address and makes your business look more professional and established.” If the .com extension isn’t available, we have included some creative tips to still get a .com domain for your business.
Add additional words
Say my ideal domain name is BelleviewDogFood.com. If it’s not available, let’s add additional words to it. Let’s try TheBellviewDogFood.com or BelleviewDogFoodCo.com. Look at additional words that mean the same thing and covey the same message. Try to keep your domain as short as possible.
Add action
Adding an action word to a domain is so simple and it may mean that your website stands out even more. Let’s go back to Belleview Dog Food for an example. We could add action by making it TryBelleviewDogFood.com or GetBelleviewDogFood.com. Depending on your domain, you should be able to add an action word that fits your domain. This also acts as a call to action for your website.
Add location to your domain
This concept really works well if you have a physical location and can include either your city, state, or street in your domain. If the company is located in Littleton, Colorado, maybe instead of Belleview, we could use ColoradoDogFood.com, LittletonDogFood.com, or LocalDogFood.com. This doesn’t keep your business name in the domain, but it is a creative option still allowing for a .com extension.
Look for similar words
Instead of focusing on a domain name that is specific to your business name, be creative and switch up your business name with words that mean the same thing. For our Belleview Dog Food example, it could be BelleviewWoofFood.com, BelleviewDoggieFood.com or BelleviewDogDinner.com. These words mean the same thing and convey the same message, allowing you to use the .com extension while not being too far off of your business name.
Make up your own word
We all know of Google and Zillow, these are companies with names that were made up. A fun way to almost guarantee that you’ll be able to get a .com domain is to take your business name and makeup a word. Try combining your business name to make a new word. Back to our Belleview Dog Food, we could come up with something like bellood.com, belldogfoo.com, or viogfood.com. These are attempts at combining Belleview Dog Food to create a new word for a domain.
These five tips are creative ways to get a .com domain name even if your ideal domain is already taken. Once you have chosen a domain name, launch your website using the power of InMotion Hosting’s business shared hosting.
