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22 Comments
- rboyce, on 12/01/2007, -0/+18Secrets Revealed: How I Pick Web Hosting Providers
- Vaiosaurus, on 12/01/2007, -0/+9I just close my eyes and start pressing letters.
- latrosicarius, on 12/01/2007, -2/+10I would choose www.clown-penus.fart
- Smokeymcpot, on 12/01/2007, -0/+7We all know the best domain names are taken, right? No way!
For every cool domain taken, there’s at least one other one that has yet to be discovered. That’s just my opinion, of course, but to say that they’re all taken is like saying the English language has no more words to add.
Yeah, right. ;)
So we have to be creative. We have to dig down into our bag of tricks to find the next best domain name. Here are a few of my tricks that you may find useful.
Bustaname
I’ve posted about this great tool before and frequently use it to test the waters. You can type in a domain name and have it tell you — on the fly — if it’s available for .com, .net, and .org names. You can even enter in a bunch of keywords and have it come up with combinations. If it didn’t hit the mark, you can select from other synonyms and add those to the mix. Another great feature is that you can save your finds in lists on the site. I have two gripes about the service though: there’s no way to export your lists; and sometimes it says a domain is available when it really isn’t. I’ve spoken with the owner and he informed me that enhancements are on the way so the accuracy should be improved.
Find domain names with Bustaname
PC Names
I found this while browsing Kyle’s Cove a while back. This is pretty cool. You type in your keywords just like Bustaname and it spits back to you combinations of those words and others. I like the results better as they seem to be more marketable, but that may be in the eye of the beholder. Plus, you can select your preference of top-level domains (TLD), which I use only for .coms. My hangup about this site is that the view cart doesn’t work. It would be nice if it would allow you to save your finds in lists, but at least it gives you really good suggestions.
Find domain names with PC Names
Thesaurus.com
When I find that my perfect domain name has been taken, I turn to Thesaurus.com for inspiration. Maybe I can find an alternative to the name I want, heck, maybe it’ll be better! I’ve spent many an hour searching on this site for ideas. One word leads to another, which leads to another…you get the idea.
Spark inspiration with this site
Everyday life
This can be the most easily overlooked resource we have available to us. I carry a notepad with me everywhere I go just in case I think of a name I want to check later. But sometimes I don’t think of them, but notice them instead. I love these moments because they’re so genuine in their randomness, which to me makes them all the more special and (hopefully) more likely that no one has registered them yet. Case in point, I was watching a documentary on Christmas recently. The narrator described Santa as “shimmying down the chimney”. I picked up on that right away, thus ShimmyDownTheChimney.com was born (coming to a blog near you)! So if you pay careful attention, you’ll possibly score some cool domain names in a conversation, on TV, or on the radio.
Mix it up
If somebody already beat you to the perfect domain name, perhaps you can add a verb or noun to it. So if homerun.com is taken, why not try something like homerunnews.com, homeruncenter.com, homerunblog.com, and so on. Or maybe change the order to get the one you want: blogonhomeruns.com, cyberhomeruns.com, etc. The point I’m trying to make is that by adding a word or two with the word you really want, you could still land a pretty cool domain that you’ll be pleased with owning. Tip: by adding these words to your core selection, you could open up a number of opportunities: blog, online, web, news, source. Or you could try modifying a word slightly by going from singular to plural: resource to resources, photo to photos, etc.
The Crystal Ball Approach
So you’re striking out on names. You’ve racked your brain on it so long that you can’t see straight. So stop trying to think what’s happened in the past or in the present, and trying looking ahead. What trends do you see coming? Are there any new products arriving to market? What would you have done if you thought this way about the iPhone before it came out?
So here’s my latest sampling of domains that may wish to register (hint: clicking on the links will get you one step closer). And if you don’t find one you like, perhaps they’ll provide the spark you need to come up with your own. As of this writing they’re available:
BakingHoliday.com
BirthdayConcepts.com
BlogsCheap.com
CoolWii.com
FunFamilyAndFood.com
GreatGolfTravel.com
SafeThinker.com
ToyJuice.com
VideoGameSpark.com
WonderfulRecipe.com - Florian, on 12/01/2007, -0/+4penus?
- NathanielJ, on 12/01/2007, -1/+4Now if only he would tell us how he picks his servers, we'd really be ready to start an internet empire!
- Pepper, on 12/01/2007, -0/+337 diggs and it's down? My home server can stay up longer than that.
- PawFox, on 12/01/2007, -0/+3lets try, post a docurment on your homeserver and paste link and we'll see
- Marijuana, on 12/01/2007, -0/+3This Account Has Exceeded Its CPU Quota
- lukee, on 12/01/2007, -0/+2Gob's Program: Y/N?
- Archon810, on 12/01/2007, -1/+2GreatGolfTravel.com??? that doesn't even make sense.
- whammypower, on 12/01/2007, -2/+3That's lame. Down at 35 diggs.
- teddyrux, on 12/02/2007, -0/+1I use 100 monkeys typing on 100 typewriters...But that's just me, I'm simple like that.
- eekfuh, on 12/01/2007, -0/+1Thats why you dont host with BlueHost/HostMonster/FastDomain.... (all the same company)
- dvicklund, on 12/01/2007, -0/+1Me too :-(
- dvandewalle, on 12/01/2007, -0/+1wow, good thing he's just focusing on the domain names, not hosting.....
- bonkeykong, on 12/01/2007, -0/+1Golf... Travel? That's great?
- Hanzfranz, on 12/01/2007, -2/+2link broken :(
- inactive, on 12/01/2007, -1/+1Link works fine for me. :)
- bonkeykong, on 12/01/2007, -1/+1My friend registered olfactorynightmare.com, after seeing a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry David describes the odor in the bathroom as such.
He registered it after I explained that Larry wasn't saying 'old factory nightmare'. - themoose, on 12/01/2007, -4/+2http://www.duggmirror.com/
- punkbl182, on 12/01/2007, -4/+0Next article:
Secrets Revealed: How To Pick A Better Host
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