Your website domain is a digital roadmap to your business. That being said, you want it to be simple, memorable and relevant. When choosing a domain for your new website or website refresh, you may already have something in mind in terms of what you want your domain to be. One thing to know about domains—they can’t be shared. In other words, they are unique to one individual owner. That means if your choice of website domain is taken, then it’s time to consider other options.

The (less likely) monetary route

If someone already owns the web domain you want for your business, you can always offer them money to sell it to you. This is more common practice with bigger brands who have the money to spend on such things. In other words, we don’t necessarily recommend this route when there are multiple (free) alternatives.

Tips for finding an alternative to your preferred domain name

Instead of opening your wallet if your choice of website domain is taken, we recommend finding an alternative, available domain that will work just as well. Check out these tips for finding an alternative to your preferred domain name.

Consider a different domain suffix.

Also known as a Top-Level Domain (TLD), this refers to the letters after the final period of a web address. For example, .com is one of the most common domain suffixes. So, if your chosen domain name with .com is taken, you might consider the suffix .net instead, for example. There are literally hundreds of domain suffixes to choose from.

Think about variations of your domain name.

As mentioned in our blog, “10 Tips for Choosing an Effective Domain Name,” you want your domain to be both easy-to-remember and relevant to your brand. Incorporating your business name itself is therefore ideal. But, if a domain that uses only your full business name is taken, (for example, mcnuttpartners.com) then there are other options.

For instance, you can include a reference to your services (mcnuttpartnersdigital.com, for example).Or, use your location (mcnuttpartnersauburn.com, for example). These are just a few among many alternatives.

Abbreviate.

Another alternative if your choice of website domain is taken is to abbreviate. For example, sometimes we abbreviate McNutt & Partners as “McP.” An alternative domain option to “mcnuttpartners.com” could therefore be “mcpdigital.com” or “mcpmarketing.com”—a combination of an abbreviated name of the business and the business category/service offering.

A caveat here—make sure if you do abbreviate that there is still enough context for people to use to identify your brand (i.e., the “digital” in “mcpdigital.com”).

Keep an eye on it in case it becomes available in the future.

If your heart is truly set on a domain that is taken, you can always keep an eye on its availability in case it becomes available in the future. All it would take is for someone to fail to renew ownership of said domain.

Summary

If your choice of website domain is taken, don’t fret! There are plenty of ways to still obtain a domain name that will accurately represent your business—and be memorable to your brand followers.

McNutt & Partners is a full-service advertising and digital marketing agency. Contact us today for your marketing needs! Call 334-521-1010, or visit our contact page.