You’ve analyzed your great idea from top to bottom, worked through your business plan and are finally ready to take the leap and launch your new business.  Then the inevitable happens– you go to register your domain and find out your desired name is already taken.   Nothing short of taking the wind out of your sails, right?

Our advice?  Breathe and reboot… it’s not the end of the world.

You just have to move to plan B, and keep in mind these
helpful tips for alternate domain name selection:

1) Rethink your name.  Chances are there’s a pretty good alternative that will work with only a slight variation.

2) Register with an organization that tracks domain names that are about to expire. Oftentimes, you can request an alert when a  domain relevant to your business was not renewed.   Patience is certainly a virtue and you may have some luck and get the domain name you really want.

3) If you’re really stuck, you can always put in an offer for your “must have” domain name.  Just remember it’s going to cost you more depending on its popularity and how much the current owner is willing to budge.

4)  Tight on money?  Consider a .net, .biz or .org.   These are widely growing in popularity, and may hold you over until your .com becomes available or you allocate enough budget to buy it from another owner.

5) Relax… your domain name isn’t going to make or break your budding business.  People will evitably be drawn to the products and services you offer and how well you market them, not just where they sit on the internet.

Do you have other tips for alternate domain name selection? Leave them in the comments!