Key Steps in Obtaining a Great Domain Name
A great or catchy domain name for your company or product can make a huge difference in your potential success. But getting a great domain name isn’t easy, as the majority of quality domain names are already owned by someone else. In this article, I provide some strategic advice on how to choose and obtain a desirable and brandable domain name.
Check if the domain name is available from a registrar
Your first step in getting a domain name should be to check its availability on a domain name registrar such as GoDaddy. If you happen to be extremely lucky and find the domain name available, the .com and .net domain names should only cost you about $8-$10 per year. Other top-level domain names such as for .pizza, .tv, and .nyc will be more expensive.
My recommendation is that you stay away from any extensions other than .com, other than possibly using “.law” if you are a lawyer. A “.com” name signals to the marketplace that you are legitimate and trustworthy, and it avoids future confusion for your end users or customers. (Be sure to read How (and Why) We Purchased the Snappa.com Domain for $40,000.)
With the huge number of registered domains today, it’s likely that your desired domain name will not be available from the registrar. If you are really wedded to that particular name, you will have to try to buy it from the person who already owns it. To find out who the owner is, you can search the Whois database, which will often list the name and contact information of the registered owner. But this isn’t a foolproof method as some owners keep their name and contact information confidential.
Search domain name marketplace sites
As you are searching for a catchy domain name and are open to ideas, you can check domain name marketplace sites. These are sites where domain name owners post their domain names for sale, using an eBay-type model. Often, these sites will auction off names and sometimes they offer names for a fixed price. Some good marketplace sites to check include:
Examples of catchy names for your startup
There are tons of catchy domain names out there that would be perfect for the right startup. Many would work for a wide variety of businesses. Here are some of my favorites from my portfolio of names:
- Trounce.com (great for a gaming or mobile gaming business)
- Surmise.com (great for a software or artificial intelligence company)
- Recuperate.com (great for a mobile app or web-based service to help people recuperate from injuries—check out Want to Raise Financing for Your Mobile App Startup? Here’s the Ultimate Pitch Deck)
- Negligent.com (great for a personal injury/attorney website)
- Panoply.com (great for a software company or Internet business)
- Afire.com (short, catchy and memorable for multiple types of businesses)
- Canny.com (great for a cannabis-oriented business)
- Administer.com (great for a software company or benefits administrator)
- Emanate.com (evokes positive image and suitable for many businesses)
- Zigging.com (great for a mobile gaming app)
- Kazillion.com (a catchy name for many different types of businesses, as is Kazillions.com)
Consider using one of the sites that help you brainstorm name options, such as DomainScope , Name Mesh , Visual Thesaurus , or Naminium.
Tips for choosing desirable domain names
Here are some practical tips on trying to decide on what domain name to get:
- Avoid domain names that are easy to misspell.
- Typically, the shorter the domain name, the better (but some two word memorable domain names may be great, such as InBusiness.com or SmartCompany.com).
- Pick a name that your employees will be proud to be associated with.
- Pick a name that will be easy to pronounce.
- Avoid names that are problematic if translated into another language.
- Don’t pick a name that will be too limiting as you grow your business. For example, you may want to avoid SanFranciscoToiletSupplies.com if you plan for the business to grow past San Francisco or into other types of supplies).
- Pick a name that is memorable.
- Consider names that immediately let the viewer know what the site or business is about (such as eArbitration.com, eMediation.com, or VioletsAreBlue.com).
- Try to avoid hyphenated names, but if you do get the name, then get both the hyphenated and non-hyphenated name and have one site redirect to the other site.
- Think about how the domain name will work for keyword searches on Google. Good names can result in some free organic traffic, such as CityofParis.com.
Do due diligence on the domain name
Before you approach an owner of a domain name, you want to do some due diligence first to see if it makes sense to buy the name. Here are some of the due diligence steps you should undertake:
- Do a Google search on the name to see what references and links are out there.
- Check out Google’s penalty tool to make sure the domain name doesn’t have a penalty against it.
- Do a trademark search at uspto.gov.
- Check the Wayback Machine to see what kind of inappropriate or harmful content might have been published on the site in the past.
- Think about whether you will also want some international version of the name (such as for China or Canada).
- See if you can obtain your desired name on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
- Do a search of the Secretary of State’s records to make sure your name won’t be confusingly similar to a business name that’s already registered.
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How you should approach a domain name holder
Once you have the name and contact information of the registered domain name holder, you will want to approach the owner in the appropriate way. As the owner of a number of high-quality premium domain names, I have been clumsily approached many times from someone wanting to buy one of my domain names. Here is what not to do:
- Don’t ask the person if they are the owner of the domain name (you can be certain they are if you found them through the Whois lookup).
- Don’t ask them if their domain name is for sale (you can assume it is and if it isn’t, they will simply ignore your email).
- Don’t ask them what price they want for the domain name (you are the one interested in buying the name so the obligation is on you to make them a reasonable offer).
- Don’t make a lowball offer for the name, especially if it’s a premium name (the owner may simply ignore you and think you aren’t worth negotiating with).
- Don’t tell them you are a struggling startup that can’t afford to pay much for the name (they probably won’t believe you, nor is it their problem if you can’t afford to pay fair market value).
- Don’t try to make the argument that because the name is not currently being used as a website, that they should sell it to you at a low price (it’s the owner’s business how they decide to use their domain name).
- Don’t tell them that you are considering other domain names to buy and that the owner must get back to you quickly on your offer (this is a poor negotiating tactic).
- Don’t ask them what other offers they have gotten for the name (it’s their personal business, and you would never ask the seller of a home this type of question).
- Don’t use a fake name or fake email address for your inquiry (the owner will likely check to see if you are real and will want to review your LinkedIn profile).
At the end of the day, the best way to approach someone about buying a domain name is to be direct, respectful, and come in with a reasonable offer. Identify who you are and why you are interested in the name so that the domain name holder will know you are real and neither a bot nor a scam artist.
How much should you pay for a domain name?
Premium domain names are like beachfront real estate or a Manhattan condo—they are unique and valuable. Think of a premium domain name as a long-term investment for your business. Ultimately, the value of a domain name will be subject to negotiation with the seller, but the following factors will indicate a higher price:
- Catchy short names
- Common word names
- “.com” names over any other top-level domain names
- Names that are memorable
- Names that convey credibility
- Names that have a high search volume on search engines
- Names that have great marketing potential
- Names that are brandable
You shouldn’t have to pay millions of dollars for a great name, but expect to pay anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000 depending on the name. But, in fact, some names have sold for millions of dollars, such as the following:
- Business.com—$7.5 million
- Beer.com—$7 million
- Hotels.com—$11 million
- Sex.com—$14 million
- Insure.com—$16 million
- 20.com—$1.75 million
- Fund.com—$10 million
- Diamond.com—$7.5 million
- iCloud.com—$6 million
- Loans.com—$3 million
- CreditCards.com—$2.75 million
- Candy.com—$3 million
- Porn.com—$9.5 million
For more examples, be sure to read Million Dollar URLs: The Most Expensive Domain Names of All Time and List of Most Expensive Domain Names from Wikipedia.
Key terms of the purchase agreement for a domain name
After you have reached an agreement for the purchase of a domain name, it’s wise to prepare a contract to be signed by both the buyer and seller, laying out the important terms. The actual terms will depend on whether you are trying to make the contract pro-seller oriented or pro-buyer oriented.
Here is a list of the critical terms in a domain name purchase agreement (find sample forms and agreements in the Forms & Agreements Center at AllBusiness.com.)
- The domain name being sold
- The purchase price and how the price will be paid
- The agreement that the seller will convey the domain name to the buyer upon payment of the purchase price. In this regard, a service like escrow.com is often used where the money is first deposited with the escrow holder before the name is transferred, to protect both the buyer and seller. But make clear that the buyer obtains the right to the domain name only if in fact that seller receives the required payment from the escrow holder
- A representation from the seller that he or she owns the domain name, is the registered owner at the domain name registrar, and that they have the right, power, and authority to transfer the domain name
- The buyer will ask for a variety of additional representations, but that is often resisted by the seller. Examples of requested representations and warranties include that to the seller’s knowledge the domain name is not infringing on any third-party intellectual property; that the name is free of any encumbrances, security interests, restrictions, or licenses; and that to the seller’s knowledge the name is not subject to any pending litigation or legal proceeding. Most sellers insist on an “as is” sale (other than representation of ownership of the name)
- A section setting forth how any disputes between the parties will be resolved (a confidential binding arbitration clause will often make sense)
Conclusion
A great premium domain name can be essential to the success of your business. Don’t be afraid to pay a premium price for the right name, as it is often a worthwhile investment.
Copyright © by Richard D. Harroch. All Rights Reserved.
Richard D. Harroch is a Managing Director and Global Head of M&A at VantagePoint Capital Partners, a large venture capital fund in the San Francisco area. His focus is on investing in Internet and digital media companies, and he was the founder of several Internet companies. His articles have appeared online in Forbes, Fortune, MSN, Yahoo, Fox Business, and AllBusiness.com. Richard is the author of several books on startups and entrepreneurship as well as the co-author of Poker for Dummies and a Wall Street Journal-bestselling book on small business. He was also a corporate partner at the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, with experience in startups, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, and venture capital. Richard can be reached through LinkedIn.
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