I’ve always been quite entrepreneurial in nature and constantly am thinking
about new ideas for websites, blogs or businesses. Needless to say that often has me frequently looking for good names to inspire me enough to go through with those ideas. I always feel like if I can actually find an affordable name, it’s more likely that I’ll see them through.
Of course it goes without saying that finding a good domain name is incredibly hard these days. Practically every .com you can think of is taken, but by using some incredibly useful tools and sites I’ve found over the years, with a little searching and patience, you’d be surprised at what you can find. Alternatively, you may hire a managed it services professional to help you set up and maintain your website.
- DomainHole.com – This is a newer site that I’ve found recently that I really like. They’ve got a really nice suite of domain tools, and one that combines them all that make searching quite simple. Very nice layout and intuitive. Even some crazy game you can play that involves available domain names.
- Wordoid.com – Sometimes you want a brand”able” or made up name that you can define. This is a great tool to help you find something that is usually very difficult to find and helps you brainstorm a bit.
- SnapNames.com – If you’ve got a few more dollars you’re willing to spend this is a great marketplace to search for names that are often a bit higher in quality. You can also search out newly or soon to expire domain names.
- Nameboy.com – Another tool I often use that lets you choose or combine words and provides a list of other suggested names you might want.
- Sedo.com – One of the largest aftermarket domain sites out there. I often find myself searching here when I need something I know is going to require a few more bucks to get. Great search tools.
What tools have you used that you’ve found useful? Leave your suggestions in the comments section and I’ll update this blog post with the best user submissions.
Hi Jason, These are handy tools for finding domain names. As the internet becomes more crowded, finding the domain name you want becomes an increasing challenge. I your opinion, is it better to go for the .com extension and compromise on the domain name or get the domain name you want and compromise on the extension (.me, for example)?
It really depends on the website/business I believe. While generally I’d say the .com extension is a must, it can depend on whether you’re selling something or not. It can be tough to find one these days though, and the newer extensions are actually starting to be a bit more common (mostly, .us, .ly or similar that can be branded). Also think about whether the focus is strictly online or if their are offline implications. If what you do involves offline branding, I’d try to stick with .com, but if what you are doing is strictly online, you can probably get away with a secondary extension.
Really nice post! very informative would have use it at time of our domain http://www.realestatedealstreet.com registration, because it it bit long.
a great post for all the web designers…..thanks for sharing
Xlnt post and links. I’ll tweet it. thanks Jason.
dawn groves
http://www.yourproductivitysucks.com