Are you ready to start a website but all the good names seem to be taken?  Well that may not be completely accurate.  While many of the good domains have already been registered that does not mean they are already being used. 

There is a thriving market for domain speculation and the name you want may simply be registered but still available for purchase.  This is not to be confused with cybersquatting where people register other people’s trademarked names.  Speculation is where someone thinks up an interesting name such as AQTPI.com (A Cutie Pie) and registers the name hoping to find someone who likes the name and is willing to pay a small premium for the domain.

While some might be put off with the thought of paying a premium, the alternative is to search for unregistered names which are often not as memorable as the names available in the marketplace.  Sometimes this means longer names like JTerryRossBeautySalon.com or less desirable extensions such as .net or .biz. 

When deciding if the cheaper, but less desirable, name is the better route to go the business owner should consider the effect of consumer abandonment.  A potential customer might be given your web address from a friend, or other advertisement of yours, and forget between receiving your domain and typing it in.   Consider that a more memorable name might have stayed with them and not have been abandoned.

A more memorable name is also more likely to trigger a desire to visit in the first place.  In the world of domain names, like branding in the broader market, shorter is better.  More memorable interesting names are also more desirable.  And the .com extension is, and always will be, the king of domains.

There are several online marketplaces for a business owner to shop for domain names.  One of the largest is SEDO.com where it boasts 5 million domains for sale.  Another is SitePoint.com where you can also purchase existing websites with ongoing traffic.

This author has for sale several interesting domains including: