The .coms have all been taken

[yves]

Well maybe not all but certainly a huge chunk.

I have been doing a lot of keyword/domain research lately for building some mini sites and the difference between now and last year (when I went through a similar mini site phase but was just starting out and obviouisly got side tracked onto something else), for finding a .com is unbelievable. I can't believe how difficult it is to find a .com of the main keyword, it's like every imaginable (resonably searched) keyword has been snapped up.

This isn't a major rant cos obviously there is the odd .net and .org but still looks like getting a .com is becoming a thing of the past.

[cdhartpence]

Five of my six most recent domain purchases are .com's. It's all in what you're chasing.

-=Vel=-

[Dan C. Rinnert]

I still manage to find good .com domains.

But, then again, maybe it's because I don't always go for domains that consist strictly of the keywords.

[seasoned]

Well, you could always settle for a stupid nonsense name like amazon, ibm, or even WORSE, EBAY! I mean SERIOUSLY, WHO would ever use EBAY as a name?

[Kevin Koop]

I have been noticing that it takes more time (and effort) to find good .com domains but I am still finding them.

For example, I am helping a friend launch an "Info Marketing" business and as he'll be teaching about digital photography, we wanted something that would be "catchy" and hopefully include a decent keyword phrase.

We wanted "takebetterphotos.com" but it was taken so we used a "seed" word to add to the end of it and bought "takebetterphotosnow.com"

(Note: We're not done with his salespage yet but his blog is complete)

One thing to consider is GoDaddy's Domain Name "Auction" (or another domain aftermarket). You might find a good .com domain name there that is already seasoned.

Good luck!

[nemock]

I first heard "All the .coms are taken" in 2001. Before that it was "they're all being taken."

And yet I just registered a dozen .coms that fit what I was looking for perfectly...a few being in "saturated" markets.

Think out of the box and you'll be fine.

[JMPruitt]

I don't personally go for Keyword rich domains. I go for something that reads relevant to the niche, but that is unique enough to be brandable. KW names will make branding your site harder.

[TheWealthSquad]

Man I am glad they are all taken. Now I can stop buying more domain names and just focus on the ones I have

Be original, be creative, be persistent. You will find something you can use that will serve the purpose. While a keyword in a domain name is a great boost for SEO it is not the only thing. You can easily overcome it through on page SEO, great content and relevant backlinks.

[seasoned]

Yeah, and ONE crazy company even has a name called meatrix!

[TelegramSam]

Originally Posted by yves

Well maybe not all but certainly a huge chunk.

I have been doing a lot of keyword/domain research lately for building some mini sites and the difference between now and last year (when I went through a similar mini site phase but was just starting out and obviouisly got side tracked onto something else), for finding a .com is unbelievable. I can't believe how difficult it is to find a .com of the main keyword, it's like every imaginable (resonably searched) keyword has been snapped up.

This isn't a major rant cos obviously there is the odd .net and .org but still looks like getting a .com is becoming a thing of the past.

You are in luck!!!

allthedotcomdomainshavebeentaken.com is available

[ExRat]

Hi Yves,

The .coms have all been taken

looks like getting a .com is becoming a thing of the past

I don't want to pick on you or anything, but there's a great business lesson within your statements. It's to do with attitude, finding ways around real/mental obstacles, how people think on different levels, and how that helps to decide which level you do business on.

Ponder this revelation - the great majority of domain registrations are probably only for a year. Every day there are literally millions of domain names expiring for a whole host of reasons, which can be aquired in many different ways.

[MichaelHiles]

I just registered an absolutely KILLER domain today that I couldn't believe was remotely available.

I used an acronym within it that is commonly understood within the niche, but not really well known outside.

[ArticleDirectory]

still out there, 7/8 of which I just registered are all domains....if your looking for small sites, you dont need to use competitive keywords.

[BIG Mike]

Don't forget you can use underscores and hyphens to grab that prfect name too - they work great.

And ditto what Roger said...adapt, overcome, and move forward.

[Gene Pimentel]

This is the same old song I've been hearing since I started domaining in 1996. While it's true many of the very premium domains are registered, there are so many great domains available it's not funny. I register domains on a daily basis. Between 30,000 and 60,000 domains expire every single day. It just takes a little more research than it used to.

[Charles Washington]

If you look, most of those .com' are just parked domains. What a waste of space. Anyway, the last sentence of your original post is the way to go.

I use to spend hours looking for .com's, and I found them. The problem now is, it takes too many hours of research to find good .com. Or, the .com keyword domains you find get less than 70 searches per month.

[Charles Washington]

I guess it depends on your purpose. With all the guides out, telling people to register exact keyword domains, I just assume this is what you are doing. In that case, .com's are not neccassary

But, if you are not after keyword domains, you can be creative and come up with a "brand" and most likely find the available domain. That way, you can capitalize on repeat visitors.

I did that once with a video game site. All the good video keyowrd .com's were taken. So, I created a site called pcsgamer.com It was short and memorable. I drove traffic via PPC, and soon had repeat buyers. I was dropshipping computer games from www.compgallery.com, and I really had no keywords in my domain.

[kenappleby]

sometimes i pull up dictionary.reference.com or thesaurus.reference.com to find other words that may work that i just didn't think of.

sometimes it takes a while, sometimes only a few mins. it depends on the niche, i guess.

obviously, you don't want to go with words that most people wouldn't understand or use fairly naturally in a sentence.

godaddy is pretty good at recommending prefix and suffix words that have a pretty good ring to them... not that i'd recommend godaddy.

[mywebwork]

I got a business card a few days ago from someone at an SEO company. I looked at it later and realized that their domain name was 28 character dot com name!

I won't list it to embarrass them, I also won't be e-mailing them as the chances of me spelling the name without any errors is virtually nil.

More on topic, I still manage to get good 6 -9 character dot com names occasionally, so they aren't all taken. But I'll stay away from the 28 character ones!

What's scary is that you're allowed up to 63 characters in a domain name!


Bill

[xntrik]

I have a growing list of available dot com's, some of which have keywords, almost all of which are catchy, unique, mostly 2 to 3 short words. And a few I was really surprised where still available - especially in the marketing niche (maybe I better buy them?). There's alot of words in this language - not to mention a few other languages.
xntrik

[yves]

Thanks for all you answers

You know, just after I created the thread I was thinking about the fact that every year more get freed up again so that's something. It's also heartening to hear that a lot of you are still getting the domains you want.

And yes, I am following a course that requires the keyword to be in the domain for fast indexing etc but I also agree the .net and .org are troupers in getting to page one pretty fast .

I'll be honest it was a bit of a rant and, it's true, thinking outside the box is the way to go. I suppose there is always adding an extra word into the mix with .com too.

Roger, you're not picking on me, I agree with you and it was a good point you made .

Thanks guys

[mikeyman120]

I used to think all the dot coms were taken and I would buy my .com domains with dashes in them. But recently I decided I wanted domains without dashes so I put more effort into coming up with a name I needed and I have no problem finding dot coms without dashes now.

Mike

[Hyaku_Man]

Ever notice how Hollywood can churn out movie after movie after movie, all with different names that are copyrighted, and still never run out of movie titles? .com domains are no different. If you're expecting to get stuff like money.com of course it's long gone, but if you get specific about your keyword in the title you can find something.

And if you're going to work on branding the site then it doesn't matter what the name is. What the hell is a "squidoo"? They just made that up and then made it mean something.

[Oscar D]

I know how you feel, sometimes it gets frustrating and you want to just scream

The secret is to just hang in there and keep on searching, try to use your imagination but as many marketers say its not all about the domain.

Yes the domain plays an important part, but the marketing and promotion is more important in most cases.

Hope you find what you looking for

[dmarze]

Originally Posted by cdhartpence

Five of my six most recent domain purchases are .com's. It's all in what you're chasing.

-=Vel=-

Yes, I still find great domain names for my websites.

D.Marze

[Roger Santos]

I think it depends on your use for the domain. I flip sites a lot and have no problems selling new sites with long domain names.

If you're into affiliate marketing, try adding "review", "info" or "guide" at the end of your keyword domain.

[M Thompson]

90% of the sites i buy are .coms the few .orgs i get are usually because the .coms are parked and not a competitor.

[jazbo]

I registered a.com today for a good term. You just have to get inventive. Also more people are familiar with .net nowadays, and the UK, US, Canada, Aus, NZ all recognise and trust each others regional extensions nowadays.

Plus most people come to you via hyperlinks.

[greff]

There are still an infinite number of domain names available. Start thinking longtail key phrases. Instead of "internetmarketing.com" how about "usingkeywordsinternetmarketing". Dig into Google's keyword tool to find plenty and remember that most of your traffic will come from people clicking a link.

But, there is an issue about the number of websites that can be hosted is disappearing fast. The guy who started the Internet planned space for a huge number that is now not adequate.

< snip >

Melbourne, June 17 : The Internet will run out of addresses in another two years as only 700 million separate addresses are remaining for allocation out of the 4.3 billion available on the present network.

When originally developed, Internet planners assumed four billion would serve the world when using the Internet, The Australian reports.

Seeing the situation, all internet users must move to an upgraded platform - called Internet Protocol version 6 - to access the 340 trillion-trillion-trillion new addresses needed to connect not only billions of new users but also the trillions of sensor devices that will require networking as technology takes greater control of people's lives.

"IPv6 provides more addresses in cyberspace than there are grains of sands on the world's beaches," news. com. au quoted Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for the Information Society, as saying.

Geoff Huston, chief scientist of the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, which manages address allocation within the region, said he hovered between calling the situation a challenge or a crisis.

A shortfall in addresses would stifle networking of small and simple devices for energy management for lighting, intelligent building systems and remote-control sensors. (ANI)

[Lance K]

Originally Posted by mywebwork

I got a business card a few days ago from someone at an SEO company. I looked at it later and realized that their domain name was 28 character dot com name!

I won't list it to embarrass them, I also won't be e-mailing them as the chances of me spelling the name without any errors is virtually nil.

If they were worth hiring, they should have put something like...

"Visit our website by clicking on the #1 result in Google for Totally Awesome SEO Service".

[MemberWing]

Get creative with .com!
of course insurance.com and buycarcheap.com likely be taken but with a little creativity you can get keyword-rich and brandish-looking great .com domain name.

Here are few of my recent .COM domain name purchases that were freely available (some with a bit of search) with a bit of creative thinking.
Notice how well they match the subject, how reasonably short they are and how each of them could define the brand (instead of just pure keyword):

youserved.com - sold of $1500 few months after registering
presentlove.com - self-help forum about different self-help methods
autositer.com - software that generates websites by itself based on input keywords
idreamcatcher.com - my personal self-help blog
zencrypt.com - software to encrypt PHP files to make it harder to decrypt.
memberwing.com - membership website software
aflinker.com - software for affiliate marketing and link cloaking
goddessnet.com - forum for women

Some domains were already receiving inquiries about buying.

Domain that was grabbed by someone while i was scratchjing my a$$ for 2 weeks about whether to register it or not:
notki.com

Few more i won't disclose - but i love finding these cute, easy-to-remember, brandish looking gems.

Gleb

[fthomas137]

There is a cool technique in discovering .com, .org and .net websites that I do cover in my niche finding course, but here it is:

Grab all your keywords that you find that you like. Copy them and head on over to godaddy.com.

Hover over the green 'Domains' button until a submenu pops up.

A little ways down on the list, select 'Bulk Registration'.

Paste your keyword list into the box and select .com, .net and .org checkboxes.

Click on search.

I'm sure you'll find at least one keyword rich domain name in one of those three primaries.

Good luck!

Frank

[Cash37]

Buy expired and aged domains. I will never buy a fresh domain again. So much fun when someone else kickstarts the SEO for you

[yves]

Again, thanks for your replies. It's really helped and hopefully helped others who were feeling the same way as me.

[Akin Alabi]

Gosh!

I wanted to register CNN.com but it has been taken

[yves]

Originally Posted by Akin Alabi

Gosh!

I wanted to register CNN.com but it has been taken

You must be a professional comedian, that was hilarious

[warriorkevin]

I had to click on this thread because I buy a lot of domains.

Here are a few ways I find good domains. .coms

1) come up with words that make sense to me.
2) check out google suggest domains using words above - see link in signature (my site)
3) use a generator - another tab of script on line 2
4) use whois.sc and do domains suggest - sometimes i backorder a domain if it is expired
5) use thesaurus.com to come up with short alternatives - some words (like entrepreneur) don't have very good alternatives that are short
6) sometimes I check out domains auction sites - I have found decent ones that are not a lot more than buying a fresh domain.

7) make an offer to buy a domain that someone owns but isn't using.

Not only do I buy a lot of domains, my cart on the domain site is FULL of domains I like but probably wont buy. There has only been 2-3 domains in my life that I really wanted and should have bought, and while I was deciding, someone scooped me. Now those domains will NEVER be available again. It is easier to let a domain go than it is to get it after someone else buys it.

I have written lots of scripts over the years to create domains. I have a script that finds 4-letter domains _YES THEY STILL EXIST _ I can find them all day long with my scripts - most just aren't useful to me - though I do own a few that were.