Short domains are not just for big businesses. They are also an attractive option for individuals and small businesses. For starters, they’re much easier to remember. It’s far less likely that someone will have the same domain name as you, which gives you a competitive edge over your competitors who only use long domain names. And if someone does use the same short domain name as you, it’s relatively simple to
There are many reasons for you to be interested in short domains or domain hacks for your personal and professional use. Either it is for URL shortener, for a startup name which .com is already registered, or simply because it matches your name, like vi.et does with my name. I recently acquired the domain name vi.et, it is an Ethiopian domain name that’s not currently available to the public with no future estimated release date. It was thought to be impossible by many people, even local Ethiopian says that only government can register it. However, I just knew there was a way, and indeed, I got the domain name and going to use it as my main domain name for this blog soon. I realize the domain name vi.et will be weird to people, but hopefully weird enough that people find it interesting and memorable. If nothing else, it’s short.
After a while digging around and socializing with the short domain and domain hack market, I get a pretty good idea of where to get interesting domain names for your new brand or personal use and going to share it here.
Search For Ideas
Many domain name seekers use Domainr tool to get an idea of what combinations are pleasant to the eyes and if they’re available. If people just start out their blog or business, I usually recommend people to start with .com because although the market for .com is very much saturated, if your brand name has an available .com, it is easier for non-everyday internet user to get to your website more easily. Otherwise, search for some very catchy domain hacks. You can look for an international domain name extension that you name or brand ends with. For instance, if your name is David, try search for .id domain extension to see if the domain name dav.id is available. If it is available, then great, register it now! If not, you still have a chance if the domain’s for sale or if the website associated with that domain doesn’t look like it’s developed for any particular purpose, then you might be able to contact the owner and ask for an offer. Be aware that although the domain hacks market is not fully developed, it’s not new. There are a certain market and a few key players you need to get in touch with if you want to check out their portfolio and buy the domain name. Here are a few resources that I know will be useful for you:
Resale Markets
Sedo.com: The most popular domain market. I purchased my viet.vn domain name here, which was a surprise because I didn’t expect it to be on the market. It’s a good thing I grabbed it as a motivation to start this blog as I can be stubborn and not starting something if the available brand name doesn’t interest me.
Domains.ly: This market targets .ly domain only, but because .ly domains are popular and somehow memorable, I thought it would be good idea to it here. Owned by Hadi Naser, who also owns Libyan Spider and Register.ly, Libya’s largest domain registrars which handles bit.ly and other popular and controversial domain names. I acquired one 1 letter domain .ly for my business a few months ago and he handled the brokering process which took less than 24 hours.
NamePros.com: This is more than a marketplace, it’s a discussion forums that many domainers participate in. There will be times you can’t find how to contact the owner of your favorite domain name, this is the place to go.
I hope this will give you a better idea of how to get domain hacks that you like. I know you might be tempting to check out .net, .org, or .co for your domain name if .com is not available. However, they’re not as memorable as domain hacks after .com. In 2014, non .com domains need to be short and catchy to get attention, so using domain hacks is one of the best possible ways to bring your personal or professional brand out there. And last but not least, it’s fun!