Playing the Domain Name Game
Internet domain names have become extremely valuable. Some names have sold for thousands of dollars, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. The known record for the sale of a domain name is the $7.5 million paid for the business.com name. Although the market for domain names has cooled considerably, some names can still fetch extremely high prices, if they're for sale at all.
Why are domain names so valuable? With the explosion of the use of the World Wide Web, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of Web sites. And each Web site needs a unique domain name as its address. Catchy or memorable domain names can build great brand value for owners of Web sites.
Domain names such as Amazon.com and Yahoo.com have built up tremendous goodwill and value. And simple domain names that evoke an understanding of what the site is about have also become particularly valuable. After all, it's easy to imagine what you'll find at eloan.com or food.com.
So how do you get your own domain name? It's surprisingly easy to check if the name you want is available, but you shouldn't expect it to be. Almost every simple and catchy name or phrase is already taken, as are many personal names.
The most valuable U.S. domain names, those ending in .com, .org, and .net, are doled out by private registrars such as VeriSign and Register.com. These registrars, in turn, are managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit organization that oversees the U.S. domain name system. Other countries also have their own special top-level domain names. For example, Canadian domain names end in .ca (such as www.ohcanada.ca). ICANN added seven new domain name extensions in 2002, including .biz, .name, .pro, and .info. But the best-known domain names still end in .com, and these will continue to be the most valuable.
Domain name registrars make it easy to check if a domain name is available; you can just go to the registrar's Web site and enter the name you want. If the name is available, you can register and pay for it on the spot with a credit card. The fee per name varies: Some companies charge less than $10 to register a name. Domain name registrars also compete with one another by offering additional services, such as Web hosting and the ability to "park" or hold a domain name until the owner is ready to use it. Read for more information.
If the name you want is not available, you can try a variation on it. Or you can try to buy the name from the registered holder. There are plenty of sites dedicated to buying, selling, and leasing domain names. For help coming up with an effective domain name, check out
Finally, if you plan to hold a domain name and then sell it later (a process called cybersquatting), be careful of violating trademark rights. Avoid domain names that might incorporate legally protected trademarks, service marks, or trade names. For example, if you registered CokeIsIt.com, AmericanExpressTravel.com, or IBMcomputers.com, the holders of those famous names would likely take action against your site.
