How to check if a domain is busy? What to do if the required domain is taken? If the domain is taken: what to do and how to protect your interests? What to do if the domain is busy

It’s unpleasant when you come up with a cool name for a website, and then find out that it’s already one domain is busy, and the owner doesn’t use it either. Sometimes, people “squat” different domain names in order to sell them at a higher price. Unless you are the trademark owner, then you can force the domain to be given to you. Although in other cases something can still be done.

Determine which domain option will help you promote

You may not like it, but the first step is to decide whether you need this particular site name. Check your chosen option for availability in other zones, such as .org, .net or even second-level zones like co.ua, kiev.ua.

But the truth is - .com is just what the doctor ordered for recognition of your site. Although .com.ua is almost as popular. You can just change it a little - add an article (English) or an adjective and instead of yourname.com, you could get the following:

• theyourname.com
• therealyourname.com
• yournameonline.com

You just need to make it easy to remember and simple to write without being too long. Avoid hyphens and tricky typos that no one would think of making.

Now (in fact, for quite some time now) there are hundreds of new (New gTLD) zones available for registration. Many thematic domains, for example, such as .SHOP .TRAVEL .CLUB .PRO .BANK and others. There are several dozen such thematic groups and finding your own will not be difficult. A big plus is that a small number of domain names are registered in the new domains (several orders of magnitude less than in popular zones) and the chance that your chosen name is available is quite high.

Find out who owns the domain name you choose

You are targeting a specific name and if the domain is busy- find out who its owner is. This is quite easy to do using WHOIS service, it is available on almost every registrar website.

Other resources also offer a whois search function; you can find them using an online search. Enter the full domain there and get information that is publicly available. Since when a new domain is registered, the buyer fills in the address of the owner, administrator, and technical contact, often it is one for all three.

Offer a deal and buy your favorite website name

Having found the owner of the domain name (at least a mailbox), the next step is to get in touch. It’s up to you to decide what to do, but here are a few nuances that are worth keeping in mind:

• Even if there is no website on the domain, the administrator can use it for e-mail addresses. In the first conversation, you'll want to avoid asking them to sell it to you by arguing that they don't need it anyway.
• If you don't like talking about the deal right off the bat, ask if they are considering a sale. Let them know that you are interested in this domain, but keep your interest to a minimum.
• expect unreasonably high prices. People often overvalue their domain names. Make a counter offer. Bargain if you want. Also, remember that if it is a very generic name, it will justify a higher price, and the owner has probably already received offers to sell.

Unfortunately, there is no effective way to estimate how much a domain is actually worth. It's all about demand.

Monitor your domain in case it expires

If you can't contact the owner or aren't happy with their offer, your last chance is to simply wait until the expiration date (in case the owner forgets to pay) and try to register it yourself. True, this may not be an easy task.

When the domain registration deadline approaches, the registrar usually sends out a bunch of emails warning the owner. If the deadlines do expire, for domains (mostly gTLDs) that are subject to the rules of the ICANN management corporation, the possibility of re-renewing the registration reaches 1-2 months, but with the imposition of some fines. For country code domain zones (ccTLDs), the rules can be set on a personal basis. Although the majority take ICANN regulations as a basis, there are also those who immediately after the expiration of the name registration period make it publicly available.

Some registrars provide a monitoring service that you can use to keep an eye on domains and be alerted when they expire in registration. Some even offer paid services and will try to purchase domains on your behalf. The fee will vary depending on the cost at which they purchase the name.

Overall, keeping an eye on a domain until it expires can certainly work, but you shouldn't count on it. And it won't happen quickly, so if you need to get your site up and running, our best advice is to bite the bullet and consider your options for a different domain name.

Selecting a domain for your own website is a responsible procedure that requires strict adherence to a certain algorithm of actions. To successfully implement your plan, you should listen to some of our recommendations. Then the question “how to choose a domain?” will not create unnecessary difficulties for you.

1. The domain name should be related to the theme of the website

The content of the virtual site and the symbolic address should be close in meaning. Only in this case will the user of information materials have a strong association that the domain name belongs to the subject of the site. A symbolic set of English letters as part of the address word form is instantly identified with the line of business and product brands of the manufacturing company. The ideal case is when the company name and domain name are the same.

But there are caveats here. For example, if the company name is too long, then the domain name can be shorter while maintaining the meaning. And yet, an easy-to-remember and easy-to-pronounce option is well positioned. Businessmen are increasingly attaching their names, surnames, catchy nicknames to the name of the company, everything that is undoubtedly imprinted in the memory of an ordinary visitor. When creating a blog, this approach pays off. If goods and services are offered, then it is better to add an additional word to the surname indicating the direction of the company’s activities.

2. Don't wait long

After choosing a symbolic name, do not hesitate to register until the unique name is stolen from under your nose. Remember! Buying the fruit of someone else’s creative efforts is always more expensive than inventing it yourself.

3. The name should be short, simple, and memorable.

You need to understand that a short character set of letters reduces the likelihood of errors when initiating a request in the browser address bar. For a domain, the abbreviated name option is preferable. Let's consider options for choosing a domain name for the TransGazPromService company. Choice in favor of TransGazPromServis. Ru is not that attractive. The abbreviation TGPS.ru is positioned much better.

4. Complex letter combinations should be avoided in the name

For example, the symbol “zh” can look like “zh” or “j”. To select the optimal word form, it is necessary to develop several options.

5. If the domain is busy, try changing it using special words

It often happens that the site owner is sad to learn that such a domain already exists. In such situations, the practice of adding words, for example, of this type will help: blog, my, online, site and others.

6. Pay attention to spelling. Avoid mistakes when creating a domain

Do you think your potential clients would take you seriously if there was a typo in the name of your website?

7. Do not come up with names that are reminiscent of well-known brands in sound and word form.

Large corporations keep a close eye on plagiarism and attempts to steal fresh ideas and know-how from them. Legal services of companies may be ordered to initiate legal proceedings against violators who have encroached on the reputation of the trading giant, and this is fraught with lengthy litigation and big troubles.

8. Consider similar domain names when purchasing

It happens that a domain variant may have a number of spelling versions, for example, ikonika.ru and iconica.ru. In this case, you need to register both versions. Subsequently, they redirect to a single site: iconika.ru.

9. No need to save on a domain name when ordering free hosting

It’s better to pay professionals and minimize all possible risks associated with purchasing and registering a domain. Another good piece of advice is to immediately refuse the services of intermediaries. Check the domain to see if it is available and start the registration process immediately!

10. Choose the right domain zone

Sooner or later, you will have to promote a virtual platform as a business card of your business project. To do this, you will need to make every effort yourself or use the services of an experienced webmaster. By selecting a domain in the zone .ru, you will show search engines that you are counting mainly on the Russian-speaking population, thereby slightly accelerating your promotion in the necessary regions. It is Runet that will provide the main influx of visitors who sympathize with domestic search engines.

Another important point, which should be emphasized. Today, in the expert community, there are two opposing opinions on the issue of the influence of the address name on the growth prospects of the target audience of site visitors. A separate group of professionals is confident that a well-chosen domain will have a positive impact on traffic. Others believe that this indicator is not particularly important for search robots.

The choice in favor of one opinion or another is made by the future owner of the website. However, one thing is clear: you should approach the choice of a domain name for your website with all your heart.

When choosing a new domain, the very first thing you need to do is check the domain name for availability. If you came up with an original name for your site, most likely it is already taken. You can simply check the availability of words or phrases of interest. In the main zones, all the simple and beautiful names have long been snapped up, so before you find a domain for your resource, you have to go through several dozen options. So, how to check if a domain is busy?

The simplest way

A simple, quick way to check if a domain is busy is to enter the name you need into the search bar of your browser and press enter. If the browser opens any page, it means the domain is busy. It will be busy even if the page is “parking”, that is, put up for sale. To purchase this name, you will need to contact its owner. The price will be much higher than the cost of standard registration.

Despite the fact that this method of checking whether a domain is occupied is recognized as the easiest (does not require the use of any services), it is not considered 100% reliable. You can use it at the very beginning to select and weed out busy names. Higher verification accuracy is guaranteed by special whois services.

What are whois services?

Whois services were originally created to clarify information about the owner of a resource. Now they are used to check domain registration. There are a lot of such services now, but it is not recommended to use little-known ones. Some owners of unpopular whois services may save search queries. If you come up with a beautiful name for your site and it turns out to be free, it is better to register it immediately. Otherwise, by “lighting up” the name, you will make a gift to the whois owner.

Therefore, it is better to check whether a domain is occupied or not with reputable and large registrars. It is more reliable and secure. Even with the existing query saving, they will not bother registering the domain you found, since it is not of interest.

All you need is to enter the domain name into the whois search bar and click the Search button. After which the program will give you information about the domain owner, registrar and technical support. If the name is available, do not hesitate and proceed with registration.

What to do if the required domain is taken?

The easiest option is to find a different name. But if you don’t want to do this, then you can simply buy it. If a domain is busy, it means there is a website on it. Use the feedback and let the owner know that you intend to purchase his domain. If this is just a personal page with low traffic, then you have every chance of getting a name. Moreover, the deal will turn out to be profitable - you will buy the domain at cost or for a couple of hundred dollars.

If you find yourself on a portal with high traffic, most likely you will have to forget the chosen name!

It often happens that a beautiful domain name is taken, but is not used. This means the owner plans to sell it. You need to contact him and agree on a price. The cost of a domain varies from several hundred to several thousand dollars. It directly depends on the name itself and the location zone. On average, an acceptable price for a good home is between $500 and $1,500. All transactions of this kind are made with the domains com or ru.

Do not claim domain names that are registered to the owners of well-known trademarks. This is obviously a losing cause.

To avoid unnecessary problems and waste of time, the best option would be to choose a suitable name yourself in the zone you are interested in.

15:53 23.05.2016

It is logical that the best option for the company− place your website under a domain name that matches its brand name or trademark. However, often these names are already taken. Is it possible to resolve this issue and still get the desired Internet address for your business? Let's consider possible situations and action algorithms.

Situation No. 1. Company “A” has a trademark “X”, the company wants to get the domain X.by. The X.by domain is occupied by company “B”.

A trademark in a domain name is one of the owner's exclusive uses under the Trademark Law. If there is another company that uses a similar sign in a domain name, the following factors need to be analyzed:

1. Does it have rights to a trademark (for example, registered in Belarus or another country) for other goods and services (according to the International Classification of Goods and Services).
2. In which state is the trademark registered (if any).
3. Whether the trademark is applied to similar or homogeneous goods/services.

Homogeneity is not always an unambiguous concept: in some cases, for example, the courts recognized low-alcohol drinks (for example, beer) and alcoholic drinks (for example, wine) as homogeneous, in others they did not. To determine the homogeneity of goods, it is necessary to analyze the totality of various circumstances: the target audience of the product, price segment, etc.

If company “B” owns an identical trademark, registered in Belarus or abroad, for goods and (or) services different from “X”, then the use of the domain name will be legal.

If company “B” owns a mark not registered in Belarus for any goods, then such use will also be legal. The fact that the domain.by belongs to Belarus does not mean that it is impossible for foreign companies and citizens to register a name in our national zone. However, the identification of a domain name with the .by zone indicates that the company is purposefully operating on the territory of Belarus, and in the case of identity or homogeneity of goods and services, such actions can be considered to violate the rights of company “A”.

True, there is no direct connection with registering a domain name in the .by zone and carrying out activities on the territory of Belarus: additional factors need to be considered - the possibility of actually providing services or selling goods in our country, the possibility of making payments in Belarusian rubles, etc.

If company "B" does not have the rights to use the trademark "X" on the territory of Belarus, and it uses it to identify goods or services that are identical or similar to the goods or services of company "A", then such use is illegal.

Possible options for company “A”:

1. Pre-trial settlement – ​​negotiations and (or) filing a claim (the mandatory claims procedure should be taken into account).

Situation No. 2. Company "A" has a trademark "X", company "A" wants to get the domain X.by. The X.by domain is occupied by a cybersquatter (cybersquatting - taking over a domain name for the purpose of resale).

Possible options:

1. Pre-trial settlement – ​​negotiations and (or) filing a claim.
2. Filing a claim for violation of trademark rights to the Judicial Collegium for Intellectual Property of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus in accordance with Article 26 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

In the first case, you can file a claim to suppress the violation and send it to the entity that registered the X.by domain name as a preventive measure. In most cases, this is impossible to do, since the entities involved in cybersquatting try to remain as anonymous as possible and not disclose any personal data.

In the second case, the company can file a claim with the Supreme Court Collegium for Intellectual Property. In Belarus, there have been few precedents in the law enforcement practice of holding cybersquatters accountable for violations of the rights of trademark owners. However, there is all the necessary regulatory framework to recognize them as violators of trademark rights.

Situation No. 3. Company "A" has a trademark "X" and wants to obtain the domain X.com. The X.com domain is occupied by company “B” or an individual.

For Belarusian companies, the most important thing from the point of view of doing business is to obtain a domain name in the .by or .bel zone, since business is conducted in Belarus and for Belarusian consumers and clients.

However, Belarusian providers can register domain names in international zones (.com, .net, .org, etc.). Therefore, some Belarusian companies register domain names in the.com zone. This is especially true for companies that operate in several markets simultaneously.

In Belarus, judicial practice regarding .com domain names is not widespread. However, if company “B” or an individual is a resident of the Republic of Belarus with a domain registration through a Belarusian registrar, then there is every reason to use the algorithms from situations No. 1-2. Placing a domain name in the.com zone does not prevent you from asserting your rights in court.

There are often cases when an international domain is occupied by a foreign company or a foreign individual, so filing a claim with the Judicial Collegium for Intellectual Property of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus is an ineffective measure: it will be difficult to bring the defendant to justice and prove the fact of an offense (company “B” may have trademark in your country), etc.

The most common method for challenging the registration of international domains in such cases is the use of the UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy) procedure by organizations authorized by ICANN (which develops the domain name system and grants the rights to national registrars to register domain names in a certain zone). Such organizations include, for example, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, through which most domain dispute proceedings take place.

Disputing a domain name takes place online with the involvement of independent arbitrators. If the decision is in favor of the applicant (the owner of the trademark), the domain is automatically transferred to him. Such a mechanism is provided for in the agreement between ICANN and national registrars.

To successfully consider a dispute, the applicant must prove that:

1. The trademark is identical or confusingly similar to the domain name.
2. The owner of the domain name has no rights or legitimate interests to use the domain name.
3. The domain name is registered and used in bad faith.

The advantages of this out-of-court method of dispute resolution include:

1. The place of registration of a trademark does not matter.
2. Low cost of dispute resolution ($1,500 with 1 arbitrator).
3. Possibility to consider several domains at once for one price (up to 5 domains for $1,500).
4. The procedure is short-term (the whole process takes about 1.5 months).

Total. Depending on the situation, Belarusian companies have different options to protect their rights regarding the use of a trademark in a domain name.

For domains in the .by and .bel zone, first of all, the judicial procedure for resolving disputes is applied. The owner of the trademark must prove that he has the right to the trademark in Belarus and the fact of its violation (the use of identical or similar in degree of confusion for similar or homogeneous goods). In many cases, important aspects are proof of commercial benefit from the use of a trademark in a domain name, as well as the illegality of the purpose of use (for example, when registering a domain by individuals).

For international domains, the most effective option is to use the out-of-court UDRP method.

Text: Timofey SAVITSKY, junior lawyer at the international law firm COBALT

Every website on the Internet is remembered, recognized and found by name. The name is also an address, replacing complex, hard-to-remember digital IP addresses. This name is called a domain and consists of two (sometimes three or four) parts, the last of which is always the abbreviated name of the domain zone.

Having thought about the question “how to choose a domain?”, you need to determine which zone it will belong to (choose the most suitable one for yourself), and in the “name + domain zone” combination, replace the inscription “sitename” (this is the main part of the name) with a word/phrase , invented independently.

One more part is added before the domain name in the browser address bar:

All modern browsers can substitute data transfer protocols themselves, so we discard the first column. What remains will be the site domain.

Important Note:

All parts of a domain name are always separated by dots!

The site name is the main attribute of success

The name of the web project will determine its success/failure in surfing the waves of Internet surfing.

What do you need to know when choosing a name?

The main name consists of English characters (Latin), numbers and hyphens are allowed in it (no more than two and not nearby).
The total length of the domain must not exceed 63 characters. There is a strict rule behind the scenes: the shorter, the more effective!
The minimum limit is 2-3 characters before the dividing point, but there are practically no such short names left, almost all of them are occupied.
A hyphen cannot be placed at the beginning or end of a symbolic structure, only in its middle.
All characters and words of the domain are written together, spaces between them are not allowed!

How to choose a domain based on the main name?

The main domain name is selected based on the thematic focus of the web resource. It should reflect the essence of the site. For commercial projects, it should include the name of the company and line of business. Users immediately understand that oknaplast produces windows, and klinika will help with diseases.

For owners of personal blogs, it is permissible to use their own last names; words reflecting the services provided; arbitrary name. A domain name that contains a high-frequency keyword often requested by users helps promote the site in search results.

Choosing a domain is a responsible process; it is often entrusted to naming specialists; they professionally select the most sonorous words and phrases.

What should you consider when making your own choice?

1. Brevity. A short word is easier to remember. An abbreviation (abbreviation) may be more suitable than the full name: TSGS.com (TransibStroyGazServis) instead of TransibStroyGazServis.com. The shortened version is easier to write and easier to fit into a logo.
2. Sonority. Good-sounding names are more likely to be recognized.
3. Memorability. No one will bother remembering words like cvwjhsgdtyvwf. But a familiar or pleasant-sounding word will be remembered; it can be easily entered into the address bar to go to the site: art.com, kinderstar.org, doctor.ru, coca-cola.ru.
4. Uniqueness. Each domain name must be unique, different from all others.

Additional tips:

The name should be such that a person who perceives it by ear (on the phone, for example) can write it without error. Sometimes it is not clear how to write k (s or k) in English (or Latin); zh, h, sh, shch (ch, zh, sh)?
- The number 0 is easily confused with the letter “o”; the number “4” is sometimes used instead of the combination “ch”.
- In such cases, several possible spellings are recorded. One domain will be the main one, and from the others they will do a 301 redirect (transition) to the main one.

Domain Zoning

How to choose a domain depending on the zone? To streamline the names of sites, a domain structure was invented and the main zones were identified. Their number is constantly growing and expanding, new ones appear, along with old and long-known ones.

There are three main zones: 1, 2, 3 levels. The first (top) includes national domains of various countries: .ru - Russia; .kz - Kazakhstan; .ua - Ukraine; .рф - Russian Federation (v.рф names in Russian are allowed).

There are regional and general-purpose national domains that have two extensions (separated by a dot): .spb.ru; .msk.ru; .net.ru; .org.ru.

Top-level domains make it possible to create subsequent-level domains. At any of the higher levels, you can register your 2nd level domain, depending on the subject of the site.

Basically, all private sites on the network belong to a second-level domain group and have a name like this:

The zone is always indicated after the main name: .ru, .com, .info. If the site is aimed at Russian-speaking visitors, you need to choose Russian zones; if for the whole world, then international zones: .org, .com, .info.

Third-level domains are created on the basis of the previous (second) level. The name is lengthened and consists of 3 parts:

Having a level 2 domain, you can create any number of level 3 subdomains: forum.informatica.ru; movie.informatica.net.

Useful advice:

For significant and promising projects, the domain should be registered in several zones at once (.ru, .com) or (.ru, .рф, .com, .biz) to avoid competition.

How to choose a domain by price? Purchase and registration

The price directly depends on zoning. Commercial zones have a higher cost, foreign ones - even higher.

Domain sales are carried out by large companies and individuals (resellers or cybersquatters). Let's focus on the latter first. They register (buy up) original domain names in advance and then offer them to interested users at inflated prices. Whether or not to deal with them is something everyone decides for themselves.

Domain registration is the responsibility of specialized registrar companies.

The largest company REG.RU has many partners. Registration from partners may be cheaper.

You can save a lot if you register your domain through a company that provides paid hosting. If you pay for hosting in advance for a year, domen is registered free of charge for one year. Then you have to pay for it annually. But if you have to part with hosting, then the domain needs to be re-registered again.

Important tip:

You definitely cannot use the services of an intermediary when purchasing and registering! You should register a domain yourself and only in your own name, but not in the name of strangers. Otherwise, the real owners will be these third parties, who may present unpleasant surprises.

Domain occupancy check

When solving the problem of how to choose a domain, we must not forget about such an important point as checking whether it is busy. A user can come up with a dozen beautiful names, and they will all be registered, because there are hundreds of thousands of sites on the Internet, and it becomes difficult to choose the right name.

Before registering on the portals REG, DOMEN, 2domains, whois, etc., you must enter the name of the future domain in the appropriate form and click the “Check” button. Here you can also get ideas for selecting a name using keywords. The service will provide several options for each domain zone. Perhaps some option will be better than what the user came up with.

Any hosting provider has a form that allows you to check if a name is available.

A free domain should be registered immediately, otherwise it may be repurchased, and the user will have to come up with a new one.

If the domain is busy, there are several options left:

Choose a different name. If you don’t have your own ideas, you can use online generators by specifying the language, topic, and desired length. Words are generated according to the given parameters, and the user receives many names.
Modify the spelling: a difference of one character will already allow you to register. You can add numbers, change a few letters: sidorov-1.com; 1sidorov.com; sidorov1.com.
Add a universal word: blog, site, all, my.
For owners of a registered trademark, you can sue the name through court or buy it back from the owner.

Attention!!!

The domain name is chosen once and for all. Once the site becomes famous, it will be difficult to change it, and you may lose all your customers.
- There is no need to register names that are too similar to the domains of well-known companies; you may receive serious claims. All network projects are monitored globally.

Brief summary:

1. The domain name automatically becomes a brand; the attitude of users towards the company or the author of the blog depends on its semantic meaning and sonority.
2. A regional domain can be more beneficial than an international one, especially for a narrow-profile project (electrician services in Kerch will not interest anyone in Berlin).
3. A domain is registered for any period and is registered with the user only until the end of the paid period! Then it can be extended or sold to another person.
4. The domain itself acts as a product. For successful sales, you need a good reputation of the site on the Internet, and it starts with the domain.
5. How do search engines treat domains? Robots don’t care whether the domain name has any meaning. But if it contains query keywords, the likelihood of the site being presented in the search results increases many times over.
6. Does the domain zone play a decisive role? Some experts claim that Yandex prefers zone.ru, Google prefers .com. This is just a personal opinion. Those who register a domain in several zones at once can easily check this.
7. In case of purchasing domains from resellers, its history must be checked and its history thoroughly clarified. A domain may have a trail of bad things (search engine filters, etc.) that will negatively affect the site. You can only buy domains with an impeccable reputation.

Good luck with your choice!