Don't settle for something like PolkaDottedMaryPoppinsUmbrellas.com because you believe all the good domains are taken. :( Bad domainer! The truth is: even though the door has long shut for generics such as Computer.com, Candy.com, etc doesn't mean that the door has closed yet. There are plenty of generic domains still available:

... as long tails

Don't be turned off by long tail domains. Long tail domains are names that are more niche and less competitive but actually still produce traffic or revenue. Good examples of long tails and their short tail components are: PolkaDottedUmbrellas.com versus Umbrellas.com, MintToothpaste.com versus Toothpaste.com and LongTailDomains.com versus Domains.com and so on. Here is a good read on the differences along with handy graphs.

... in other extensions

Although .com IS king in many ways: some domainers are hung up on the issue of .com and SEO. Search engines do not care as much as we think about the domain extension. What search engines care more about is relevancy. When it comes to type-in, I feel it is only a matter of time before users become familiar with the idea that more than just .com exists. (Ask Morgan Linton. He is also a big fan of this concept which he talks plenty about on his show *cough* which runs on Thursdays at 7pm PST, 10pm EST *cough*).

... in other news

• Rick Schwartz made a handy graphic for those who want to declare their "No Pigeon Shit" zone.
• Domain Superstar just launched a typo domain finder tool.
• Rob Monster of Epik.com appears live with Frager Factor tomorrow (pre-registration required).
• Flipping.co is launched for those who want to buy/sell .co domains.

Your thoughts?

Comments (7)

chris

Well if plenty of good generics are available on a TLD and you make it seem easy to find them, why not list a few high quality ones since it should only take you a minute or two to find them since they are so abundant.

TiaWood July 27, 2010

Hi, Chris. Appreciate the challenge but I am not sure what you are trying to provoke me to do. Nonetheless, you won't find them sitting by a computer and waiting for terms to pop into your head. Many domainers (including myself) use tools, databases, software, etc to search for these terms. I will be glad to give you some resources if you drop me an email.

Ritz July 27, 2010

Can't but agree with you Tia! and yes,.. the best long tails in the world are taken though kind regards, Ritz

Ron Wells

Tia, Nice article! I agree, there are waaay too many good names still available (I just registered Sextants DotOrg yesterday, which has 5,400 exact searches!). @Chris, Here's a few that I found: FluorideFreeToothpaste.org 2,400 exact GAKT LargePatioUmbrellas.net 1,600 exact, $3.71 CPC PolkaDotDresses.org (not a DotCom ... but available for hand registration): 8,100 exact

Mark

Great post Tia. Totally agree. I register long tails all the time. They are profitable and out there. I also think that people should not discount the long term branding value of a .com. If you think about the 80/20 rule, 80% of business profits are from the 20% of customers that re-order, the value in a .com is extremely valuable. .Com builts trust, long term value, and depending on the business repeat profitable orders that can be found in many of unregistered long tail domains. So there is my 2 cents. Best

Leonard Britt July 27, 2010

Yes, two of my highest-traffic sites are Spanish three word alt-TLD domains which have an easier time ranking than my one and two-word websites. Actually one of the two only ranks well for Google & Bing image search so don't forget to put photos on your site and title them appropriately.

Chris July 27, 2010

Looks like another Chris is posting here too. Tia, you are right. There are still some good domains available - just getting much harder to find. I hand register about 1 - 6 per week. Not a ton, but I'm still surprised to find some hidden gems. And yeah...if only I had kept my bunch of single word domain names I registered way back in '95.

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