Nominet

[toursgd]

I have been on Nominet searching for .co.uk Domain Names. Firstly, is there a site to chech availability of .com Domains. Secondly, if a domain which is interesting to me is registered to somebody else I will often go and have a look for the site. However, often it appears that there is no web page for that Domain. If I wanted to buy a domain that is registered to someone else, and they appear not to be using it, is it possible to offer to buy it?

Regards

Gareth

[blueisgreen]

Hi toursgd, try doing your search from the frontpage of namesco, a hosting provider and domain seller. You put in what name you want and it gives availability of ALL of the suffix options including .com, .co.uk, .eu, .biz etc etc. There is also a search facility against each taken domain name so you can see who has registered it, useful if you really want to make an offer since lots of people buy domains on spec just to see if someone wants to buy it at a price. Good luck in your searching

[toursgd]

My problem then is this:

If I contact the present holder of the domain name, I am interested in buying, they may buy up more domains just because they know I am interested!

Also, does original choice of domain name influence SEO later?

Another thing I would like to do is check for popularity of search engine terms.

For instance, I would like to start a tour/travel agency. I want my domain name to include the region I am working in with something like tour:

Regiontours.com or regiontravel.com.

So, if in google types in 'region' I would like to see what is the most popular words associated with this e.g.

'region' holiday

'region' travel

[That Guy]

Just make sure your domain name is as relevent as possible to your business.

We sell Trough Lights so our domain name is trough-lights.co.uk

You can check domain availability here:
http://www.lcn.com/domain_names

It will also show contact details of owner if available :)

[blueisgreen]

I agree with the comments from trough lights, it is always better to try to be individual rather than attempt to take over a created name. If a site is already registered and operating then forget it and move on to your own original name. If it is just registered and not hosted or online then why not try to get it if its for sale. Chances are they will want far too much for it as they know you want it so best bet is go for an original and forget already used names. The other point on that is that you may well be saddled with whatever reputation the previous owners left behind if you take on a name. Be original.

[Jonesy]

Don't bother trying to buy a domain off someone unless it's absolutely critical. I use this great little tool (http://www.domjax.com) to check domain availability.

[John Pye]

Also, does original choice of domain name influence SEO later?

Yes it does. If you can get a name to include a term people are searching for it is definitely a bonus.