Who Has Registered This Url

You lot've spent time brainstorming domain names. You've tried dissimilar domain suggestion tools. And you've finally figured out the perfect proper noun.

Merely when you go to register the domain name you're assail, you find that someone has already claimed information technology. What a disappointment.

Before you give up on that perfect name and start the whole process once more from scratch, know there might nonetheless exist hope.

Registered domain names are sometimes even so bachelor—if you know how to detect the owner.

People invest in domain names for a number of different reasons. Sometimes, information technology'due south to starting time their own website at that domain. Sometimes it'due south purely for investment purposes. And in a few cases, it may be for a website thought that either never comes to fruition, or that falls off the owner'south radar over time.

If the website you lot're interested in isn't being actively used and updated, and so the owner may be happy to hear from an interested heir-apparent. And even if the owner is clearly using the domain name right now, if you're willing to spend plenty to make a sale worth information technology to them you lot may nevertheless have a chance.

In both cases, you should conceptualize spending more for the domain proper noun than if you went with something no 1 else owns yet. But if you're actually set on that domain proper noun, it's worth trying your chances.

How to Find Out Who Owns a Domain Name

Before you lot can learn whether buying your domain is even a possibility, you need to figure out who to contact virtually it. How much work that involves will depend on a few factors, but you lot should be able to at to the lowest degree get the ball rolling with these 3 steps.

Footstep One: Visit the Website

In cases where the possessor bought the domain equally an investment, they'll arrive easy for you to contact them. And so start by pulling upwards the website to see what shows upwards.

Y'all might similar…

They may say outright that the domain is for auction, and include contact information or a form you lot can make full out. Or in some cases where the domain is in active use, you'll be able to discover contact data on the website's Contact or About page.

If yous're lucky enough that this step does the fob and you find the domain owner, you lot can skip the next 2 steps.

Footstep Two: Check the WHOIS Directory

Every time someone registers a domain name, the domain registrar that processes the sale is required to collect basic contact information. In some cases, that information then gets submitted to the WHOIS directory, then that there's a record of who runs each website online.

The WHOIS directory is therefore our next stop for seeking out a domain proper name owner.

whois directory for looking up domain name owner

Put in the proper noun of the domain you're looking for and scroll down to discover all the data the WHOIS directory lists for it. In a few cases, that may comprise the possessor's contact information. If and so, yous can skip the next step.

Even if not though, it volition always include at to the lowest degree their domain registrar and domain expiration appointment. That lets you know if the domain will be coming up for renewal soon. If so, you may be able to snap it up for cheaper when it expires than if you lot buy information technology from them directly. Simply that only works if they don't renew, so you're taking a risk.

Either way, knowing the domain registrar enables you to take the side by side footstep.

Step Three: Contact the Domain Registrar

Many domain registrars now offering domain proper noun privacy, which keeps the possessor'south personal information from beingness listed in the WHOIS directory. Between that and GDPR legislation, the WHOIS directory is no longer a reliable way to notice a domain owner's personal contact information.

That means in many cases, you won't exist able to acquire directly who the owner is via the directory. But you will be able to find out who they registered the domain with.

This still isn't a dead end. Get to the website of the domain registrar (only Google the name if it'southward not included in the WHOIS record), and look for their contact information. Give them a telephone call or write them an email letting them know what domain you're interested in buying, and inquire them to pass forth your information to the owner. The registrar volition have the owner's contact details on file, and will be able to share your interest with them without violating any privacy concerns.

What Adjacent?

At this betoken, you lot have three different paths to consider.

1. Contact the Domain Proper name Owner

If one of the steps above leads you lot to the website possessor, information technology'south time to accomplish out! Arts and crafts an electronic mail letting them know that you're interested in purchasing the domain.

To avoid looking like spam, make sure your email conveys seriousness and professionalism. If y'all have a professional person email accost at a domain proper noun you own, that will look more legitimate than one from a yahoo or aol account. If not, consider at least setting up a gmail address, which looks a bit more respectable.

Make sure your email includes:

Your contact information – both electronic mail and phone, so it'southward like shooting fish in a barrel for them to choose the method they prefer.
Language that makes it clear yous're willing to pay – you may not want to include a specific offer still (if yous don't know where they stand, y'all could offer more than required), but they're more than probable to reply if they know this is a genuine business offer
Something that shows your legitimacy – how tin can you show you're a real person with serious intent? Maybe that's a link to a website you already run or a LinkedIn profile.

People get a lot of spam emails, then you want to analyze that you're a real person with real interest. If you tin pull that off, the chances of getting a response are much higher.

ii. Hire a Domain Broker

If you haven't managed to find the contact data for the possessor at this point, or if you have merely would still like some aid navigating the process of making an offer, await into hiring a domain banker. Businesses like Sedo and Brannans exist specifically to help manage deals between domain sellers and buyers.

If you're inexperienced at ownership a domain proper name, they can aid you figure out a reasonable price to request, notice the right person to contact, and ensure the purchasing process goes through the proper steps so that anybody'southward happy at the end of it. There are lots of scammers in the world of online transactions, and online brokers can help you steer clear of those that exist in the domain proper noun industry.

three. Consider a New Domain Proper name

There's a decent chance that even if you take all of these steps, the person that owns that domain now either won't want to sell, or will but take a higher price than you lot tin can pay.

In that case, you're far from the get-go person to have to come up upward with an alternative to the first proper name y'all gear up your eye on. Consider different domain name extensions—if the .com is taken, the .net or .co may still be available. And brainstorm new domain name ideas. You may just come with something you like fifty-fifty more than than your original thought.

Conclusion

Finding a good domain name that hasn't already been claimed is hard—there are and then many websites already out in that location that a lot of ideas accept already been snapped up. Simply you may still be able to buy the domain you actually want. And failing that, a piffling creativity or flexibility will help yous notice one that works simply too.

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based freelance content writer and lifelong learner with an ongoing curiosity to larn new things. She uses that curiosity, combined with her feel as a freelance business owner, to write most subjects valuable to small business owners on the HostGator web log. You can find her on Twitter at @atxcopywriter.