What to Consider Before Buying a Domain Name

Buying a domain can be an exciting process, but if you're not careful, it can quickly turn into a regret. If you go to a domain registrar or domain marketplace and type in a URL, you may generally see two options: a domain that is for sale or not for sale. Just because a domain is for sale and within your means does not necessarily mean you should buy it. In this insight, we will cover some checklist items to consider before you make your purchase.

Check Social Media Handles

While checking available URLs through domain registrars or domain marketplaces, you may find a domain that seems perfect for your business. Before making a purchase, consider checking whether the same username is available on social media. This check is advantageous for people who want brand consistency across the board and want to ensure that the same domain name is not used on other platforms (e.g., the domain name is already someone else's channel or profile on social media).

Trademark and Copyright Check

We are not legal experts, but it may be important to know if the domain you intend to purchase matches an existing trademark or copyright, or is very similar to something that does. Changing domain names after you have published your website can be a tricky process, especially if certain pages are published in an article or post, or are performing well organically. Link for trademark search can be found here (https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search). Link for copyright search can be found here (https://www.copyright.gov/public-records/).

Google's Safe Browsing Check

Another consideration is whether the domain was flagged by Google for malicious or suspicious activity. Google will periodically update its Safe Browsing report and publish a report on the domain you search for. Since we have seen Google hold on to a report for several months, even if a domain does not currently have a live website, this method may provide insight into prior activity on the domain. We have seen URLs not yield any results but work when a trailing "/" is added (e.g., .com/). Additionally, Google has well-documented websites that violate its policies, such as spam policies, which may face lower rankings or not appear at all (Spam policies for Google web search, Google LLC). Although there may be ways to request reevaluation (Report a Page to Google Safe Browsing, Google LLC), we are unsure how long potential consequences may last for a website that has been flagged. The link for the Safe Browsing tool can be found here (https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search).

Google and Bing Index Check

In a prior insight, we posted how to check whether a website or webpage is indexed, and it may be important to see whether the URL and sub-URLs are indexed on Bing and/or Google. Here's the insight: How to Check if Your Website is on Major Search Engines. Another important consideration is to see what shows up in Google or Bing when you search for the domain name, as it could reveal potential prior activity.

Brand Check

Checking whether a brand is the same or very similar to your domain may be important to consider. In addition to potential legal aspects, if the domain name is similar to a brand that is very established, users searching your domain name in Google may be given autocorrected results. Meaning, while looking up your domain name, users may see the more established brand and a small section asking users if they meant the non-autocorrected search. Although the more established your brand becomes, autocorrecting may stop entirely, it could still be a major challenge earlier on. Another strategy that people may use is to purchase common extensions (e.g., .co, .org, and more) while purchasing their domain, as it could prevent potential malicious or fraudulent activity, or protect your brand going forward, but it may be important to research the rules, laws, and regulations for owning certain extensions.

Full Website Audit

If you're purchasing a website, consider using the resources Google provides to make it easier to understand SEO and audit websites. Here's an insight that lists helpful tools by Google: What is SEO and How Google Made Optimizing Websites Easier. Although the resources and tools can be very helpful, a professional auditor may be able to find more information that automated tools currently cannot gather. The auditor can look at on-page SEO, off-page SEO, data that is geared for generative AI and search engines, performance, best practices, and accessibility.

Next Steps

If you do buy a domain or website, it may be helpful to start thinking about SEO sooner. Here's an insight into what SEO is and the free resources Google offers: What is SEO and How Google Made Optimizing Websites Easier.

References

1. 1. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Search our trademark database.

   https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search

2. 2. U.S. Copyright Office. Search Copyright Records: Copyright Public Records Portal.

   https://www.copyright.gov/public-records/

3. 3. Google LLC. Spam policies for Google web search.

   https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies

4. 4. Google LLC. Report a Page to Google Safe Browsing.

   https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_error/

5. 5. Google LLC. Google Transparency Report.

   https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search

6. 6. DNH Dynamics, LLC. How to Check if Your Website is on Major Search Engines.

   https://www.dnhdynamics.com/blog/how-to-check-if-your-website-is-on-major-search-engines

7. 7. DNH Dynamics, LLC. What is SEO, and How Google Made Optimizing Websites Easier.

   https://www.dnhdynamics.com/blog/what-is-seo-and-how-google-made-optimizing-websites-easier