Once you locate owner, don’t offer anything up front, just inquire (Remember this important rule of negotiating: The first to name a price usually loses). To get an idea of how much similar names are going for, first visit one of good domain name auction sites like http://www.afternic.com.

Step 4: Before you register a name (especially if you’re in US), you may want to do a free search at U.S. Patent and Trademark Office web site (http://www.uspto.gov). It’s a good way to see if your proposed domain name may potentially violate a registered federal trademark. Don’t assume that because it is available, it’s not trademarked. I've seen it happen. It could be a costly mistake if you assume and you're wrong.

In addition, there are also state and international trademark issues to consider. Internet and trademark law can be a bit overwhelming to uninitiated. Here’s a good summary of trademark-related questions: http://www.trademark.com/new_tmdocs/faq.html. For more info on “CyberSpace Law”, check out http://www.ssrn.com/update/lsn/cyberspace/csl_lessons.html).

Other considerations and recommendations: - Stay away from hyphenated names unless you also own unhyphenated version (no one remembers hyphen, and people will accidentally visit your competitor). - Opt for “.com” if possible. There may be more options with “.net” and “.org” (or any of other zillion new extensions), but “.com” is still king. People remember “.com”, and again, you don’t want to send prospects to your competitors. - Stay away from numbers (i.e. Websites4you.com) - sounds and looks cheesy; plus, it creates confusion if you advertise on radio.

Step 5: You’ve done your homework, you’ve found a good, “benefits-focused” name, and you’re ready to buy. Here are few places you may want to register your domain name (I haven’t personally tried these, but prices look good): http://www.GoDaddy.com - $8.95 http://www.joker.com - approx. $11 http://www.orderyourdomains.com - $12 http://www.dotster.com - $14.95

Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll soon be on your way to finding a great, memorable, traffic-generating domain name (for about price of a pizza).

Wishing you much online success...

Having these domains gives you a competitive advantage. You can get more traffic just from these simple tricks. I've seen webmasters spend a lot of money on advertising, hiring search-engine submission specialists and like. Now that cost of domains has dropped more than 50% in past year (less than $15.00 at company I consult for), it's actually one of more affordable things you can do to get eyeballs to your site.