How do you choose a good domain name, and avoid cyber squatting and typo squatting?

With more and more businesses and organisations realising the importance of having a website of their own, if you want to stand out from the competition then it has never been more important to ensure that you choose a suitable domain name for your website.

What is a top level domain (TLD) name, and how do I choose one?

All domain names end in a “top level domain” (hereafter referred to as a “TLD”). A TLD is the last part of an internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any domain name.

The general convention for TLD names is that “.com” TLDs are used by commercial (for-profit) businesses or organisations.  Organisations which operate on a not-for-profit basis tend to use the “.org” TLD.  That said, both of these TLDs are known as “open top level domains”, meaning that, in reality, any person or entity is permitted to register them.

Other SLDs exist, and can be combined with the “.uk” TLD.  These include “.net”, “.ltd”, “.plc”, “.ac”, “.gov”, “.nhs”, “.police”, “.mod”, etc. Some of these (such as .police and .mod) are - for obvious reasons - subject to very restricted and controlled use, and are therefore not widely available.

Now that you know the general convention for use of TLDs and SLDs, you can begin to start deciding which might be most appropriate for your company’ or organisation’s website. More on this later...

What should I precede the top level domain (TLD) and second level domain (SLD) with?

You can now start to consider what you want to precede the TLD and SLD with, to make your full domain name.

The first thing to consider, as an option, might be the name of your business or organisation.  If you are an established business with a well-known name, or hope for your business to become established and well-known by its name (as we all do), you will probably want people to be able to find your website by simply predicting/guessing your domain name.

For example, anybody who has heard of Penwith Web Design might try guessing that our domain name is likely to start “www.penwithwebdesign” and be followed by one of the possible SLDs / TLDs.  If they tried ending it with either the .com TLD, or the .co.uk SLD/TLD, they would find us. No need for them to have used a search engine... what could be easier?!

Another option would be to pick a domain name which relates to the product or service you are offering.  For example, the website of B&Q - a well-known UK supplier of DIY supplies - can be accessed via the domain name of “www.diy.com”. Simple, effective.

The first thing to consider is whether your chosen domain name is available with a different TLD or SLD.  For example, if you wanted your domain name to end with a “.com” TLD, but find it is already registered, you could try a “.co.uk” SLD/TLD, or even a “.biz” TLD instead. The only thing to bear in mind is that the SLDs/TLDs which have been around for longest (for example, “.com”, “.co.uk”, etc) may well attract the most visitors, and generate the most interest and sales.  This is due to a perception that longevity equates to credibility and trustworthiness.  With time, as newer top level domains become more common, this factor may not be an issue; in the meantime, it is certainly something to consider, as it would be foolhardy to lose your potential visitors to a competitor’s website, purely because they chose a more trusted TLD than you.

If your chosen domain name is already registered, a further option would be to use a different spelling of it.  For example, replace the word “to” with the number “2”, the word “for” with the number “4”, the word “you” for the letter “u”, the phonetic sound “ph” with the phonetic “f”... if you use your imagination, another option is usually possible, and you may just find that it has not been registered by anybody else yet. You can also try adding an “s” to the end of your chosen domain name, to make it plural, or if that isn’t available then add a “z” instead for the same (plural) effect.  For example, at the time of writing “www.sportycars.co.uk” has already been registered, whilst “www.sportycarz.co.uk” is still available.

You could also try adding hyphens to split down domain names.  Again, whilst “www.sportycars.co.uk” is already registered, “www.sporty-cars.co.uk” is still available!

The first is that you should steer clear of any thoughts about cyber squatting yourself. Although the UK has no specific laws against cyber squatting, the Trades Marks Act 1994 (as amended), and other fraud laws relating to “passing off”, may mean that you are committing a criminal offence if you cyber squat.  This means that you could potentially be prosecuted for it.

The second rule is that if you find your own trademark (even if not a registered trademark) registered as a domain name, you may be able to retrieve it. This process is more problematic if your trading name contains generic terms (for example “Horse Saddles Ltd”) as other companies may have a right to use the generic term (“horse saddles”) in their domain name.  The process of retrieving a domain name is also more problematic if another company is trading under a different category of trade mark (there are over 40 different categories of trademark), because they may have as much right as your company to use that trademark.  It would always be worthwhile consulting with a solicitor specialising in this field, if you are in any way uncertain about your legal rights and responsibilities in this respect.

The third rule relating to cyber squatting is that you may decide that it is worthwhile buying up the likely variations of your chosen domain name, to pre-empt other people doing so.  For example, instead of just registering the “.com” version of your domain name, you may choose to also register the “.co.uk”, “.net”, et al versions.  As this can prove costly, the decision as to whether or not this is a worthwhile approach to protecting your trademark(s) will depend upon your individual circumstances. These might include such factors as the perceived value of your brand name/trademarks, your ability to pursue legal cases against cyber squatters, the likelihood of your brand name/trademark(s) attracting the interest of cyber squatters, etc. Ultimately, this is a decision that has to be made on a case-by-case basis.

Typo squatting is the process of registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name which relies on typographical errors being made by internet user, the result of which is that the user is directed to a site other than the one they intended to visit. These typographical errors might be made either when an internet user types a “known” domain name into their web browser, or when the internet user incorrectly types a search term into a search engine.

Typo squatted domains sometimes link to relatively harmless websites, featuring content which is totally unrelated to the site which their domain name is a typographical error of.  In this respect, they may not result in lost trade; the internet user generally realises they are not at the site they intended to visit and, unless they find the content of the accidentally-visited site interesting, are likely to re-enter the correct domain name and navigate away.

In some cases, however, the content of the website linked to a typo squatted domain is anything but harmless. For example, websites linked to typo squatted domains may contain inappropriate content (e.g. pornographic material) which could damage your company’s reputation.  They may contain a competitor’s products (potential resulting in lost sales). They may even contain fraudulent content which attempts to pass off the site as your site, fraudulently obtaining money from your customers, or destroying your business’ or organisation’s good reputation with mis-information.

Typo squatted domains are more difficult to deal with than cyber squatted domains. Any typo-squatted domains which attempt to pass themselves off as your website, or which purport to have been put online by your business or organisation, should be dealt with swiftly.  Where fraud is suspected, the site should be reported to the police.  A solicitor is usually the best port-of-call to deal with trademark infringements, etc.

Conclusion

Choosing a domain name can be a risky-business.  When choosing a domain name, the issues of top level domain (TLD) credibility, domain name availability, and the potential for cyber squatting and/or typo squatting should be carefully considered.  By following the advice in this article, you won’t go far wrong!

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