The Domain Squatter Dilemma | General Chat | Writing Forum

In another discussion (which for the life of me I can't find -- either here or at AboutWritingSquared.com), someone brought up the topic of domain squatters. 

These are people who register a domain name with no intention of actually using it for a live website. The reason they register it is usually either to stop anyone else from getting it or to pressure brands to pay them big money for a domain name including their trademark. 

I recently came across one of these folks when I was registering author site domain names for one of my pen names. The name itself was already registered as a .com domain, but there was no live site. And it turns out the domain has just been sitting for the last 7 years or so. 

I tracked down the owner through the WHOIS records and contacted them with an offer to buy the domain from them. 

Instead of a simple "not interested" I got a fairly long lecture from a mother. Apparently her kid goes by the same name (first name is just an initial-based nickname). And she didn't want anyone else to ever have the domain name, because she thinks her son is a musical prodigy and she wants him to have the domain name when he's famous someday. She actually talked about it being his "brand." (Keep in mind this is a young kid.) 

In that case, it was a situation where a domain squatter was holding onto a registration solely to stop other people from getting the domain. I wasn't really upset about it. I was more amused. The entire response I received was rather crazy. 

Here's what I did:

I registered the exact same name, but with "books" tacked onto the end. If anything, it will probably help the site rank even better because of the relevant keyword. And while I build that site and its rankings, her domain will sit unused. And when she is finally ready to set up a website for the kid, she'll have little chance of beating an established site in rankings (partly why this kind of squatting is so silly -- there are always similar options out there). 

Have you come across a domain squatter holding onto a domain name you could really use? How did you handle it? Here are a few ideas if it happens to you in the future:

1. Offer to buy the domain. It's costing them money to hold onto it, and unless it genuinely has premium status, you can often get them for a very reasonable price (although more than a normal registration fee). 
2. Tack on a keyword like I did, especially if the domain is based on a name. 
3. Choose a different domain extension (a .net can rank just as well as a .com if you put the work into it).
4. Consider other domain name options (if you came up with one good idea, you can probably come up with others too). 

Tell us about your domain squatter experiences.

Jenn

That's so strange. That was the first thread I looked at this morning, and I couldn't find the comment. I'm apparently blind. 

…

Ahhhhh. Just found it. I was looking at the more recent thread on personal vs company branding. I totally lost track of the old one about re-branding. 

Just to give credit where it's due, it was Lucy Smith who brought up the issue of domain squatters, and here's the thread:

/forum/marketing/rebranding-your-freelance-business-share-your-experiences/

Yeah. She was hilarious. The email response was this crazy lecture on how no one else deserved to have it because her son was going to be famous. Living vicariously through your kids much? lol 

If you don't mind sharing, what's the domain name they're interested in? Do they want it because it's keyword rich, similar to their existing brand, or just a good brand name in general? 

Oh wow. I wonder if they're hoping you'll forget to renew or something. Have you at least renewed it for a few years up front, so you don't have to worry about that? 

Backorders aren't too expensive for .coms. Are they higher for your domain extension? If she was offering to buy it, she could probably backorder. But fortunately, that doesn't stop you from renewing it indefinitely.