When you Get a Domain Name beware of Cybersquatting!
Domain name cyber-squatting is a serious problem and from this year to last, it’s growing in popularity. Last year there were 2,884 cases of cyber-squatting claimed which has risen 4.5% from the year prior.
The one note we here at Get Domainer, is that these numbers do not necessarily mean that there is more cybersquatting it may mean that attention to this subject or that people are more aware of this issue is on the rise, perhaps a little of both.
Anyway, that said, there are three different types of cybersquatting that you really need to be aware of:
1) Jumping on lapsed registrations. This means, people wait for a business’s domain name to expire, buying that domain name, then turning around and trying to sell it to the original business. Holding that domain name for hostage, as it were.
2) Buying misspellings and / or plurals. This one is simple enough, and example would be if the original is “Google” buying “Gogle” or “Googles.” These people are really hoping that someone will mistype the domain and grab some of their business.
3) Buying various domain name extensions and similar sounding domain names. This can be broken down into two:
- Buying “Google.net” or “Google.org” when we all know that the business is “Google.com”
- Buying some domain name like other businesses and setting up a similar looking business.
These are the most common types of domain name squatting. There are a few ways around this the first and easiest, yet more costly, is that you by the plural and misspelled versions of the domain name you plan to get for your business.
The easiest and most cost effective way to prevent cybersquatting is to make sure that your domain name is continually registered. So many of the Domain Name Registers have auto renew but just make sure that your credit card and email is up to date.
Now, get out there and check all those plurals, misspellings and domain name extensions and make sure no one is squatting on your domain name.
Of course if you’re looking to get a great domain name at a great price, please let us know.