What makes a good domain name?
A strong domain name for an Australian business is short, spellable out loud, and available in both the .com.au and .com extensions. Australia runs a two-tier domain system - .com.au and .au are the local ccTLDs, while .com is the global extension - and serious Australian businesses should hold all three where possible.
Keep your domain under 15 characters. Beyond that threshold, typo rates climb and word-of-mouth transmission becomes unreliable. The practical sweet spot is 6 to 12 characters: specific enough to be meaningful, short enough to be recalled without effort.
Your domain and brand name should match exactly. When the exact match is taken, the cleanest fallbacks are adding a prefix or suffix - “get”, “use”, “hq”, or a relevant descriptor. Avoid hyphens entirely: acme-supplies.com.au looks untrustworthy and gets dropped when people repeat the address verbally. Avoid numbers for the same reason - they force ambiguity (is it “4” or “for”?) and reduce confidence in the address.
Pronounceability is a practical filter. If you have to spell your domain every time you introduce yourself or hand over a business card, the name is working against you. A domain that flows naturally in conversation - at a networking event, on a podcast, in a radio ad - is worth considerably more than a clever abbreviation that nobody can decode on first hearing.
Two more specific variants of this tool exist: the AI domain name generator for AI-focused brands, and the website name generator for naming a website or blog rather than a full business.
How to use the domain name generator
Already have a name in mind and just need to verify it? The standalone domain name checker does exactly that. Haven’t settled on a business name yet? Start with the business name generator instead.
NameCraftr is a free AI domain name generator that checks .com, .com.au, and .au availability in real time as it generates name suggestions - a domain name generator and checker in one tool. Enter words that describe your business, your industry, or the feeling you want your brand to project. The generator produces combinations, invented words, portmanteaus, and name styles across different categories - all with live availability status across all three extensions.
When a name shows available across .com, .com.au, and .au simultaneously, register all three immediately. That combination is rare and valuable. When only one or two extensions are free, note which and factor that into your decision - holding .com.au but not .com means anyone who defaults to .com (a common habit, including for Australian searchers) lands somewhere else.
If a name you want is already registered, you may still be able to buy it. Marketplaces like Sedo (sedo.com) and Afternic (afternic.com) list domains for sale globally, including Australian extensions. Prices range from a few hundred dollars for lightly held names to several thousand for premium short terms. Direct outreach to the current registrant via WHOIS lookup is also an option. For secondary market purchases, budget $500 to $2,000 as a starting expectation for a usable two-word domain.
Check social handle availability in parallel - a domain can be open while the matching Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook handle is already taken. Confirming both at the same time prevents a fragmented brand identity later.
After the generator: registering and protecting your domain
Register within minutes of confirming availability. Domain monitoring scripts are real, and a name that is available when you search can be gone within hours in competitive categories.
For Australian domain registrations, the key registrars accredited under auDA (the .au Domain Administration) include:
- VentraIP (ventraip.com.au) - an Australian-owned registrar, .com.au typically $8-12/year
- Crazy Domains (crazydomains.com.au) - widely used, competitive pricing, $8-15/year for .com.au
- NetRegistry (netregistry.com.au) - established Australian provider, similar pricing
.com.au and .au require an ABN (Australian Business Number) to register. Your registered business name or trading name must have a close and clear connection to the domain you are claiming - this is an auDA policy requirement, not a formality. If your ABN is new or your business name differs from your domain, ensure the connection is documented before you apply.
.com registrations have no residency requirements and can be registered through any global registrar. Namecheap (namecheap.com) and Cloudflare Registrar (cloudflare.com/products/registrar) offer .com at $10-12/year with free WHOIS privacy.
Enable auto-renewal on all domains and set reminders. Losing a .com.au because of an expired registration is especially painful - the name goes into a redemption period, then becomes available for anyone to register, including competitors. Enable WHOIS privacy where available. .com.au registrations under auDA policy have some mandatory disclosure requirements, but protecting personal contact details wherever the registrar permits is still good practice.
Common domain naming mistakes
Not securing both .com.au and .com. Many Australian businesses register only the local extension and assume Australian customers will find them. In practice, a significant share of search traffic - and almost all referral traffic from international sources - defaults to .com. Holding both extensions and redirecting .com to .com.au (or vice versa) costs $20-30/year and eliminates a consistent leakage point.
Treating .com.au and .au as interchangeable. The .au extension (without “com”) was introduced in 2022. It is shorter and more flexible - you do not need a matching business name, just an ABN. It is useful for startups, personal brands, and side projects that want a clean Australian address without the formal naming requirement. Established businesses should hold both .com.au and .au and redirect one to the other.
Choosing a generic name that cannot build brand equity. Names like “australianbuildingsupplies.com.au” are available for a reason - they describe a category rather than a brand. A brandable name under 15 characters that can be trademarked and remembered is worth more long-term than a keyword-stuffed address.
Skipping the trademark check. IP Australia’s trademark search is at ipaustralia.gov.au. If a competing business holds a registered trademark on your chosen name in your class of goods or services, the domain registration does not protect you from a legal challenge. Check before you register.
Registering only one variation. Once you have traction, register common misspellings and the .net version as defensive registrations. Each costs $10-15/year and redirected to your main domain, they prevent competitor or squatter capture of your overflow traffic.