How to deal with a squatter?

[OvniSpur]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice on how to deal with a squatter. I have not yet made any contact with them, but I was wondering if I have any recourse through ICANN's squatting rules.

I own a domain name that's the same as my business name. I made the big mistake of not registering a commonly used secondary spelling of the name (for example, monkeytheater vs monkeytheatre), and now I realize a squatter has taken over the alternative. The domain is pretty clearly a name and not a phrase, and it isn't a desirable domain except that it's similar to my own.

I have not registered a trademark, but I have been using the same name for 3 years and am the only one using the name, or anything similar. The squatted domain was purchased about 2 years after I began using my name, and it has nothing on it except a notice that it is for sale. On a listing website, they're looking for something between $4,000 and $8,000.

When I look at ICANN's requirements put forth under their disputation policy [icann.org ], I think I meet, and the squatter is violating, each of the requirements for seizure of the domain. The domain is (a) confusingly similar to my own, (b) being used in bad faith (there is 0 content--it's clearly being squatted), and (c) I can demonstrate my legitimate interest in the domain name, despite not having registered a trademark. However, I can't find any similar cases to compare, and the disputation process costs at least $1,500.

I would really appreciate any advice on how to approach this situation. Thank you!

[RedBar]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld OvniSpur

Apart from a bit of hurt pride personally I wouldn't even be concerned about it, after all just how many mis-spellings could you register for your name? This is surely one of many?

The other party hasn't a competing website therefore I wouldn't have thought they're infringing upon anything however I Am Not A Lawyer.

I have had loads of people try and do the same to me over the past 20+ years, I've never bothered to do anything, they've all fallen by the wayside.

[OvniSpur]

Hey RedBar, thanks for the welcome and the feedback. You might be right--maybe it isn't worth the effort. I'll try to find some way to figure out how many users I'm actually missing out on, though it might not be possible to know.

I am still a bit worried because this isn't exactly a typo--it's a perfectly correct alternate spelling. So, if someone just heard the name of my business, they could easily search with the alternate spelling. I'm able to see in Google Analytics that at least 25-50 users are searching for my site using the alternate spelling every week (and I can only see the users that eventually find me). Unfortunately, my site only appears in results if the search is "[alternate spelling name] + [relevant keyword]". I don't appear in a search for "[alternate spelling name]" without a keyword. I'm also worried about users who are just going to "[alternate spelling].com" and give up.

Maybe everyone is heading to Google and throwing in a keyword along with the title and I'm hardly missing out, but who knows.

[RedBar]

What about creating a single page using the alternate spelling? I have to say I'm not quite sure how that would work and what the SEs would do with it.

Certainly in my industry G/B/Y differentiate such spellings as color and colour...just a thought.

[Hoople]

Perhaps you could leverage that alternate spelling in ways that gets the searchers to your site? No, I'm not suggesting the old white text! Place it in other legitimate but not directly visible attributes.

The keyword meta if done VERY conservatively with the incorrect spelling might get seen by the SE's.

Then there is off page links and proximal text too. Beat him in 'ranking' for the same spelling <G>

[tangor]

Sounds like you're talking about the difference between UK and US English spelling. In my experience, for users in either country, if one spelling doesn't work they try the other (eg. center, centre)

You might not be missing any traffic! After all, the parked/squat page has no value and yours does. :)

A meta description with both spellings can go a long way.

[OvniSpur]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I'll place the alternate spelling in a few places like suggested, and then try my best to not worry about it!

[not2easy]

One other thing you can do is check whois for the expiration date of the registration. I got back a "squatted" domain that way. It had been grabbed by the squatter when a friend had been ill and let it lapse. It had been his registered business name, but he had not developed it at that time. I went back on the expiration date and got it for under $10, signed it over to the guy for a Happy Birthday gift. :) He developed it this time...

Some squatters hope for a fast ransom payment, if ignored they don't keep it up I guess.

[Marshall]

I own a site with theater in the site and domain name. I also registered it with theatre and after years of watching analytics, the number of visitors using theatre were virtually non-existent so I dropped the theatre url without any adverse effects. However, the content of the site, especially the description meta, always had both spellings. In the end, for what the site covers, it has always ranked in the top 5 SERP's. I should also mention it has been around since 1999. Regardless, bottom line - I would not worry about the squatter.