Despite the pervasive groaning and head-scratching when it comes to trying to think up ".com" domain names that remain available, it's still possible to find great domain names by using creative naming tactics.

Even in a highly competitive industry, you can think up original, appealing domain names for businesses by using the following five naming tactics that few people use:

1. Focus on results. What is the outcome or end result that people want to have from buying a certain product or service? How do they feel when they have finished the transaction?.

2. Look for puns. Make a list of relevant keywords, say each out loud and play around with the sounds. Puns are much less likely than other kinds of names to have been registered because their component parts are not actual words.

3. Think slang. Let your imagination and memory fly around for pleasing-to-the-ear expressions.

4. Go symbolic. Suppose you're an expert on the horror genre and want to start a paid online community for horror fans. Horrorific.com, horrorgate.com and Horrornet.com are all taken, but as of today, the less obvious and more vivid FrightFox.com is not.

5. Vary real words. "Google's name is a play on the word googol, which refers to the number 1 followed by one hundred zeroes," says the Press Center of the world's most successful search engine. "The word was coined by the nine-year-old nephew of mathematician Edward Kasner," it continuesproviding another hint for creative naming: consult a kid.