: If the website in question doesn't appear to have any real content, is filled with adverts/links or is telling you that it can search the web for an item related to the URL of the site

If the website in question doesn't appear to have any real content, is filled with adverts/links or is telling you that it can search the web for an item related to the URL of the site then it is a domain grabber. Domain grabbers will buy domains and fill them with ads to gain revenue or to sell them on at sky high prices.

If the website isn't a domain grabber the owner is less likely to be thinking of selling it. However, in either case you can find out who the owner of the site is by going to WhoIs.Net and entering the domain in question. In most cases the information about the person that registered that domain will come up and you can then contact them about the sale. The problem is that (in some cases) the domain owner may have paid for that information to be hidden or the information of the domain provider may be displayed instead. In these cases, while you can try contacting the domain owner with any information present, it is unlikely that you will actually be able to get in touch with the owner.

In the case that you can't buy the domain you want it may not be a good idea to register a similar domain as users wanting to visit your site may accidentally stumble upon the domain you wanted to buy instead, which could put them off trying to visit your website altogether. If it possible to go with another name for which the domain hasn't been taken then do that, otherwise you're opening your potential vistors up to confusion, which is never a good thing.

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