Research A Domain Name Using WHOIS

Basic Advice For Deciding Upon A Domain Name

Continuing from the previous section. After looking at possible Web Hosting Providers and Packages the next thing you should do is give your website a Domain (www.???.com) Name. Choosing a domain name is relatively easy but obtaining it is a different story!

Common domain names usually derive from a family name, company name, product name or service name and are usually registered for one year at a time, although you can register for longer if you wish. After spending some considerable time deciding upon a domain name (hours, days or even weeks in some cases) you then need to make sure it is available, that no one has registered it yet, by using a domain name search engine such as Domain Tools.

These kinds of website specialize in many areas of Domain (I will skip the technicals here! - All you are interested in is the Name of the Domain). With domaintools you can find who owns a domain name, if the owner has made their registration details public. You can find out what domain names are for sale/at auction. You can look at suggested domain names after entering some keywords. And so on.

This example uses the Domain Suggestions part of that website. So begin by typing http://domain-suggestions.domaintools.com/ into internet explorer's Address Bar edit box and then click on the blue arrow (GO) button, or press the ENTER keyboard key, to continue.

Fig 1.0  Type in your prefered Domain Name, without the .com or whatever at the end of it.

When domain suggestions appears type your prefered domain name, without the .com or whatever at the end of it, into the DOMAIN SEARCH edit box before clicking on the SEARCH button. Clicking on the SEARCH button not only makes the search engine look for the precise domain name you entered but it also makes it look for similar domain names and suggested domain names of its own. In this example I have typed websitecreationhelp into the DOMAIN SEARCH edit box (above).

When the search results appear (below) you will get a better idea of the domain tool you are using. Scroll down the window a little in order to see which, websitecreationhelp, domain names have already been registered and so on. The Symbol Keys to the right tell you the meaning of the, filled in, circle(s) next to each domain name.

Domain  Name  Already  Registered

In this example only websitecreationhelp.com has been registered. I know this because only websitecreationhelp.com has a world-globe next to it. Therefore, if I wanted a websitecreationhelp domain name I would either have to register websitecreationhelp.co.uk for example, pick one of the suggested websitecreationhelp domain names or search for a new domain name.

Fig 1.1  The search results show that websitecreationhelp.com has been registered already

Hold on!! How would you know the status of a .co.uk domain name? when .co.uk is not listed. Well the short answer is you would not know.....until you checked it with a local domain name search engine, such as the one provided by your possible web hosting provider (example below). Domain Suggestions only looks at global domain names, not local ones like .co.uk, .fr (france) etc. You could use the Whois Source part of the website to determine if a domain name exists but it is better to use a local domain name search engine.

Another way to check if a domain name exists is to type it into internet explorer's Address Bar edit box. If you get to its website it exists otherwise you will get an error. Saying this though, an error does not mean it does not exist. The website could be down (not visible) at that time. With Whois Source (example below) you are either given the public details of the domain name or told Domain Not Found.

Public  Details  Of  Domain  Name  Owner

If you want to find the public details of a domain name either click on its grey circle or click on the WHOIS SOURCE button. The WHOIS SOURCE button requires you to enter the domain name, again, into its SEARCH edit box whereas if you have the domain name searched already it is best just to click on its grey circle.

Fig 1.2  The public (Whois Source) details for websitecreationhelp.com as found by Whois Source

The public details for a domain name normally consist of a Creation Date, an Expiry Date, the Name & Address of the Registered Owner (if made public) and the Technical (Registration and Server) Details. The details of interest to you should be the Creation Date and the Expiry Date.

Preferred  Domain  Name  Already  Registered

Imagine your prefered domain name has been registered already. All is not lost. By looking at a domain name's creation date and expiry date you can judge if the owner is going to register the domain name again. If they have registered it every year, for the last ten years for example, you probably have no chance but if this is its first year of registration you may have a chance to register the domain name yourself, especially if their website is a failure or they do not like the name any more.

In Fig 1.2 above you can see websitecreationhelp.com was created 2nd June 2009 for the first time. So does this mean you can register websitecreationhelp.com on the 2nd June 2010? Answer. It depends. The normal procedure is that a week or so before expiry your web hosting provider should renew (re-register) your ownership automatically, if they are a good company. However. This is normally when you have been paying your web hosting provider by debit/credit card.

If you have been paying them by cheque each year for example and the cheque is delayed or lost in the post your web hosting provider might not renew your domain name, for business reasons rather than loyalty. This does not mean your web hosting provider is bad, it just means from a business point of view renewing an uncertain customer's domain name again, in advance without payment yet, would be business suicide.

Fig 1.3  The public (Whois Source) details for microsoft.com as found by Whois Source

If you scroll down the WHOIS SOURCE results page you will come to the Ownership details for that domain name. Comparing the Ownership details of websitecreationhelp.com (Fig 1.2 above) to microsoft.com (Fig 1.3 above) microsoft.com has made its Name & Address (contact) details public whereas websitecreationhelp.com has not. This is mainly due to Microsoft being a business and needing/wanting its name & address details made public. This websitecreationhelp website is a personal website that does not want/need its name & address details made public.

Protect  Domain  Name  Details  With  WHOIS GUARD

websitecreationhelp's contact details are protected by a service called WHOIS GUARD, which means the domain name registrar has been given instructions not to make any contact details public. WHOIS GUARD is set up by your web hosting provider and costs between £1.50 and £7 a year (depending on the domain name and web hosting specifics) - Some web hosting providers give you the first year for free, but either way when you register or re-register a domain name you should inform them that you want WHOIS GUARD Protection for that domain name.

Over the years your web hosting provider should know what you want each year without asking you, if you have built up a good rapport with them.

Search  For  A  Local  Domain  Name

Going back to the local domain name search. If you want to search for a co.uk domain name for example use a UK-based web hosting provider's search engine to do this. You might have to go through an hosting package ordering procedure before getting to their domain name checking search engine, because they are expecting paying customers and not searchers, but do not let that put you off. You are not going to pay anything because you are only looking, so even if you see an payment page just cancel out of it once you have the domain name search results.

In this example I had to click on the EMAIL HOSTING link in order to get to the domain name search engine, but once there I simply typed websitecreationhelp into the Search edit box and then clicked on the CHECK AVAILABILITY button next to it. From there, the search results appeared (I had to scroll down the page a little) showing that websitecreationhelp.co.uk is currently available for registration.

Fig 1.4  Type your prefered domain name into the SEARCH edit box and then click CHECK AVAILABILITY




Fig 1.5  websitecreationhelp.co.uk, amongst other domain names, is available for registration

So now you know about the Domain Tools website, Whois and Whois Guard Protection it is now time to look at practical domain name advice.

Practical  Domain  Name  Advice

• Pick a domain name that describes your Product(s)/Service(s) before picking a Family named domain name. This is simply because the internet is used to searched for Information, Products and Services above all else. The only real reasons for having a family named domain name is; if you are making a family tree website, creating a C.V website and/or just want to get that family name popular on the internet (i.e. brand it).

• Pick a (global) .com before a (local) .co.uk if you intend to offer International Product(s)/Service(s). A .com will rank you higher with the search engines. A .co.uk is ideal if you want/need to base your product(s)/service(s) in the UK only, and therefore do not want/need international customers.

• Do not pick a name that is too common. When picking a domain name you have to get the balance right. Consider the name of your product(s)/service(s) first. Then check how common each of its keywords are. For example. Do not pick londonflowers.co.uk because it will more than likely have been registered already and more importantly the keywords London and Flowers are too common, which means when people search for "London Flowers", "Flower Sellers In London" and so on your website will have too much competition - You may find it difficult to beat off the competition and rise to the top of the search engines.
  
  In this scenario you would check which alternative keywords for Flowers you could use (i.e. Petals. Plants. Flora - If they are appropriate of course). The same with London. You may have to name your Town in london or replace london altogether. Examples: rainbowflowers.co.uk, flowersandpetals.com, flowerknowledge.co.uk and westminsterflowers.com.

• Do not worry about long domain names. If you think people will not remember it and find it long winded to type all the time, think again. In this age of Copy & Paste ONCE someone types your long domain name into their E-Mail Contacts (i.e. info@londoncomputerrepairs.co.uk) and/or keeps it in their browser's Favorites (i.e. London Computer Repairs - www.londoncomputerrepairs.co.uk) it means they will not need to type it again (in general). And they will find a way of remembering it - By place: London, product: Computer and services: Repairs.

• Do not worry about Search Engines. Do not pick a domain name purely on the chance of it becoming number one with the search engines. For example. www.computerrepairs.com is okay but www.howtorepairacomputer.com is bad. Although people search for "How To Repair A Computer" they are more likely to shorten their search with "Computer Repairs" or search for a specific problem like "Modem Repairs", "Faulty Modem" or "Internet Not Working". In other words, words like How To and Knowledge are better replaced with more specific words like Help and Repair.
  
  Tell the audience how you can help them (real help) and not that you have knowledge (general statement). People go on the internet looking to solve something (i.e. a problem) and not to know you are knowledgeable. They automatically assume your are knowledgeable from your web page titles and web page description (i.e. Find all the help you need right here) - Now they are looking for a solution from you (Does your help deal with and/or solve their specific problem).
  
  Computer KNOWLEDGE and HOW TO Repair A Computer is not specific enough. Even Computer Repairs is too general. A better domain name would be www.yourcomputerproblemssolved.com or www.wecanfixyourcomputer.com. If a website is of excellent value, enough people will click on it to make it number one anyway. yoingco.com proves this. It is within the top 3 results, on page 1, of the four major search engines (at this time) through merit and not because of its domain name.

• Consider using Hyphens in your domain name. If you really want your domain name but someone else has taken it you can always consider registering its hyphenated version (i.e. www.computer-repairs.com instead of www.computerrepairs.com), if its available of course. The downside of using hyphens is that people forget your domain name has them, both memory-wise and typing-wise, and therefore type your domain name without hyphens. The advantage is that search engines for example can distinguish the wording better because of the hyphens and may consequently rank you a little higher.

• Try the plural form of a domain name. If you really want your domain name but someone else has taken it you can always try registering its plural form (i.e. www.dogfoods.com instead of www.dogfood.com). The downside is that the plural form may not be an option because you only have one of something. www.petshops.com is not good if you only have one pet shop of course.

• Avoid Authority/Boastful Words. If you are not the master/authority of your subject avoid boastful words like THE..., YOUR ONLY..., THE BEST..., KNOWHOW/KNOWLEDGE, GURU/MENTOR/COACH and ACTIVE in your domain name because if your website is not of THE authority information-wise (not the best) and/or is not ACTIVE (is not "up-to-date" with information and/or does not have enough visitors) then your website will be a failure from the start.
  
  As each year goes by, with more competition, more and more website owners are now becoming aware of the need to be the best (of authority) if they want to succeed. Years ago you might of called out a separate Plumber, a separate Electrician and a separate Painter to fix up your house but these days people are looking for a "Jack of all trades" to cut down on expenses. And this applies to the internet.
  
  People want a "Jack of all knowledge/sub-knowledges" website, not because they need to save money but because they soon tire of searching for information from different websites. So do not start a website project thinking "I am going to be the best......I will register www.thebestwhatever.com" and then end up not sticking to your goals of giving out quality, authoritative, information. Apart from looking stupid and lacking credibility you will also be denying someone their rightful crown!!

• Check the history of a previously owned domain name. For example. Type links: "domainname.com" into a search engine or "site:domainname.com", where domainname is replaced by the domain name you are researching, to find history of that domain name (if any exists). Also check that domain name with Domain Tools and with the archive website Way Back When.

Research  Without  Keyword  Tools

As you learn more and more about website creation you begin to realize your mistakes and then blame it on "The Learning Curve". Unfortunately sometimes the learning curve cannot be blamed, especially when you were given the correct information/advice in the first place! Your chosen domain name might be your personal "classic example" whereby you thought it was excellent at registration time only to realize later that you might of picked the wrong domain name. This is a classic mistake to make.

As you learn more from the internet the "Keyword Tool" will appear in the articles you read, in promotional e-mails, advertisements and so on. A keyword tool is basically a program that "suppossedly" researches many website statistics for you, including rankings of keywords and keyphrases, so you do not have to. I say supposedly meaning the keyword/keyphrase results you get back do not always tally with reality, for whatever reason(s), and are normally misinterpretted and misunderstood.

As a beginner, perhaps on a budget, you can get away with a D.I.Y approach to keyword and keyphrase research; which is just as effective if not better than keyword tool (program) research.

In these lessons I will show you how to use the Google Search Engine and Google Insights to gather up information, so you can base a domain name, web page file name, link, meta tag and so on around that information. One method for example is to pick the keywords you want in your domain name and then check its popularity and results within the Google Search Engine. Another method is to investigate your competition's website to see what keywords they use. So do not think your learning of domain names and more precisely keywords ends here!