Choosing the Right Domain Name

Domain names are to websites as book covers. If they are not interesting enough, visitor will have no desire to enter them in their browsers. If a domain name is creative but not keyword-rich, search engine bots won't be able to index it in search engine listings. So, ultimately, your domain name must be both catchy yet search engine optimized.

You will need to find a popular search engine keyword that can be incorporated into your domain name. A keyword analyzer can help you in this task. When you find one, enter in a keyword that best summarizes the purpose of your website. The keyword analyzer will return different versions of this keyword. You can choose one if the more specific instances can also fit within the nature of your website. This is because when it comes to search engine optimization, more specific keywords are better since they are less likely to be used by other webmasters.

Now you can start selecting your actual domain name. Most domain name companies will allow you to see whether or not your domain name is available. If it is not available, it will return a list of recommended domain names. Take advantage of this tool by first entering your selected keyword. If your keyword as a domain name is not available, consider the suggestions the domain name company gives. If the main keyword is still included in these suggestions and it ends with .com, consider it. Otherwise, you will have to be more creative.

Free Domain Names

Three types of free domain name exist: third level domain names, first level domain names with lesser used extensions and first level domain names with traditional extensions.

The first type of free domain name is known as a third level domain name. This is a domain name that is commonly distributed by free web hosting companies or affiliate programs. Yet, there is a downside to this type of domain name. This downside involves the first level domain name, having to be a part of the third level domain name. For example, consider a website created with Geocities.

If a webmaster chooses 'myname' as their third level domain name, the following would be the syntax: Geocities.com/myname. Such a domain name is not very convenient for potential visitors, so webmasters may want to consider redirecting these types of URLs to other versions of free domain names.

The second type of free domain name is a first level domain name that contains an extension that is not as popular in the Internet world. Examples are the types of free domain names offered by Dot.tk or Free Domain.co. The extensions offered from these companies are .tk and .co.nr. These are far from a .com or a .net, but they are not as cumbersome to use as a third level domain name. The main key is going to be making sure the initial domain name is short and easy to remember, so potential visitors won't be as offset by the unusual extension.

Finally, there are free domain names with extensions that are more commonly used such as .com or .org. Sometimes individuals will offer them for free, since they were about to expire anyway. A person can try to find these situations through message boards dedicated to webmasters. Other times companies will offer these types of free domain names because they are getting free ad space. What happens is every time the free domain name is used, a pop-up ad will show up on the person's website. This is how the free domain name company gets their revenue.

In conclusion, free domain names can be an excellent alternative for someone needing domains for several websites. The best ones are those in which a person can get a first level domain, though a third level domain name is better than nothing. To sign up for a free domain name, one can search for free domain name companies on the Internet.

Domain Names 101

Without a domain name, websites are specified by an IP address. IP address is an identifier that is used by computers or humans to determine the location of a server or website. An IP address which is expressed in a numerical format, can be difficult to remember. This is why domain names were invented. With a domain name, a human can locate a website through more user-friendly words or phrases. And although numbers can be a part of a domain name, they usually do not make up all of it, like what is seen with an IP address.

Domain names have several parts. The first part is known as the URL (Uniform Resource Locator). The URL tells the browser what the domain name is going to point to. This will usually be 'http', which means the browser can expect to locate a hypertext document.

The second part of the domain name will be "www," which stands for "World Wide Web." This phrase lets computers and humans know the site the domain name is pointing to is indeed from the Internet. It is followed by the actual domain name, which can be a combination of letters, numbers or phrases. A good domain name will be short, memorable and search-engine friendly. In fact, good webmasters tend to concentrate more on a domain name's effectiveness with Search Engine Optimization than they do its creativity.

The final portion of the domain name has what is known as an extension. Domain name extensions can also specify things on a geographical level. An example are country-based extensions such as .fr, (which stands for France), or .my, (which stands for Malaysia).

To get a domain name, a person can either:

1) get one from their web hosting company and provided they offer that service

2) get one from a separate domain name company.