| If you're ready to start your own website you need | | | | you choose at least one or two good keywords to |
| to find domain name information that's going to be | | | | include in your domain. Bobsmithartwork.com, for |
| right for your chunk of cyberspace. That starts with | | | | instance, would be a better choice for an art site |
| knowing what the best domain name might be for | | | | then just |
| your site, finding what people are looking for, and | | | | Find Domain Names That are Expired or Registered |
| checking any past associations with things like expired | | | | A way to give your site a little boost right out of the |
| or currently registered domains. | | | | gate is to purchase a domain name that's already |
| Find Domain Names that People are Searching For | | | | registered. That can be a current name or one that's |
| The first step in getting your own domain is to think | | | | recently expired and is for sale by the registrar or |
| about your site's purpose. You wouldn't be creating a | | | | another service. These names may already have a |
| site if you didn't want people to find it, and choosing | | | | history, may be already indexed by the search |
| a good domain name will help with that. Let's pretend | | | | engines and may already have links pointing to them |
| that you're an artist. You want a website that's going | | | | which give them a little more weight in a web search. |
| to show your latest artwork. You might sell the | | | | Look at archive.org for that domain's name to see if |
| artwork from the site, send people to your current | | | | there is a history associated with it, bearing in mind |
| showings and sales or just show off your skill. No | | | | that the archive won't show anything for the last |
| matter what the reason is you do want as many | | | | year to year and a half. Use something like Yahoo |
| visitors as you can get. So go to the Google | | | | Site Explorer to check to see which types of sites |
| Keyword Tool and enter search terms that apply to | | | | have linked to that domain, if any. Make sure there |
| you and your site. | | | | aren't any sites linking to it like pharmaceutical, |
| For an art site you would put in things like art, | | | | pornography or gambling sites that the search |
| artwork, oil paintings, art for sale, art galleries and | | | | engines frown on. And in Google's search box, use |
| other similar terms. Doing so will bring up a long list of | | | | the command to see if the site has been indexed. If |
| related keywords and it will show you how many | | | | it's been indexed and there doesn't appear to be any |
| people search on those keywords each month. This | | | | controversial sites linking to it, then the domain has a |
| is a good basic way to start picking words for your | | | | bit of history and can give your site a boost. |
| domain name. | | | | If there are pages listed at archive.org, be sure to |
| You can find domain name choices that work for | | | | look at them and make sure that the links aren't |
| successful websites that have nothing to do with the | | | | pointing out to any controversial sites like |
| site, of course. You can register the domain in your | | | | pharmaceutical, gambling or pornography sites. If not, |
| name and have it be about any topic and make it | | | | then you could be giving your website an edge and |
| successful. But you make it just a little bit easier if | | | | helping it become more popular, more quickly. |