1. To find out if a name is already taken, if you wish to buy it. You may have a great idea for a site, and need a particular name. (In this case, just type the domain name onto the address field of a browser. You will either get a message that the site can’t be found, which implies it is not registered yet; or you will be taken to a web site which uses the domain name already.)

2. To see which individual or company owns a specific domain.

3. To get the contact details for the owner of a domain, so that you could send an offer to buy it.

4. To use the lookup information to contact the domain owner or technical contact to complain about something offensive or inaccurate on the web site, or, for example, because the site has content or images which have been taken from a site you own yourself, breaking copyright. (In this case, the nameserver information may give a clue about the name of the hosting service used by the domain owner, whom you could also complain to.)

5. To contact the owners of a domain who have infringed on a trademark which you own or control.

So, how do you do a domain name lookup anyway? Simply go to whois.net and use their search boxes. This is free. (Apart from whois.net, there are many other domain name search tools too, of course.) Minimum registration data for existing domains which you will be able to see following a lookup includes the registrant’s name, who the domain is registered through, and the nameservers. Depending on the registrar’s policies and setup, you may also be able to get a contact email address, a physical address and a phone number for the registrant and for the technical contact.

In addition, you may be able to see the date when the registration of the domain expires. This does not mean, of course, that the domain would be available to buy after that. Most domain registration services now have automatic domain renewals when the expiry date arrives, to protect their customers.

In some cases, the owner of a domain will have made a private registration, so that no personal details are available through who is lookups: the registrar’s contact details will be available instead.

In addition, most of the good domain registration services will allow you to do a domain name lookup, then buy any available domain there and then.

If you wish to lookup and buy a domain now, see my domain name registration page for tips on exactly how to do it.

Dee Buteland writes about domain names, buying domains, and making money from domains.

Author: Dee Buteland
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Digital Camera Times

When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to have 5 terms or phrases in mind that best describe the domain you’re seeking. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add prefixes & suffixes to create good domain ideas. For example, if you’re launching a mortgage related domain, you might start with words like “mortage, finance, home equity, interest rate, house payment” then play around until you can find a good match. 

Make the Domain Unique as much as possible

Having your website confused with a popular site already owned by someone else is a recipe for disaster. Thus, I never choose domains that are simply the plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an already established domain. I still believe that Flickr desperately needs to buy Flicker.com – I hear kids in their 20′s tell parents in their 40′s and 50′s to see photos on Flickr and always envision that traffic going straight to the wrong domain. 

Try to choose Dot-Com Available Domains

If you’re not concerned with type-in traffic, branding or name recognition, you don’t need to worry about this one. However, if you’re at all serious about building a successful website over the long-term, you should be worried about all of these elements, and while directing traffic to a .net or .org (as SEOmoz does) is fine, owning and 301′ing the .com is critical. With the exception of the very tech-savvy, most people who use the web still make the automatic assumption that .com is all that’s out there – don’t make the mistake of locking out or losing traffic to these folks. 

Make it Easy to Type

If a domain name requires considerable attention to type correctly, due to spelling, length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you’ve lost a good portion of your branding and marketing value. I’ve even heard usability folks toute the value of having the letters include easy-to-type letters (which I interpret as avoiding “q,” “z,” “x,” “c,” and “p”). 

Make it Easy to Remember

Remember that word-of-mouth and SERPs dominance marketing (where your domain consistently comes up for industry-related searches) both rely on the ease with which the domain can be called to mind. You don’t want to be the company with the terrific website that no one can ever remember to tell their friends about because they can’t remember the domain name. 

Keep the Name as Short as Possible

Short names are easy to type and easy to remember (the previous two rules). They also allow for more characters in the URL in the SERPs and a better fit on business cards and other offline media. 

Create and Fulfill Expectations

When someone hears about your domain name for the first time, they should be able to instantly and accurately guess at the type of content that might be found there. That’s why I love domain names like Hotmail.com, CareerBuilder.com, AutoTrader.com and WebMD.com. Domains like Monster.com, Amazon.com and Zillow.com (whom I usually praise) required far more branding because of their un-intuitive names. 

Avoid Copyright Infringement

This is a mistake that isn’t made too often, but can kill a great domain and a great company when it does. To be sure you’re not infringing on anyone’s copyright with your site’s name, visit copyright.gov and search before you buy. 

Set Yourself Apart with a Brand

Using a unique moniker is a great way to build additional value with your domain name. A “brand” is more than just a combination of words, which is why names like mortgageforyourhome.com or shoesandboots.com aren’t as compelling as branded names like bankrate.com or lendingtree.com. SEOmoz itself is a good example – “SEO” does a good job of explaining the industry we’re in and creating expectations, while “moz” gives a web association, and an association with being free, open, and community-driven. 

Reject Hyphens and Numbers

Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I’d suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other. 

Don’t Follow the Latest Trends

Website names that rely on odd mis-spellings (like many Web 2.0 style sites), multiple hyphens (like the SEO-optimized domains of the early 2000′s), or uninspiring short adjectives (like “top…x,” “best…x,” “hot…x”) aren’t always the best choice. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but in the world of naming conventions in general, if everyone else is doing it, that doesn’t mean it’s a surefire strategy. Just look at all the people who named their businesses “AAA… x” over the last 50 years to be first in the phone book; how many Fortune 2000′s are named “AAA company?” 

Use a Domain Selection Tool

Our Domain checker makes it exceptionally easy to determine availability of a domain name.

Allied Biztech Solutions Domain Registration Page: [http://www.alliedbiztech.com/domain-a-hosting/domain-check]

Author: Dipesh Majumder
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB Assembly

This idea of Domain Reselling was first brought to light by web design companies who wanted to serve their clients as best as they could. So in order to fulfil this, these web design companies decided to provide extra services in addition to the basic site design and web development that was already on offer. This is when a lot of these companies approached ICANN to form a partnership. ICANN is a worldwide corporation for accredited domain name registrars. If a partnership is formed between ICANN and these web design companies then these web design companies can begin to sell domain names directly to their own clients using their partners’ registrar system.

Starting a domain reseller business involves finding an ICANN Accredited Registrar that offers a reseller program. In most cases the reseller is provided with a user interface through which they may register, renew, and transfer domain names using the registrar’s own system. Often they are also provided with software to create their own branded interface to present to their clients, allowing for domain name search and registration from the reseller’s own site. Resellers generally receive highly discounted rates from the registrar because of the volume of transactions they process. This enables the reseller to set competitive prices for their registrations while still making a profit.

If planned well it can be an inexpensive way to build a successful business and due to an increase in people wanting websites there are now more domain name registrars than ever before; this has led to an increase in competition. It has also resulted in a significant drop in domain name prices, making it an easy business to enter.

Over the past few years the benefits of Domain Reselling have been brought to light and as a result Domain reselling has now expanded from merely being a few web design companies running reselling along with their web development. Many Domain Resellers are now stand alone Internet businesses. Domain resellers provide registration of available domain names for their clients, and often also engage in the process of acquiring expired domains from a Drop registrar for later resale.

With the increase in Internet business revolving around Domain Reselling there are now more ways being brought about of Domain Reselling occurring. A domain name auction can provide the reseller with another means to buy and sell domains, and a savvy investor can build a successful business around the right domain properties.

In the society that we live in today it is safe to say that if you already own an Internet based business such as web design or web hosting then getting into the business of Domain Reselling is a must, which is why most web design, hosting companies and programming houses offer domain names and domain name management as a value-added service to their offerings.

Helen is the web master of Discount Domains, who are approved ICANN Registrars, offering you the best in Domain Reselling.
Please feel free to republish this article provided a working hyperlink remains to our site

Author: Helen Cox
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

There are three main ways of finding available domain names.

The first way is simply to type the domain name you want to check into the address field of your browser. This is handy if you already know the domain name you want, and just need to see if it is still free.

When you do this, you will either be taken to the site (meaning the domain is already registered and has a web site associated with it) or you will get a message like this – ‘Internet Explorer cannot display the web page’ or ‘Server not found’. This means that the domain name is most likely still free, though there is still a small chance the web site was simply not available due to server issues at that moment.

The second way of finding available domain names is the go to one of the domain name registrars, such as Godaddy, and type in the name you want there. You can use the prominent ‘Start a domain name search’ box for this. Within seconds, you will see if the domain is available to register.

If you don’t have an idea about the exact domain you want, you can also use services like Godaddy to help you. To do this, decide on the theme of the domain name you want. For example, if you wanted to own a domain name about the subject of baseball, then just type ‘baseball’ into the domain search field.

Of course, baseball.com was taken long ago, but Godaddy will suggest a series of available names you could register, such as easycollegebaseball.com, baseballsportstore.com and so on. You will also see currently registered domain names related to baseball which are up for sale, and their prices. These names may give you ideas – many hyphenated word combinations related to your theme will still be free and able to be registered. Remember that registering a completely new name is always cheaper than buying a currently registered domain name.

The third way to check available domain names is most useful if you want a ‘generic’ name which is not linked to any particular subject. Use a service like Godaddy and simply browse the domain names which are for sale there. This is known as the domain name aftermaket. You will be able to buy domains which are for sale, and to bid on expired domain names, or simply make an offer to the owner for a domain that you want.

Now see the available domain names – check my available domain names page to start looking for and finding the domain you want.

Skip Dunbeacon writes about the Internet and how to make it work for you.

Author: Skip Dunbeacon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: WordPress plugin Guest Blogger

Having a brandable and memorable name is the foundation for a successful venture; not having it could cost you an arm and a leg in marketing costs, but no-one still remembers it.

With more than 80 million domain names already registered, you would get a serious headache brainstorming for names and looking them up in the Whois database one-by-one, only to find that all the sensible ones are already taken. But you can be sure, that good domain names are still out there. Its just not very easy to find them.

For that reason we can recommend a tool that can save you a lot of valuable time – MakeWords Domain Search and Suggestions tool .

Algorithms and language rules in MakeWords deliver hundreds of new unique name ideas instantly. It may take a couple of minutes of getting used to it, but once you do, you’ll save hours naming for your future products or brands. We even have pages where you can find a name for your pet, baby, roleplay character.

For Screen Names check out our sister site SpinXO.com.

No worries, there is still an infinite number of available domains out there, its just a matter of finding them.

Recently some major web hosting companies have launched domain name suggestion engines that can give you hundreds of inspiring name ideas instantly. A few of them stand out by being significantly faster and user-friendlier than most:

Yahoo! Domain Name Suggestions – Link

Yahoo’s Domain Suggestions has an eye-catching ultramodern Web 2.0 feel. This search interface is done with Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) – the latest in web techniques for creating interactive web applications. You’ll notice that the pages are actually never reloaded when searcing. Page elements simply shift around softly, making the user experience dynamic and easy to use.

Lets say we need a name for an interior design site. Typing “interior design” to the search box produces the following results:

Not all of them are close to ideal, but there are a few that sound good and are actually quite search engine friendly – meaning that they contain the actual words people would be searching for. Note that you have to click on “See more” to view all results.

The speed of looking up over 100 domain names is simply astonishing – new results are returned in less than one second thanks to Ajax.

Click here to try it – Yahoo Domains Suggestion Engine

GoDaddy Domains Smart Search – Link

GoDaddy’s first set of results is for .com domains only, but later you can select other extenisions like .net, .info, .biz, .us etc.

We’ll try the interior design search once again.

Click on the See other domains like this link to view all suggestions.

GoDaddy offers various options to customize your domain search – add popular affixes or suffixes, include dashes in the name or use related keywords.

Click here to try it – GoDaddy Smart Search

MakeWords Domain Name Generator – Link

MakeWords is the one with most advanced features. Names can be created with random phonetic words, that sound like they would derive from English language. The popular affixes search is similar to Yahoo! and GoDaddy, with tens of different affix categories to choose from. The synonym search suggests similar keywords that can be combined with an extra affix of suffix.

There are links for checking the domain popularity, Google results and business name availability. Similar to Yahoo, this site also uses the Ajax interface.

At first it may all seem a bit overwhelming, but that is usually the case whan you have so many custom search options.

Click here to try it – MakeWords Name Generator

Good luck with your domain name search!