Available Domain Names

[Matthew Sherborne]

Finding available domain names that are both keyword rich and appealing is necessary for anyone who wants to rank well organically
in the search engines. The problem lies in the fact that many good keyword rich domain names have been snatched up by domain name
speculators interested in reselling these URL's for a profit.

Further complicating things is all of the available URL extensions. For instance there's .com, .net, .org, .info, .mobi and many more
depending on your country. For U.S citizens and many other people worldwide the best bet is still to select a .com domain name.

There are several major factors to consider when looking for a good domain name. first off you what a name that is memorable and can
be spelled easily. In addition you want it to be as short as possible.

When ever I'm in the market for a new domain name I like to first determine my objectives. A little planning into the primary focus of my
new website can go a long way toward its success.

By writing down what you want to achieve you can then take that information to places like free Wordtracker and find out what keyword
phrases people are searching for. Including one or two of these keywords in your domain name will give your website a good chance to
come up first when someone enters that keyword phrase in the search engines.

To find available domain names I like to use the following tools:

Nameboy - Great for doing a domain name search and coming up with domain name ideas:
Nameboy Ultimate Domain Name Generator, search, creation, domain name lookup and domain registration

123Finder - Enter in a few keywords and this free domain search service will locate relevant names to use for your new site:
123finder.com - Domain name generator, search engine

Bust a Name - Select all of keywords you'd like to possibly include in your website and enter them in to the search box. Now you can see
which domains are available based on the phrases you like: Domain Search - BustAName

Instant Domain Search - Find out which domains are available as fast as you can type them in - Instant Domain Search

Yahoo Domain Search - Enter in a keyword domain you would like and have Yahoo tell you if it is available. My favorite part of this tool is
its ability to generate related domains based off your original query. I've found a few good ones this way -
Yahoo! Small Business: Domain Names, Web Hosting, E-commerce, Email, and Online Marketing

Once you've found a domain name that you like I recommend going with Hostgator for your monthly hosting. I'm using their reseller hosting
account and have been quite satisfied with their customer service and great prices.

Got any more free tools to find available domain names? If so add them to the list here in the comments below...