FindSoft - Soft For Life

The problem is that finding a name with a free domain is hard enough, even without having to run a check on every social network and website you hope to also register your brand on. That’s what makes UD.com so nice: it can not only find out if your desired website name is free on several different top level domains but also on a variety of different social networking sites.

Couldn’t Be Simpler

Getting started with the UD.com domain name checker couldn’t possibly be simpler. Just head over to the site and enter the website name you’re looking for into the search bar.

For example, I’m seriously considering starting a site called WhyJustinPotIsSoAwesome. Finding out what sub-domains and websites this name is free on could be useful, so I enter the term into UD.com and see the following:

Okay, using this domain name checker, it looks as if that particular domain is wide open. Surprising; I suppose I don’t have many rabid fans listing reasons I’m awesome on the Internet. Note that I can’t have this name on Twitter or Linked In; the name is too long for those sites.

Searching for a more common term, let’s see the results for MakeUseOf.

As you can see our domain is taken on .com, .net, .org and .info. It’s free on .biz, precious few people use that particular top level domain.

It’s also pointed out that MakeUseOf is taken for Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Naturally we’re on Twitter and Facebook, but our MySpace page is looking as abandoned as MySpace itself.

You get the idea: the site will give you a quick overview of what’s free and what’s not. Why?

Perfect for Brainstorming

So you can think of a name, of course. Where this search engine really shines is that crucial stage in every website’s life: brainstorming the name. You can’t really begin a website until you have a name, and you want to make sure the name you come up with is a good one. But having a good name isn’t enough: you also need to make sure no one else is using that name.

That’s UD.com’s perfect use. Sit down with your team, discuss names you’d like to potentially use and run them through a search. You’ll have a really good idea which names are usable and which names are not by just glancing at the result of a UD.com search.

Of course, once you work out your domain you’re going to need to write quality content if you want readership. Check out Ryan’s article on starting a blog that gets instant traffic to find out how that’s done.

List of Top Level Domains and Services Listed

Domains:

• .com
• .net
• .org
• .info
• .biz
• .mobi
• .tel
• .name
• .tv
• .me
• .us
• .co.uk
• .de
• .fr
• .es
• .in
• .cn
• .jp
• .eu
• .asia

Websites/Social Networks:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• LinkedIn
• eBay
• Blogger
• WordPress
• delicious
• Flickr
• last.fm

Conclusion

This search engine does one thing and does it well, and nothing else is required of it. I intend to use it a lot in the year to come as I pursue my blogging dreams; I hope you find a use for it to.

Do you guys know of a similar or better domain name checker? I love learning from you, so please so share. Also feel free to share any hilarious domains you discover are somehow taken in your searches, because I also love to laugh.

Written by Justin Pot