At least as far back as 2 years ago, I've been advising people to try to be the first person to do something. Being the first person to capitalize on some new trend is often one of the most important things you can do for good search rankings. Being first means getting attention, getting links, and sometimes getting that "gold-standard" domain name. Today, I was invited to try out a new Firefox extension that aims to help you nab that domain name before anyone else. I tried it, I liked it, and so now I'm telling you about it.
Very often, when something new is introduced to the world, it comes with a new name. That name may be descriptive, or it may be a phrase, but if you could grab that name.com, wouldn't that be sweet? (I'm not talking about brand names here, btw). Let's take an example. Let's say Mr. T comes up with a new technology that turns water into gold. His brand name is Punjigo, but the technology is described as "goldturning". You can't go out and get Punjigo.com because Mr. T already has that, but what if you could grab goldturning.com? Wouldn't that be the start of something big for you? (Ok, it might not, but there's a darn good chance it would).
This new Firefox extension allows you to quickly and easily check if the corresponding domain is available for any word or phrase you highlight on a web page. The tool is called Domain Lookup and is described as letting you "perform one click domain searches at your registrar of choice using the selected text in your browser window."
Pretty handy, I think. I recommend you check it out. I'll be using it, so I can get the jump on those gold-standard domains before you do. 😉
Please do read the user agreement before installing the extension, however, as it contains information you should know.
How come you have Digg buttons on your blog?
Because it makes good sense to do so. Why do you ask? And what does that have to do with the subject of this post?
I was going to try it until I read the “Privacy & Legal” number 5.. Affiliate links used for some registrars. I would like to know which ones exactly. I guess those affiliate links can also change according to number three of the same section. I guess a fella has to make bucks somewhere but not off of this cowboy.
Interesting that you are concerned about an affiliate commission, Justin. If you pay the same price for a domain name that you would if there were no affiliates, and you get the use of a great free tool, what would that matter? And Mark, the Digg button is there so you can ‘digg’ it and let people know you love Donna’s post. I’m ‘diggin’ it 🙂
Thanks for the info, Donna.
I have to agree with Susan on this one, Justin. I really don’t understand people’s aversion to others making a small profit from an affiliate link, when the cost to you is absolutely no different than if they didn’t. Sure, I can understand if someone “recommends” something that they’ve never tried and you base your decision on that recommendation, but that’s not even close to this type of situation. This person is giving away a useful, free tool, and in exchange he makes a small profit if and when someone purchases a domain name. No harm done anywhere.
No real big oversion really. I’m glad they did put in the legal area about affiliate links. If they didn’t that would be bad. I’m just used to going straight to the registrar and registering the domain name. I have a tab in firefox opened to my registrar now 🙂
Justin, if there’s any serious demand, I’ll offer an opt-out for the affiliate links in a future version. So far, I’ve had only two such requests out of 1,000+ active users.
To clarify, affiliate commission comes out of the registrars fee (it costs end users nothing). If you’ve any more specific concerns about privacy, please contact me and I’ll be happy to answer them.
The primary reason for the automatic updates is that registrars occasionally change how their registration process works. During the beta period, for example, one of the registrars site redesign broke the tool.
The automatic updates to registrar data – not the extension – mean that I can make sure it keeps working.
This is an excellent idea for a tool ! I’ve also talk about it in my spanish blog. Thanks!
Handy tool, thanks!
Thanks for the Domain Lookup tool. This could come in quite handy. Thanks!