DomainingOnline.com

Typical domain names are made up of a word or a phrase describing a website, followed by a period, then an extension. The most popular extension is .com, though there are lots of others like .net, .org, .edu, or a country-based name like .jp or .uk. This being the case, how can there be domain names like blo.gs or del.icio.us? It turns out that a domain name doesn’t have to be in a traditional format. When it’s created like blo.gs or del.icio.us it is known as a “domain name hack.” A domain name hack spells out the semblance of a word using a combination of periods and less popular state- or country-based extensions.

But don’t be fooled. Domain name hacks aren’t tricks created by webmasters who live in their parents’ basement and play video games all the time. Yahoo has the rights to del.icio.us and blo.gs. There are plenty of websites that are known by hacked domain names. Some examples include whocalled.us, where visitors can list phone numbers of telemarketers, and who.is, that lets a webmaster know the specific informatin about a domain name and website. Other countries have their own hacked domain names in their languages. For example, Germany has Schokola.de (which is German for “chocolate”).

Should you, as a webmaster, think about using a domain name hack? Maybe. It depends on circumstances. Remember that while some hacked domain names are funny, they can be inconvenient. And there are people who will wonder if a site is legitimate without an extension like .com or .org. But there are some domain name hacks that get plenty of traffic, so it probably depends on how web savvy your traffic is likely to be, or if they’re likely to skip over it if it shows up on the front page of their search engine results. Another trick to keep traffic up to a site with a domain name hack coupled with a more normal sounding domain name pointing to the domain name hack. That way website visitors will have two ways of accessing a website.

So, does this mean webmasters should consider using domain name hacks? The answer is it depends. It is important to remember that while domain name hacks are witty, many of them can be inconvenient for web surfers. Some may even wonder if the site is legitimate, since the most common extensions are .com, .net, .org and .biz. However, since there are domain name hacks that still receive a healthy amount of traffic, it is possible that website visitors might overlook how a domain name hack is titled if the site it is pointing to proves to be worthwhile. There is also the option of having a second more normal-looking domain name point to a domain name hack. This gives website visitors two ways of being able to access one’s website.

If you have trouble thinking of a word or phrase containing the extension they want, there are several things you can do. You can use a keyword analyzer for ideas. Usually the paid keyword analyzers provide more information about keywords than the free ones. Google and Overture offer free keyword analyzers, however.

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