Completely Free Domain Registration

With everything that is given away on the web, it would seem that completely free domain registration would not be too hard to find. Strangely enough, this isn't so; while server space and applications abound, there's a power in a domain name that makes it too dear to simply be provided gratis.

Every person, corporation, or product has its own perfect domain name. For some, it's as easy and individual as a name: GrayMiller.com, for example. For others it's a clever play on words, such as Facebook or MySpace. Some have the actual function of the site told in the domain name, such as "LoveToKnow."

But because each is perfect, each has value – and since the gold-rush days of the web are over, it has become more and more difficult to get that perfect name because others have found them first. Blogging sites have solved this scarcity of good names through the use of subdomains, but these don't really have the power of an actual full-fledged URL. "LoveToKnow.com" has a lot more power than "lovetoknow.livejournal.com" (which is not an actual site, but is used as an example).

One method that has been used to give the illusion of "free" is to bundle the domain registration of a site with other services. A typical deal would offer:

• Free domain registration
• Website hosting
• E-Mail, MySQL, shopping cart or other server technologies
• 24/7 phone and e-mail support

All for a single "low" price. While these prices may in fact be low, it is certain that the cost of the domain registration to the service provider is factored into the price. This does not make it "free", but it does make it a lot cheaper than the individual price of about $15 per year per domain. When someone is ordering .com and also the other suffixes such as .net, .org, .biz, or .info, this can be quite a chunk of change. If the cost of hosting, etc. are going to be incurred anyway in the course of setting up a site, then this may make economical sense.

But it isn't free.

Another way that domains can make back the money spent on registration is called "cash parking". There is an unethical technique of making money on the internet known as "cyber-squatting." Basically, a person will buy a domain name that they think will become valuable at a later date, such as the name of an up-and-coming author. Then, when the person wants to register the domain, instead of the $15 fee they are charged hundreds, thousands, in some cases millions of dollars.

To avoid this, the technique of "parking" domains has become common. Aside from the standard .com domain, the names for as many other suffixes as seem useful are also bought and the domains are "parked" – in other words, they are simply reserved, sometimes pointing at the "main" website, other times simply unavailable for use by other, less ethical web entrepreneurs.

"Cash parking" actually uses these domain names to advertise, using Google AdSense or some other per-click process. The person with the "cash parked" domain gets a percentage of the ad revenue generated, and the registrar (for example, GoDaddy) takes care of the hosting needs.

There is, however, a way to get your own free domain name, no actual strings attached. The hitch is: it won't be a .com domain. Instead, it will be a domain from somewhere such as Tokelau, a country in the South Pacific that owns the domain ".tk".

Every country in the world is given its own domain, and some with the very fortunate initials such as ".tv" (for the country of Tovalu) which makes a lot of money for its top-level domain. However, for countries such as Nauru, offering the free domain names on pages advertising other services nets them a small profit. A visit to the FreeDomain.co.nr site garners the following services:

• Free URL redirection
• META TAGS support
• Free URL cloaking or
• No ads: No banners, No popups (this is about as free as it gets)
• A domain with and without "www"

As you can see, while there is no way to really get a completely free .com, .net, or other common domain, there are options to defray the cost or even turn a profit. As the web grows, however, the likelihood that some new naming scheme will be adopted becomes increasingly likely. When that happens, the gold rush of names will occur again, and whole new strategies will have to be adopted to secure an Internet identity..

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