What is your favorite free domain?

[ozadin]

There has been question if free domains affect SEO or not, but which free domain is the best? I'm currently using .tk just to start off my website, but if there's any other domain that's better or easier to type out like co.cc, or biz.ly, which one would you prefer? I generally think that shorter domains like .tk is easier to type out which is why I chose it.

 

[Dr. J]

I'm not in-the-know on lots of SEs 'equations, functions, hypothalami, kaleidoscopicists, archetypes, I forget the word'---"algorhythm!" thanks Nymph ... how much 'domain-name' figures into the function. But--if your information is good, got plenty of good links to it etc.--it'll stand.

But--to answer your title-question--I like blogspot.

 

[wasi90lk]

I will rather use a sub-domain from Blogspot than using .tk domain name.

In my opinion, everyone should have a paid domain name. It costs around $12 only.

 

[Canadian Lover]

I will rather use a sub-domain from Blogspot than using .tk domain name.

In my opinion, everyone should have a paid domain name. It costs around $12 only.

I agree, actually. Domains make the site look professional and it is possible to get a domain or only $1.99. It's actually quite affordable for everyone to own their own domain.

 

[BigJ]

Having used '.TK' domains, they will hinder your traffic if you are after a North American audience. Any non TLD's appear as spam to most of us.

 

[Nymph]

I believe there was a ban on co.cc domains, but don't hold me to it. As far as the .tk and .biz.ly go, I have never seen one of these domains rank even remotely well on the first ten pages on a search engine, except for very specific, branded things as well as some long-tail keywords. However, this may merely be because there are many, many, many times the amount of users using paid domain extensions than free ones, meaning exponentially larger chances to "out-SEO" someone using a free domain. There is also a bit of disagreement when it comes to the actual search engine algorithms as far as domain extensions are concerned, because they may check for ".com" before going to ".net", ".org", etc.

Given this, I would say that inserttitlehere.wordpress.com is my favorite free domain type, since there are significantly less spammers who use it than the easier to use Blogspot.

 

[CodeMaster]

Well I use cu.cc and dot.tk domains, I'm actually a legal citizen of both the US and Tokelau. But when you go for the long run, get a pro domain name.

 

[ozadin]

Thanks for the tips above, I may migrate to blogspot if I have to. I'm just using the website for theme testing, plugin compatibility, test posting, adding sections, just familiarizing with Wordpress. So far, I barely know anything, but I have a few plugins running at the moment.

One question though, would any of you guys rather go to a .tk website or a .blogspot website?

 

[Dr. J]

... One question though, would any of you guys rather go to a .tk website or a .blogspot website?

That's 'getting to the point'!

Kind of akin to 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,' you don't want to write anything you wouldn't yourself read, paint anything you wouldn't yourself admire nor build anything you wouldn't yourself explore :thumbsup:

... :whistling: ... :eek-13: oh! the question! :giggle: The way I understand it, blogspot is sort of 'friends sharing news' (i.e. your 'friends' know what kind of news you know best how to find out about, and so go to your blogspot to find out what you find out). .TK---I don't even know what that's about ... some nerdy thing, I expect.

I don't think one should base their business on the Internet---even Amazon bases their business on the real things they get to their customers. That's what most businesses do---they give people real-life stuff, & just use the Internet for advertising & communication.

 

[Nymph]

Actually, I don't want to shun Blogspot altogether, as I have seen how well some of these blogs rank. However, you will be severely limited with what you can do with the site in terms of plugins, extra features, and themes, as opposed to the absolute freedom you will have with platforms like Wordpress. If what you are testing is nothing fancy, then I definitely recommend going for it, but keep in mind that your functionality will be limited, and there are few things you can do with the source code to make things happen.

 

[Dr. J]

CodeMaster You're right. Going to .blogspot, you aren't getting a 'domain' (although, what's the difference? I mean, Where is the line between 'what blogspot controls' & 'what the blog-writer controls'?)

I guess it depends on the focus. If someone wants their Internet display to BE their business, then .TK may be the way to go. But .blogspot lets you talk all you want to about your REAL business/purpose/mission, and leaves you responsible for not much more than your real-life honesty (in opinions & reporting & things).

 

[Hanaseru]

I don't like any free domains.

Whenever I see one, I think that the owner is too cheap to buy one for less than 10$

 

[Mansoor Ahmad]

Well this is good since i wanted to have my own domain for free. i also love to use .tk because this is the shortest free domain option and so easy to remember.

 

[skybluesam1]

Personally, I prefer to use a .tk domain due to the simple fact that it sounds quite good and also is easier to remember! I also like how easy it is to setup a .tk domain as all yo really have to do is go to dot.tk and follow one or two steps and bang, your'e done! However, one bad thing about using a free domain is that it does sometime scare people off visiting your site as free domain sites normally contain viruses,malicious software or do not hold very good information!

 

[protoboard]

I asked a similar question on another forum and everyone there said one thing: stay away from free domains.

Giving the number of negative comments about free domains (and specifically .TK domains) I did a quick Google search and find out a number of news stating that Google had banned .TK domains from it's search results. The truth is that a few years ago I did find sites using .TK domains on the SERP but now there's not a single one there. This is because Google just don't index such sites.

I don't know about other search engines but Google having 60% market share I don't see any point on using a free domain.

 

[ozadin]

I don't like any free domains.

Whenever I see one, I think that the owner is too cheap to buy one for less than 10$

I wouldn't think of it like that. The owner may be new to the scene, just experimenting with wordpress or any other CMS, or free domains whether it's weebly or blogspot. You have to know that not everyone will dump in $10 every month for a website that they can simply edit using a free domain. Not to mention that you're not getting any traffic for the first few months, you're just wasting money.

 

[protoboard]

I wouldn't think of it like that. The owner may be new to the scene, just experimenting with wordpress or any other CMS, or free domains whether it's weebly or blogspot. You have to know that not everyone will dump in $10 every month for a website that they can simply edit using a free domain. Not to mention that you're not getting any traffic for the first few months, you're just wasting money.

You are not wasting your money. You are investing into something that you can turn into profit. Besides most times you don't have to spend $10 on a domain. It is very easy to find a coupon code to buy a domain for $1 or $2 on places like godaddy and namecheap.

 

[ozadin]

You are not wasting your money. You are investing into something that you can turn into profit. Besides most times you don't have to spend $10 on a domain. It is very easy to find a coupon code to buy a domain for $1 or $2 on places like godaddy and namecheap.

It's not profit if you can't generate any organic traffic to your website, and have them click your ads. I also think it's highly unlikely for someone very new to web developing is going to generate tons of traffic on the first month from ads alone.

 

[Nymph]

Well, for testing purposes, I don't see why someone can't use a free domain. After all, if it is a test, the webmaster shouldn't really care about what visitors think about the fact that they are using a free domain, and, to be honest, the only thing that should matter to the end user is the content itself. Granted, it is true that few people will be willing to do any sort of business with someone who does not have their own domain and hosting package.

Anyway, to answer your question, if you are looking to test your traffic and traffic retention and all that, you will want your content to actually rank. So, in that case, I would suggest going with Blogger and not looking back, since the earlier you get the testing done, the better. If you are trying to test something like functionality, but don't care at all about visitors, try a .tk domain with free hosting or whatnot, and install some kind of content management system like Wordpress, Joomla and such, depending on your needs. It might seem scary if you've never worked with one before, but there are plenty of premade plugins and tutorials to help you do almost anything you can imagine, even transform the site into something more than just a blog or forum.

 

[seosan7]

Thanks for the tips above, I may migrate to blogspot if I have to. I'm just using the website for theme testing, plugin compatibility, test posting, adding sections, just familiarizing with Wordpress. So far, I barely know anything, but I have a few plugins running at the moment.

One question though, would any of you guys rather go to a .tk website or a .blogspot website?

I choose blogspot over .tk because Google owns blogspot and they favor them in search results. I have blogspot blogs that get good traffic from Google. I could be wrong, but I don't know if I've ever seen any .tk websites on the first few pages in Google search.