Useful Internet Doohickys

I couldn't think of a good name for this selection of tips and tricks, so *useful internet doohickys* will just have to do.

How do I find out who links to my web site?

As part of your marketing drive you may well be interested to find out which web sites link to yours. In order to find this out, try typing your full domain name with the word 'link:' in front of it into the search box at www.google.com.

The syntax should be thus: link:www.yourdomain.com

To find related web sites type in related:www.yourdomain.com

Bear in mind that this only searches the search engine database at www.google.com. Huge though it is, it is not exhaustive.

How do I choose a domain name when they're practically all gone?

If your domain name isn't available, you've got to think outside the box a little. Sometimes this results in you getting so far outside your box that your ears start to bleed, but do not despair. Here are a few ideas to get you kick started again.

1. Try adding 'the' in front of the domain name, as in: www.theinternet.com. Not bad, eh... probably gone though.

2. Try a little good old fashioned alliteration, as in www.simplysofas.com. It makes it more memorable.

3. Keep it short and sweet, even if your company name isn't. Shorten 'International Business Machines' to www.ibm.com. Much catchier!

4. Avoid using hyphens and underscores. People forget to use them.

5. Try and get the .com version of your domain name even if at the moment you only think you need the .co.uk. Who knows, you may be an international organisation before the year is out... well I can dream can't I ;-)

6. If all else fails, come up with something weird and wonderful - like, say www.spacehoppa.com. It is, after all, the internet and you are allowed to be a bit silly. Silly might be silly, but it is memorable.

Cutting down on spam

If, like me, you get your fair share of junk mail and would like to know which of the low-down scumbags (sorry, thrusting new-media age start-ups) you've given your email address to recently is selling you down the river, try this tip.

Try adding the name of the web site into your email address.

It works like this: I subscribe to letsbuyit.com and give them my email address.

I type ruth+letsbuyit@spacehoppa.com into the email address field.

Try addressing an email to yourself now with a plus sign and something after it, say 'myname+noodle@mydomain.com' and see whether your server delivers it to you. Not all servers allow you to do this, but many do.

If you start receiving email you don't want you can set up a rule in your mail reader that blocks all email delivered to that email address. Voila!

Copyright © 2000 Ruth Arnold (ruth@spacehoppa.com)