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If you want to start a blog then your first venture is to select a domain name for your blog website. And if you want to go with an expired domain then you must check the history of domain ownership.
The domain name could be associated with sensitive information and harmful code. It could have been used by a variety of owners in the past. Therefore, we need to check the details of ownership.
Either you can contact domain ownership to know about the domain or you can use tools to check the history of the domain owner.
We need to check every aspect such as who is the owner of the domain, when he bought the domain, is the domain good for your blog website or business, and more.
There are dozens of tools available on the internet to check the history of domain ownership but few of them are good who provide correct information about domain ownership.
In this article, We’ll list the top 5 best perfect tools to look up the history of domain ownership in less than 5 minutes.
5 Tools to Lookup History of Domain Ownership
What is Domain Ownership History?
Domain ownership history (also known as WHOIS history) is a complete documented domain name record. The record tells you the date on which the first time domain was purchased and when it’s going to expire.
Buying an expired domain is just like buying land and you need to know the background of owners, how was his past and why they want to sell.
The truth is the background of any domain matters especially when it comes to domain names. That’s why it is so important to do a history check.
Domain checker tools allow you to see exactly what you are buying before you even get your wallet out.
Why do we need to check the domain owner history?
When you want to make a website for your business, you need a domain name. Domain names represent your brand name so that people can come to your website and explore your business.
So, you have two options to purchase the domain, either you can go with a new domain or expired domain. For the new domain we don’t need to check the domain owner but if you will go with the expired domain, you must investigate the domain owner history.
The advantage of buying an older domain is it can boost your website’s ranking in search engine results. Before purchasing, however, it is important to examine the domain owner’s background, the type of website and the actions that took place under the domain.
If the domain has a negative background, Google could penalize it, which can affect its search result rank. Also, check if it is eligible for Google AdSense approval or not.
If a different company or group has utilized the domain previously, then you should find out the track record of that domain to determine if it is good.
Additionally, a website which has suffered a lot of drops or was penalized by Google might not show up in the search results.
Google sees domains as an evidence of identity for the owner and the company. Therefore, you should choose an appropriate domain that has a solid track record to increase your SEO rankings.
5 Best Tools for Checking History of Domain Ownership
The internet also makes it possible to do research about the background of domain owners. It allows you to do your share of the task prior to signing up to register the domain name. Therefore, here are the most effective tools available online to check the history for any particular domain.
1. Domain Tools
Domain Tools – An overview
- Founder – Jay Westerdal
- Founded Year – 2002
- Tools for – Detect, Investigate, Prevent
- Price – Paid
- Website – Click Here
It is one of the best paid tools for checking the history of domain ownership. The paid service costs $99/user/month or $995/year for personal membership.
Domain tools lets premium users look through the history of any website. The service provides users with an array of information as well as a complete website history data.
You can track changes to the domain’s ownership, prior ownership records and the entire trials of ownership for domains.
If you want to check the history of domain ownership, Go to DomainTools.com and type in the domain’s name to obtain the required details. This service provides useful information on the history of any domain.
Key Features:
- It allows you to get complete information about owner name server and DNS records.
- You can track the previous and present history of the domain owner.
- Domain tools provide a summary of key data about the domain that comes from the Whois record itself as well as other data sources.
- Domain Tools also presents a typo-generator, Name Server spy and cross-IP lookups.
- The website also offers a variety of DNS tools such as traceroute, ping and so on.
2. Who.is
Who.is – An Overview
Who.is is another free tool out there on the internet to check the history of the domain name. This is a free tool which gives lots of information about domain name or even IP addresses.
This tool allows you to check ownership details and other essential details of the domain name.
The best part about this tool is to find the new TLDs (Top-level-domain), so you can register with your own name before grabbing them by someone else.
It is easy to use. If you want to know about the expired domain name information, go to the who.is and enter the URL and hit search.
Key Features:
- It gives you all statistics information about the domain such as name servers, registered date, and expired date of the domain.
- You can also check the DNS record of the domain.
- Who.is also gives you a suggested domain for that URL so that you can grab and register with your name.
- You can monitor domains across several registrars. Additionally, you can utilize your dashboard to organize and save a variety of domains, and manage them from one place.
3. Whois.com
Whois.com – An Overview
Whois.com is another free tool on the internet to check the ownership details of any domain. Apart from domain info, you can also check the DNS and IP details of any domain name.
If you decide to purchase the expired domain for your blog or business then must check the ownership information. Simply, enter the domain URL (top right corner) and hit search.
Whois.com also offers a wide range of products and services that perfectly fit your desired online presence requirements such as affordable domain name, best web hosting, website builder, SSL certificate, email hosting packages and many more.
But if you want to buy a domain and hosting for your business website, you can get it from hostinger (the best domain and hosting provider at a cheap price).
Key Features:
- Whois domain lookup allows you to trace the ownership and tenure of a domain name.
- Along with who owns it, it gives you information about the date till which it has been purchased.
- Whois database provides the accomplished details of the domain such as registration date of the domain, when it expires, contact information, nameserver, the registrar via which the domain was purchased, etc.
- A whois IP lookup allows you track the networking organizations with a record maintained by governing bodies for each IP number.
4. Whoisrequest
Whois Request – An Overview
Whoisrequest.com is another free tool for checking domain’s history out of five domain checker tools. It allows you to find specific websites that have been owned previously.
You can check the domains from 2002 till the current date for the domain extensions like .net, .org, .info, .biz, .us, and .com.
Key Features:
- Whoisrequest provides useful services such as reverse lookups for IP names and nameservers.
- It is also possible to find the contact information and name of the domain owners.
- The main features are Whois Lookups IP Whois Lookups and reverse IP lookups as well as domain history and reverse DNS lookups.
5. Archive.org (WayBack Machine)
WayBack Machine – An Overview
- Owner – Internet Archive
- Developed by – Brewster Kahle
- Launched Date – May 12, 1996
- Fee – Free Tool
- Tool for – To check domain history
- Website – Click Here
WayBack Machine (Run as Internet archive) is the best domain history checker tool in the list. Because it gives you images of historical changes on a site.
You can check the history of any domain by specific date, for example– if you want to see ownership history details only for the previous two years then you can select your date and see how a site looked on that date.
Interface of the wayback machine is so simple and easy to use. To check the history of the domain, enter the domain URL, select the date and hit browse history. It will show you image visualization history change of domain name.
This amazing feature is not available on other history checking tools. That’s the reason, the Internet archive is our best tool.
Key Features:
- The WayBack machine gives you images of historical changes on a site.
- It is a free tool that allows you to check the history of domain ownership.
- Date filter features allow you to see how a site looked on that particular date.
- The tool allows you to check the history of over 638 billion web pages.
- To check domain history, you have to visit archive.org, input the domain URL, and select the year, month, and date, and hit browse history to view the site’s appearance.
4 checklist keep in your mind while selecting a domain
While selecting a domain name for your business, keep this point in your mind.
We have seen above five best effective tools to check the history of domain ownership. But, you need to remember these important points before purchasing a domain name for your business.
4 important checklist keep in your mind before selecting a domain name:
1. Prefer .com domain:
When it comes to domain name registration, there are tons of domain extensions available such as .net, .org, .co.in, .info, .online, .tech, .net.in, etc. But you don’t need to blindly. Whether you’re selecting an expired domain or new domain, always prefer the .com extension.
The domain name with .com extension is very popular and people always prefer to search any website with .com extension. So it is easy to remember.
And, if you want to promote your business in your country then it would be best to have a country specific version like .in, .uc, .ca, etc. But, if you want to promote your business all over the world then use the .com extension.
Note: If you found a .net, .in, .org, .co.in, etc domain with high-domain authority (30DA – 40DA) then you can go with that domain extension.
2. Avoid buying dashes domain name:
Dashes domain means, the domain which has a dashes symbol (-) between the domain name. For example, your-name.com, fitness-health.com, etc.
Many people avoid using dash in domain names. You can use dash in your domain name but the main reason other people don’t use bash in the domain name is because it becomes a bit tough to remember by others.
So, always prefer to buy without a dashes domain name.
3. Descriptive Domain Name:
You should always select a name which tells others what your website is about. Your domain name represents your business brand, and it should be relevant to your business niche.
For example, if your business is about clothing, then put some words that are related to clothes.
Also, your domain name should be unique so that people don’t confuse your site with another.
4. Short and Simple Domain Name:
If i tell you to remember this website name kjdsgioerjodioei.com then you will tell, it is a very lengthy domain name and very hard to remember.
There is no boundation to use long domains, but short domains are easier to remember.
Therefore, you should always choose a simple and short domain name. So that people can remember your domain name and they can search easily on the search engine.
Try to avoid buying domain names with hyphens or numbers, or names that are very tough to remember and spell.
Wrapping It Up
Lookup history of domain ownership before you buy a domain is important.
Let me summarize which tool is suitable for which category of users:
- Domain tools are a little bit expensive and therefore suitable for those who can pay for that.
- Who.is is a free tool for checking domain ownership history and perfect for those who wish to grab new TLDs before competitors.
- Whois.com is another free tool and good for those who don’t want to pay money for checking domain history.
- Wayback Machine is a fit for those who would like to look back at websites’ previous versions.
- Whoisrequest is ideal for users who wish to know the contact information and name of the domain’s owners.
Choose the option you prefer in accordance with your budget and the features you’d like to have.
