The Branson Pro

Using WhoIs to discover domain owners.

Have you ever wanted to know who owns a particular domain? Ever looked at a website and became curious as to who it’s registered to?

There’s a simple way to find out the registrant for any domain. It’s called “WhoIs”.

WhoIs is basically a database query protocol that was implemented to determine “who is ” assigned various resources on the Internet. Back in the day, all WhoIs commands had to be ran from the command line prompt. But today, there are several websites that offer WhoIs information as a free service.

My favorite is located here at Domain Tools. I prefer it because they offer a lot of other useful features, in addition to traditional WhoIs record information. Specifically, their SEO text browser. It allows you to view a web document in the same manner as a search engine.

Why are WhoIs records valuable? For me personally, I find  it valuable for link exchanges. When I’m scouring the web for related sites to obtain links from, I’ll go to the WhoIs and pull up the domain owner’s email and contact information. From there, I know exactly who to talk to.

Of course, there is always the possibility of a domain owner to opt-in for private registration. If they have domain privacy in place, you won’t be able to get any of their contact details. However, domain privacy costs extra during the time of registration and many webmasters don’t use it.

Whether you are using WhoIs to assist in link request missions, discovering who your competitors are, or if you’re just plain curious - it’s definitely a valuable tool!