What are domain names?
The addresses of your websites that internet visitors type in the browser URL bar to reach your websites are known as the domain names. It is the website’s address on the World Wide Web (www). The phrases “domain name” and “domain” are used synonymously. The only distinction is that one is the thing’s name and the other is the thing itself.
The maximum length of a domain name, without its extension, such as “.com,” is 63 characters. The shortest possible length is one character. Example of domain names is abc.com and seeyounow.com.
Why domain names are important?
The importance of domain names includes:
- Ownership over your website address
- Brand strengthening
- Establish dominance
- Stand out against competitors
- Identify who you are
How to choose a domain name with good future value?
Thousands of people make money by investing in domain names. They accomplish this by purchasing, selling, holding, or developing domains to raise their value.
Domain names are the internet’s equivalent of real estate. They replace physical land with virtual property. They can be:
- Bought and sold for profit
- Create residual revenue
- Developed to raise their value
Domain names are in high demand and have been sold between hundreds to millions of dollars per domain. Perfect domain names can generate a significant return on investment.
Characteristics of good future-value domain names
- Identify general words for products, services, geographic names, and business names
- Combinations of words for the above.
- Events
- Short, simple, and easy to remember.
- SEO value and can be a keyword
- Domain with exact match keyword
- Domain extension
- Brandable name
- Choose .com, .org, and .net. They are popular and potential for a higher value over some time.
Domain names such as .biz, and .me, are less commonly searched for and less expensive to purchase. Generating value from them needs additional marketing work on your part.
Domain names to be avoided
- Names with misspellings – It is unlikely someone will search for them.
- Names with extra symbols, such as hyphens, or prefixes and suffixes, such as “e” or “my.” Except for a few significant instances with very strong brands (such as eBay), those additions can only harm the value.
How to buy profitable domain names?
Domain broker
Identify a domain name and hire a domain broker to try to get the domain for you. Hiring a broker for a fee and you will get good benefits as follows:
- A broker will keep your identity confidential. This is necessary to avoid price inflation.
- Save time by not having to deal with price negotiations and payment arrangements.
- Broker has the experience to ensure that you’re paying a reasonable price for the domain.
Direct deal with the owner
You can avoid the middleman by contacting the domain’s owner directly and saving on the brokerage fees. You’ll need to perform a whois lookup to get the owner’s contact details.
Domain auction sites
Sedo.com and GoDaddy.com are two of the largest, although there are many smaller sites as well. These domain auction sites can show you what is for sale and available in your market. The types of sites offered may also influence how you want to monetize your domains.
Existing domains
Owners of some existing domains may be undervaluing their domains. Don’t be reluctant to purchase other people’s names, or inquire about the cost. Make an offer if you believe they have undervalued what they have.
Expiring domains
Check thru the expired domains list. Many websites let their domain registrations lapse. This allows opportunistic buyers to swoop in and take over the domain. You can search databases in ExpiredDomains.net for example.
When looking at expiring domains, check their history. Archive.org or Wayback Machine can find out the expired domains’ previous contents. Avoid domains linked to:
- Copyright infringement
- Illegal or unethical behavior
How to make money with domain names?
- Create an online payment account such as PayPal to facilitate faster transactions.
- When selling your domains, you’ll want to know what kind of price you may expect. You can get free appraisals for valuation from some sites as follows:
Sedo.com
GoDaddy.com
DomainIndex.com
The above sites provide estimated valuations and a reasonable indication of how much specific domains might be worth.
- Domain parking services
A parking provider will put up a page with adverts if you don’t have any content to put on the site. You earn money when people visit your domains and click on your advertisements. This strategy works best for domains with high traffic.
- Create a website for your domain names
Adding content to your website rather than adverts might provide value. More content increases visitors, which elevates the site’s prominence and improves its search engine ranking.
- Put the domain up for sale
Determine the domain’s value and post a notice on the site stating the domain is for sale. You can also advertise your domain on some online auction platforms where domain buyers can view it, such as:
Sedo
GoDaddy
Flippa
AfterNic
- Advertise to sell your domains. Companies may be unaware of what you have. Send emails to companies that may be interested in purchasing specific domain names that you hold.
Conclusion
Buying and selling domain names can be an excellent way of making money online. Many people have made money by investing in this business domain. In this business, you can turn $10 into $1000 by doing nothing.
As with any other business, you need to do proper due diligence, risk analysis, research, future value estimation, and the level of competitiveness before investing.
You must be aware of the market around you as well as the trends that influence supply and demand rules. Any investment, no matter how great or small, should result in a good return on investment. If you’ve decided to enter the market and try your hand at domain name flipping, the best advice is to fully embrace the process and the lifestyle that comes with it.
