Jul 25 2008
How You Can Earn Profits By Buying And Selling Domain Names
Buying and selling domain names is a bit like "selling the shovels". The old story goes that, during the early days of the gold mining boom, it wasn’t the gold miners that made most of the money - it was the guys that were selling the shovels! Makes sense, doesn’t it? Not only did the gold mining boom mean that there were literally thousands of people trying their luck to strike gold, but a shovel was one item of equipment that they sorely needed.
And the same goes for any equipment that those gold miners needed. It was said that one of the biggest success stories of the gold mining days was Levi Strauss. He created a garment that withstood the rigors of the outdoors, and thus became a perfect match for the gold mining industry. Of course, having proven that they were up to the task, jeans became the staple of the working man, and extended their tentacles to become an accepted part of the modern day wardrobe.
So, under the same parallel, with the advent of the Internet and the fact that one of the things any would be webmaster needed in order to take advantage of the internet, the buying and selling of domain names has become a lucrative industry. After all, its one of the few things that any webmaster does need, despite all the junk online that entices you in to purchases that you really don’t need.
And so, the buying and selling domain names has become a real business, with some highly sought-after names selling for amazing sums. So lets check out how you can make money from domain names.
Find top level domains that you may be able to sell in the future.
In general, people who buy or ‘grab’ domain names don’t really have industry-specific names in mind. If you like dogs, for example, you don’t have to stick to buying domains specific to your niche, you can pick any name that appeals to you and buy it.
However, if your ultimate aim is to resell your domain name at a later time, paying for names that won’t sell can become a noose around your neck if you aren’t careful. You could buy a portfolio of names for a small fee but if you can’t use them or can’t sell them, there’s not a lot of point.
The best way to get an indication as to how well your domain name may fare is to do a search on domains that have a potential by using the Alexa toolbar. Look for names that have received a minimum of 1,500 to 2,000 hits within a 30 to 60 day period prior to your search. If youcan afford to depart with some cash, look for domains that have registered five-figure hits during this time period, because that’s an assurance that these domains already receive a strong following. You can either sell the domains back to their former owners or have other interested parties bid on them. Either way, you can profit.
Use a third party to bid on domains automatically.
You don’t always have the time to spend hours searching online for domains to buy. Try using an online grabbing system that lets you automatically bid on any domains that you may be interested in. Websites such as Pool.com and Snapnames.com are are two sites that offer this facility. You pay them a fee if they are successful in atttaining the domain name on your behalf.
Register your domain name.
You can register a domain name for varying periods of time, but generally speaking a term as short as 12 months, stretching out to as long as 10 years. Beyond the initially chosen period, the registration expires and you can choose to renew it and continue to own it. Or, if you choose not to renew it the domain name will be made available to other buyers. This is when you can sell the domain name.
Register a domain name with potential value.
Many people browse the internet to try and find out which personalities, events or gadgets are starting to create a trend, or develop a following. If you’ve been watching television shows such as American Idol, for example, and you check out sites that register domains, you’ll find a few domain names that sound familiar. This is because astute domainers will try to register a name of some up and coming star who may one day become famous enough to want their own website. If you are the one to own that registered domain, he or she will want to buy it from you, and so you profit.
Build traffic to your domain.
If you want to follow this route and build your domain out from scratch, its going to take some work. If you have a domain name that you created by yourself or bought, you need to attempt to make it valuable to potential investors. By offering high quality content, building a reputation for yourself, linking up with other quality websites, and allowing your visitors to interact using your website, you attain the coveted title of an authority website. Once your domain name starts appearing within the major search engines and you are gaining a solid reputation and a good following, the value of your domain name and website can skyrocket. In this situation, you are able to profit very well from the buying and selling of domain names.
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