The Art of Domaining
Sponsored By : Coming Soon
You've heard about those million dollar domain sales and people making buttloads of money from just parking domains. So, how do you get a share of this pie? In this guide I am going to give you an idea of how successful people make solid money with Domain Names and how you can too.
So, shoot away your questions!
PS -- The thread is a work in progress. There is a LOT more to add. And, stay tuned for an exclusive domaining section -- whenever Jon creates that.
Sponsored By : Coming Soon
You've heard about those million dollar domain sales and people making buttloads of money from just parking domains. So, how do you get a share of this pie? In this guide I am going to give you an idea of how successful people make solid money with Domain Names and how you can too.
Part 1 - Buying Domain Names
When you are into domaining, the first thing that you need is, well, domain names. In this part let's talk about buying the domain names that sell / earn you profit.
The easiest way to think about domaining is to think of real estate investment -- except this is virtual real estate.
a. Different Types of Domains. Essentially all the domains can be categorized into four basic categories -- Generic, Brandable, Typos and Trademark. Knowing about them will help you determine which domaining strategy would be best for you.
c. Drops! If someone doesn't renew a domain then it gets dropped. Now just imagine -- a domain which has been established, has back-links and, most importantly, has traffic!
The industry of drop catching is SO lucrative that there are companies which specialize in them. SnapNames.com and Enom's Club Drops are two big ones. Pool.com is another one but I've been hearing too many reports of mal-practices by them like fixing up with registrars and keeping names for themselves.
d. After-Market Domains. After-Market is the term used for directly buying a domain from the domainer / owner of the domain. This is the lowest hanging fruit but also the most expensive one. Sure -- if the person has put in the effort to find the gems, he will charge you for what they are worth. And this is the segment YOU will be making your money from.
Feel free to ask me questions about domaining -- that is how I earn whatever money I earn (still trying hard at PPC) and also am a mod at the largest domaining forum out there. I will complete this thread and create a FAQ about domaining in the thread.When you are into domaining, the first thing that you need is, well, domain names. In this part let's talk about buying the domain names that sell / earn you profit.
The easiest way to think about domaining is to think of real estate investment -- except this is virtual real estate.
a. Different Types of Domains. Essentially all the domains can be categorized into four basic categories -- Generic, Brandable, Typos and Trademark. Knowing about them will help you determine which domaining strategy would be best for you.
Generic Domains -- These are the names like hotels.com, business.com or marketing.com. These types of names are the ones in the highest demand because they attract highly qualified type-in traffic.
Now -- No one is going to type in sex.com to see if they are giving away free copies of bible on the site. Right?
As much as the seo types hate to think, not all people are tech savvy to use a search engine every time they want to find something. They rather just type in the generic .com or their ccTLD name to see if anything comes up.
And even if there isn't buttload of traffic, whatever traffic it gets is HIGHLY QUALIFIED traffic. That is why such domains make a killing when parked or developed. And that is exactly why they are in such high demand.
To find these kind of names, you basically need to do keyword research. The higher the frequency of the search, the more the probability that people will type in those domains.
If you are at WF, I don't need to tell you how to do keyword research. =) Do that on your own and see if the exact match of the keywords is available as a .com domain. If yes, just fucking register it!
Brandable Domains -- These are names like WickedFire.com, YouTube.com, Google.com or Digg.com. Brandable domains are the domains which are, well, brandable.
While they may not really get type-in traffic but, if developed and promoted, it will stick in the visitor's mind and they will visit it again.
Typos - The Mistaken Profits! -- So many people make mistakes when typing in the url that it is just shocking. It is SO lucrative that someone paid whole lotsa bribe to get rights to traffic from .cm domains. You know if someone types wickedfire.cm, they will not get a server not found error but rather a parking page. Go ahead, try it.
Heck, even Verisign tried to pull something like this.
I really don't want to give real examples that are working for me as I don't want every genius picking up the names I am collecting. But a generic example is skyp.com. =)
Well, you all do typo keywords on PPC. Now it's time you start thinking about domains too.
Trademark Domains -- Okay this is something best left untouched. These are the names based on the current trademarks that people recognize.
I Don't do them. Some people do that and make a LOT of money doing so. I know someone who made a LOT of moolah from G-Unit.com before shady records (?) WIPOed them and got it.
But you know the quote on the first page of The Godfather -- "Behind Ever Great Fortune, There is a Crime".
So if you are feeling adventurous, try them. You will be making your money from type-ins and parking. Sometimes it may be worth the risk.
What About ccTLDs?!?! -- Okay this is one question which I get asked the most. What about other extensions like .co.uk or .in? Well, I guess it's 'nuff to say that I sold a .co.uk for $2.5k a few weeks ago and a friend got a $100k offer on a .in. So, think outside the box. =)
b. Where to Register Domains. I am a big fan of Moniker. They have the reputation of being the most secure domain registrar out there. If you get into bulk domaining, they will give you a price better than most registrars out there. PM me if you want help with the bulk pricing -- I can hook you up with my account rep and maybe see if she can help. Now -- No one is going to type in sex.com to see if they are giving away free copies of bible on the site. Right?
As much as the seo types hate to think, not all people are tech savvy to use a search engine every time they want to find something. They rather just type in the generic .com or their ccTLD name to see if anything comes up.
And even if there isn't buttload of traffic, whatever traffic it gets is HIGHLY QUALIFIED traffic. That is why such domains make a killing when parked or developed. And that is exactly why they are in such high demand.
To find these kind of names, you basically need to do keyword research. The higher the frequency of the search, the more the probability that people will type in those domains.
If you are at WF, I don't need to tell you how to do keyword research. =) Do that on your own and see if the exact match of the keywords is available as a .com domain. If yes, just fucking register it!
Brandable Domains -- These are names like WickedFire.com, YouTube.com, Google.com or Digg.com. Brandable domains are the domains which are, well, brandable.
While they may not really get type-in traffic but, if developed and promoted, it will stick in the visitor's mind and they will visit it again.
Typos - The Mistaken Profits! -- So many people make mistakes when typing in the url that it is just shocking. It is SO lucrative that someone paid whole lotsa bribe to get rights to traffic from .cm domains. You know if someone types wickedfire.cm, they will not get a server not found error but rather a parking page. Go ahead, try it.
Heck, even Verisign tried to pull something like this.
I really don't want to give real examples that are working for me as I don't want every genius picking up the names I am collecting. But a generic example is skyp.com. =)
Well, you all do typo keywords on PPC. Now it's time you start thinking about domains too.
Trademark Domains -- Okay this is something best left untouched. These are the names based on the current trademarks that people recognize.
I Don't do them. Some people do that and make a LOT of money doing so. I know someone who made a LOT of moolah from G-Unit.com before shady records (?) WIPOed them and got it.
But you know the quote on the first page of The Godfather -- "Behind Ever Great Fortune, There is a Crime".
So if you are feeling adventurous, try them. You will be making your money from type-ins and parking. Sometimes it may be worth the risk.
What About ccTLDs?!?! -- Okay this is one question which I get asked the most. What about other extensions like .co.uk or .in? Well, I guess it's 'nuff to say that I sold a .co.uk for $2.5k a few weeks ago and a friend got a $100k offer on a .in. So, think outside the box. =)
c. Drops! If someone doesn't renew a domain then it gets dropped. Now just imagine -- a domain which has been established, has back-links and, most importantly, has traffic!
The industry of drop catching is SO lucrative that there are companies which specialize in them. SnapNames.com and Enom's Club Drops are two big ones. Pool.com is another one but I've been hearing too many reports of mal-practices by them like fixing up with registrars and keeping names for themselves.
d. After-Market Domains. After-Market is the term used for directly buying a domain from the domainer / owner of the domain. This is the lowest hanging fruit but also the most expensive one. Sure -- if the person has put in the effort to find the gems, he will charge you for what they are worth. And this is the segment YOU will be making your money from.
So, shoot away your questions!
PS -- The thread is a work in progress. There is a LOT more to add. And, stay tuned for an exclusive domaining section -- whenever Jon creates that.
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