Guest post by Dom Flipp – Premium Domains
Ever heard of Domain Flipping?
So, if you can buy domains that are worth more than what you paid for them, you can earn a little (or a lot) of extra cash.
Sound like something you might want to try?
Then read on to find out how to make money with domain names.
How To Pick A Good Domain
Before you can make money, you have to spend a little. That means buying a domain. But not just any old domain.
You have to pick a good one. One that people will want to buy from you. So to start off, let’s look at what makes a GOOD domain name.
- They are short (the shorter, the better)
- Easy to spell
- Easy to remember
- Have a .com extension
- Contain popular online search terms
Those are the traits that you want to look for first.
Now, secondly you want to avoid the bad ones. The names that will never sell, or take forever to flip.
Here is what you need to watch out for:
- The domain includes an existing brand name/name of a celebrity (you don’t want to get sued)
- Is total nonsense and means nothing
- Contains hyphens
- A random mix of letters and numbers
- A long string of numbers (6 or more, that does not match a zip code or anything relevant)
- It is too long (more than 15 letters)
Now that you have learned how to select a good name, let’s find out how to buy and sell domains.
How and Where To BUY DOMAINS
You can buy domains at any domain registrar, like GoDaddy or BlueHost.
Sometimes you’ll get lucky and discover that the domain you want is available to register, and that you can get it for about $10.
Or, it could be that the domain is already in use, in which case you can reach out to the owner and ask if they want to sell it. That will usually cost more than the normal registration fee.
Buy A Trending Domain
If you have got an eye for trends, you can compose a brand new domain name. One that could be worth a lot of money in the future. Share on X
Think back a few years, before everybody had a robot lawn mower.
If you had bought the domain robotlawnmower.com in 2004, it would only have cost you a few dollars in registration fees.
But the last time this domain was sold, the price was $4,500.
So, for an investment of say $10 dollars, that is one heck of a return!
If you want to find out what is trending and popular, and which keywords to look out for (now or in the future) Google Trends is a great resource.
Buy Expired Domains
Expired domains can be good for SEO.
If a domain has been in use a while, Google will give it more weight. After all, a crappy domain will not stay up for long or attract visitors. So, if it has been in use for 10 – 20 years, that could be an indication that the domain is solid.
Sometimes these domains will also have a number of backlinks, which helps it rank and makes it easier for people to find it.
These factors could make the domain easier to sell.
If you want to find expired domains, you can get them at domain auctions (possibly a wee bit expensive).
Or, you can go search for them on ExpiredDomains.net where most of them can be re-registered for a low fee (I’d go there if I were you).
Domain Investing
Technically, anytime you buy a domain, you are investing in that domain.
But here, domain investing means buying high quality domains, in the hopes of getting a return on the investment. Hopefully, within 5 – 10 years (yes, even the really good ones could take a while to sell).
If someone had asked you 10 years ago if you were interested in buying Jet.com for $300,000… Would you have said yes?
If you had, you could have sold it in 2016 for $3,3 BILLION!
Some domains really are worth waiting for, and paying a little extra for.
But which ones?
Customise it – Make it your own
That would be the Premium Domains. Those that follow all the rules we described above. The most valuable of which are the One Word Domains.
Insurance.com, Internet.com, Sex.com and other common English word domains, have all been sold for 7 figure sums. Share on XWhich brings us to the next important part of buying and selling domains.
How To Price Your Domain
This is tricky.
Although there are some guidelines to follow, the real value of a domain is what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
To make it easier for you, there are some domain tools out there that can help you get an idea of what your domain might be worth. But be careful with them.
Even Estibot, the tool that is considered to be the best by many domainers, can fail miserably when it comes to determining the real value of a domain.
Remember Jet.com that sold for $3,3 BILLION?
According to Estibot, the value of the domain is just $262,000.
That’s a huge difference!
Another domain value calculator you might want to check out is the one from GoDaddy.
It is easy to use, gives you the estimated value of a domain and tells you why it is valuable.
Also, you get to see what comparable domains have sold for, which can make it easier for you to set the price.
Where And How To Sell Your Domains
You can sell your domains through auction sites like Flippa, Sedo, Afternic and Dan.
Or, you can go with our personal favourite: Squadhelp.
These sites all take a fee for selling your domain, so consider that when choosing which one(s) you want to use.
If you choose to sell direct, without putting your domains for sale on auction sites, use an escrow service. That way you can avoid being scammed.
Because selling directly to the buyer can put you at risk.
The client could refuse to pay, or give false information, leaving you without your domain and without any money to show for it.
How To Drive Buyers To Your Listings
If you decide to put you domains up for sale on Flippa or another auction platform, that will help in attracting buyers. But that doesn’t mean they will sell, or sell quickly.
To make a sale you want to let potential buyers know about your domain. In other words, you have to promote it.
You could do it through paid advertisements, sharing your listing on social media or contacting potential buyers via email or on LinkedIn (please, don’t spam them).
Final Thoughts
Domain flipping is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Although it could make you insanely wealthy, most likely you’ll just make a few decent sales, which will not be for millions.
Maybe you’ll sell a couple of $1,000 domains per year, and 10-20 for less than $100. That is not unheard of.
But what you get out of this really depends on you.
On your stamina, your nose for good bargains, your luck and how much you are willing to invest.
If you are looking for the really big bucks, you have to go for premium domains. There is no way around that. For a bit of extra spending money, you will do alright investing in the less expensive ones.
Just remember the rules you’ve learned in this article.
Customise it – Make it your own
