In today’s tech-centric world, domain names are no doubt one of the hottest commodities out there as more businesses and marketing are getting digital. This trend makes domain names a good investment and it’s no big surprise that people have been making a good living by buying and selling them.
If you are looking for a good source of income, you may consider selling domain names as an option. GoDaddy, BigRock, ResellerClub etc. are all domain name selling services and you can have a similar one of your own.
How To Make Money by Buying and Selling Domain Names
First steps you need to take:
- Go to Google AdWords through google.com/adwords
2. After you click on “Start now” button as shown above, fill in the details
2. After you click on “Start now” button as shown above, fill in the details3. After you click the “Save and continue” button, you will be redirected to a welcome page for google AdWords. Click on “Tools”, a drop down menu will appear. Now click on “Keyword Planner.”
4. A “Keyword Planner” page will appear. You can use different options to utilize the services. For searching new keywords depending on the domain names you want to sell, click on “Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category”.
5. After you enter the details, click on the “Get Ideas” Button.
6. Once you have submitted your request, the engine will take a few seconds and give you the best “Ad group ideas,” which are actually the keywords being searched by people. You can select a domain name based on a combination of the results.
Since digital marketing and media is growing day by day, more and more businesses require a domain name. New companies or start-ups are also demanding domain names in a large variety. If you choose the correct keywords then you can buy a number of domain names belonging to various categories and sell them for good prices.
Buying a domain name:
Once you have figured out the recent keywords, you will have an idea about which industry will need what type of websites. You can pitch your domain names with a description of them to potential clients.
Try to remember the below things before you buy a domain name:
- Evaluate what factors affect a domain name when you are registering a new domain name:
- Short one word names: names such as CAT.com etc. are already taken by big organizations and are quite expensive. You can choose to use different schemes to overcome the expensive names, try adding a “the” or “my” to the domain name.
Try a name related to an industry in another language such as “fleurs” means flowers in French and this can work for flower shops etc. You can also choose to go with a misspelled word; this can either be a pun or due to a commonly misspelled word. Try not to use symbols in the domain name.
Top-Level Domains or TLD’s have also been in trend since 2014 and provide a good alternative to usual domain extensions. You can choose to have an extension like .guru, .club, .design etc. This eliminates the need to scourge for .org or .com domain names specifically. - Control over your domain name: Try to have a domain name where you can make changes yourself. Instead of simply waiting for support systems to respond and assist you, try to have control of your domain while buying so that you can do things like changing IPS tags, changing name servers etc. Try to look what the control panel of a domain server allows you to do before buying a domain.
- Extra Fee: Check if there are any extra fee charged to you by the domain name and registration and hosting companies. You might be charged a fee for transferring one domain name to another and there are sometimes also fee for changing hosts such as if you change from .com to .net etc.
Try to get a domain through sources which do not charge you such unnecessary or any other hidden fee. - Email accounts: Email accounts should be given to you with a domain name. Some companies don’t offer email or might charge extra for them. Try to avoid such companies. Also make sure that you are not receiving email forwarding. You should try to get at least 15 or 20 POP3 email accounts which are quite simple and are offered for free by reliable domain hosting companies.
- Sending emails through their SMTP servers: Many companies do not let you send emails through their SMTP servers or might charge you extra for this. Try to get a deal where you can easily send emails through the SMTP server of the hosting company.
- Retain control: Manage the control of your domain name. Choose the web host carefully. There are a number of problems with web hosting servers which domain name providers face these days. These issues may be with lack of service, additional charges, email problems etc. Make sure you don’t do the same mistake while choosing a web hosting server.
- Always register with your name: You might have a friend who is more technical and has good knowledge of domain names but you should never register a domain name with someone else’s name. If you two have a falling out or if he or she fails to renew the domain name then you will lose all your money.
- Short one word names: names such as CAT.com etc. are already taken by big organizations and are quite expensive. You can choose to use different schemes to overcome the expensive names, try adding a “the” or “my” to the domain name.
- Instructions to buying an available domain name:
- Research companies: A company might seem good due to its lucrative advertising but remember that the advertisement costs are paid from your pocket. Try to research and look through the procedures and options offered by a number of companies before settling for one.
- Check for your desired domain names: Websites which are still undergoing development can produce varying results so you should check 2 to 3 times before you choose a domain name.
You can think of a new domain name or a similar one in case the website does not have the domain name you need.
There are various helpers and assistance guides also available on companies which provide domain registration facilities. Check them out.
- Choose and pay: From the list of available domain names, you can choose the one you like the best and pay the fees associated with it.
If you want to have a domain name, you will have to give a purchase fee followed by a yearly renewal fee and in some cases a setup fee also is included. Check whatever applies to your case. - Always pay renewal fee on time: You might think why pay the renewal fee when you still have seven days left till the renewal date expires. But remember, you should always pay your renewal fee on the right time or you might risk losing your entire website if it is bought by someone else.
- Research companies: A company might seem good due to its lucrative advertising but remember that the advertisement costs are paid from your pocket. Try to research and look through the procedures and options offered by a number of companies before settling for one.
- Buying an already occupied domain name:
- Find who currently owns the domain: If the domain name belongs to someone who is well-established and operates majorly then your best option is to not pursue such a domain name. There are however, many registered companies or businesses which have domain names which were bought on a whim, or without considering carefully, or as a backup etc. If you have a good deal to offer or you are lucky then they might consider handing over the domain name to you.
- Contacting the owner: You should not indicate the prices at all in the first message to the domain owner. Instead, you should ask if the domain name is up for sale or not. If you are well known among peers then you should use a generic email so that your success isn’t leveraged against you.
- Price: If a certain domain name is already occupied by someone, then there is a fair possibility that the owner is also using the domain name. In such cases, there are usually a well-defined route to follow for different situations: Too high demand: If the owner suggests an unreasonable amount as per your perspective then tell them the rate which you think is fair instead of quoting a ridiculously low amount as a rebuttal. The owner will take you more seriously if your offer is reasonable. Ball in your court: The owner might sometimes simply ask you to suggest the price. In such a scenario quite the price which is 20 to 30 percent lower than your assumed amount. Owner gives a reasonable amount: If the owner asks for an amount which is as per your preferences or lower than your expectations then accept the offer but casually. This will ensure that the owner does not get to milk out more cash before the deal is finalized.
- Caution with communication: The domain owner might look friendly or even a simple minded soul but you should always be cautions while communicating with the owner. If you agree to buy a domain over email then it can be used as a legally binding contract against you. Only agree to things when you feel right.
- Get the owner to fulfill the contract soon: An email can be used as a legally binding contract against the owner of the domain and hence you should try to get the owner to transfer the domain name as soon as possible.
- Find who currently owns the domain: If the domain name belongs to someone who is well-established and operates majorly then your best option is to not pursue such a domain name. There are however, many registered companies or businesses which have domain names which were bought on a whim, or without considering carefully, or as a backup etc. If you have a good deal to offer or you are lucky then they might consider handing over the domain name to you.
If you’re interested in more ways to earn money at home, read our article about making money by doing online surveys.