Find Motive

All the good ones are taken. The really good ones, that is. But
they don’t always stay taken.

Domain names often come back onto the market. Even before they
do, domain name prospectors are sifting through them to find the
gold domains among them.

Why domain names become available again

Thousands of domain names expire every day. Other domains are
offered for sale. The reasons are varied:

Carelessness

The webmaster forgets to renew the domain by the expiry date.

The email address that the domain is registered with becomes
invalid, and the domain name registrant doesn’t receive the
renewal notices.

- Lack of need or funds

- The company that had registered the domain goes out of
business.

- The website owner loses interest in or doesn’t have time for
the website.

- The website owner doesn’t have funding to continue the website
venture.

- The domain name registrant registered numerous domains on
speculation and couldn’t afford to continue renewing unused
domains.

Profit

- The domain name registrant may realize how much a domain is
worth and decide to sell it.

- The domain name registrant may have registered the domain
because of its potential worth, with the aim of selling it later.

What makes a previously registered domain name valuable?

In July 2005, the domain name website.com sold for $750,000, the
highest-valued domain name sale this year. Why would anyone pay
so much for a domain when they could register a new domain for
under $10?

- Instant traffic

If the domain name previously pointed to a website, search
engines have already indexed that domain name. Other websites
probably still have links to that domain. If the domain is
listed in directories, these links bring in even more traffic.
You register the domain, and the work getting incoming links has
already been done for you.

- Surf value

Sometimes web surfers search by typing generic words followed by
dot com (or other extensions) into their browsers, for example,
dogs.com. This particular domain name redirects to the website
for a company that sells pet products and services. A domain
name like this constantly brings visitors to the website without
the cost and effort of advertising and marketing.

- Easy to remember

Your company name may not be memorable, but domains such as
dogs.com and website.com are. People are more likely to return
to a site or pass on the name to their friends when they can
easily remember it.

How to find domains pending expiration

You decide to join the gold rush for valuable pre-registered
domains. Finding expiring domains is the first step, but you
also need to research domains that are about to come back on the
market.

Lists of domains pending expiration

At these websites, among others, you can search for domains
containing keywords you enter. At expireddomains.com, the
results contain domains that are currently available, soon to
expire, on hold, in the Redemption Grace Period (RGP), or for
sale by their registrants. Extensions searched: .com, .net, and
..org.

The domainsbot.com database searches .com, .net, .org, .info,
and .biz extensions for domains that are available, for sale, or
expiring.

Domain research

You can find some (but not all) incoming links to a domain by
entering “link:siteURL” (replace “siteURL” with the domain name)
into Google or Yahoo. When you find the links, follow them to
see what types of sites link to the domain. How would you feel
about having these particular sites linking to your site?

Also look into any possible problems associated with the domain.
Search engines may have banned the domain if the previous site
had controversial search engine optimization techniques
employed, such as the use of hidden text or links. Check the
history of the site at a domain name via the WayBack Machine. If
the domain previously pointed to a site with gambling or adult
content or a lot of affiliate links, or if it employed
questionable search engine optimization techniques, search
engines may have banned the domain. Aside from the possibility
of a domain being banned, you may not want incoming links from
sites associated with these types of content.

How to register domains pending deletion

You’ve decided on a domain that you want. How do you maximize
your chances on getting it?

At eNom.com’s Club Drop, you can bid on expiring .com and .net
domains the day before they’re available to the public. You can
also be notified when domains matching your search criteria
become available.

The NameWinner system places bids on .com, .net, .org, and .info
domains for you. It bids only as high as is necessary to
maintain your high bid position up to your maximum bid.

How to profit from your domains

- Selling domains

If you have a domain that may be valuable and that you aren’t
using, consider selling it at a domain auction. If you already
have a buyer for a domain, you can transfer it securely through
Escrow.com.

- Paid parking for domains

With paid domain parking programs, also called “domain
monetization” or “monetize domains,” you can earn pay-per-click
revenue via targeted advertisements. These sites offer domain
monetization services:

- DomainSponsor

- Park Quick

- Domain Spa

- Google Adsense for domains

With the right knowledge, timing, and a bit of luck, you have a
chance as a domain name prospector to hit pay dirt.

Domain names are special, self-sufficient part of WWW and a profit-making kind of business in the Internet.

There is a huge number of IT companies that sale/purchase/estimate domain names. The times when You could

get an exclusive free domain name from Your hosting-provider had passed. Now, in order to purchase a good

domain You may visit some of the websites that specialize in domain names sale (for example Sedo.com) and

buy the domain You liked (of course, if You are ready to pay about $10.000 for it, though, many of domain names

are much more expensive). If You are not – You will have to select domain name from those, which are being

sold as vacant. Here is what You should take into consideration while choosing a domain name:

1. Domain level.

It’s preferably to have a second-level domain name. For example, in “www.design.com” the “www” prefix means

World Wide Web; “design” is a domain basis (see below how to select it); “com” is a domain zone. Third-level

domain name is a little bit different – “www.logo.design.com”, forth-level domain will look like

“www.pixel.logo.design.com” – the number of domain components increases depending on its level. Domain

components imply words that affiliate a domain name and are separated by dots. The more components are

in a domain name, the higher is its level and the less valuable it is. The third and higher level domains are often

being distributed cost free. When purchasing a domain name for Your company (or Yourself), make sure it is a

second-level domain.

2. Domain zone.

There is a huge amount of domain zones, each of them having its own meaning, and it is important to choose the

most appropriate one. There are Generic Domains and Country Code Domains. Among Generic Domains are:

“com” – commercial project; “net” – network, related to WWW; “org” – organization; “biz” – business project; “info” -

informational project; “TV” – television channel; and many others. Country Code Domains are domains that reveal

ownership of a particular domain (website) by a country. Each country (including those that don’t already exist)

has its own domain zone. For example “us” means USA site; “de” is German; “co.uk” stands for Great Britain”,

“ru” refers to Russia; “fr” denotes France. So, what domain zone would give the best fit for Your domain? If Your

Internet project is going to have regional restrictions (for example e-shop meant for sale in USA only) – do not

hesitate to choose the domain zone of Your region. If Your project isn’t attached to a particular country, You will

have to choose from the “Great Five” of domain zones: com/net/org/biz/info. These zones are the most valuable

and popular in the Internet. “Com” is one of the best, being a universal domain zone. “Net” matches with IT

forums and sites related to domain names. “Org” suits perfectly to web directories. Almost all of the best great

directories have domains in “org” zone (dmoz.org; lii.org; vlib.org; botw.org). “Biz”- will be a brilliant solution for

e-shops and projects that have to do with online sale. “Info” is right for blogs and personal pages. But You don’t

have to be consistent with these meanings – they are conventional. Though, there are domains which You can’t

purchase without having a competent authority: “gov” – government establishment; “mil” – military department;

“edu” – educational establishment; “int” – international organization; “museum” – museums and so on.

3. Domain name basis.

Domain name basis is the most important domain component. Let’s emphasize 2 completely different methods

of selecting a successful domain name basis:

1) As a basis for a domain they use euphonic, well-remembered word that isn’t associated with company’s

activity, products or services. Such domains are often being called by company’s name. For example

Google.com and GoDaddy.com are remarkable, short domains that don’t have terms characterizing their

activities, like “search”, “host”, “domain”, “web”. They are figured on exclusiveness, brevity and memorability.

2) The second method comprises that domain name will consist of a term/terms relating to company’s (project)

activity. The terms here serve as keywords of a given site. For example “www.design.com” contains a keyword -

design. It is counted on to promote a domain in search engines. Some search engines (e.g. Google.com) take

domain name into account while giving search results. Domains of this kind stick to the memory without being

unique and may be easily found by entering them in a browser’s line. Such domain names are typical for purely

Internet projects.

4. Number of words in a domain.

The more words are in a domain name, the less valuable it is. And vice-versa – the less words it contains (ideally

one) the more value it represents. For example, “www.design.com” has one word – design. This word is

polysemantic to the maximum, because it can denote landscape design, interior design, web design, 3D design

and other notions relevant to design. Such domains are appreciated highly. “www.webdesign.com” consists of 2

words – web and design. The value of this domain is a little lower than that of the previous one, because it has

more narrow meaning that bounds its scope. “www.customwebdesign.com” includes 3 words – custom web

design, and is therefore still less valuable.

5. Brevity and memorability.

It doesn’t make sense to include more than 3 words in a domain name – its value and ability to stick to the

memory will decrease owing to the length. The shorter is a domain, the more precious it is. Short domains are

easily remembered, You can dictate them by telephone without difficulty, have them displayed as an

advertisement in public transport and be sure they will be noticed, etc.

6. No hyphens and digits.

Hyphens and digits degrade domain’s value. Exception to the rule are the cases when digits form an integral part

of a domain concept. For example “3D”, “mp3″, “formula1″.

7. Logical abbreviations.

Sometimes, in order to insert multipartite expression into a domain, they use abbreviations. But as far as

domains are concerned, they often do this incorrectly. For example, it’s necessary to apply “full flash web sites”

notion to a domain. To do this, they often abbreviate the expression, leaving only the initial letters of each word.

Based upon the received “ffws”, it’s impossible to understand what this domain means. It’s not being “read” by

search engines and is poorly remembered in spite of its brevity. That is to say, the given domain has more

drawbacks than advantages.

How to correctly abbreviate the expression like this? We should define its main idea/concept, which will serve as

a keyword of the future site. In our case it will be “full flash”. The rest of it -”web sites” is of minor importance, so

we can abbreviate it as “ws”. As the result, we have “www.FullFlashWs.com” domain. This domain has obvious

advantages when being promoted in search engines at “full flash” query, reasonably long and is not hard to

remember.

8. Domain’s first letter.

In itself the first letter of a domain name is of minor importance. But there are nuances that may have a beneficial

effect on popularization of a future site. The fact is that many of web directories have option to sort websites

alphabetically, and some of the directories have this option dissembled. Thus, the sites whose domain names

start with the first letters of alphabet are being visited much more frequently than the rest in a directory. This

factor should be taken into account when inventing a proper and brief domain name.

Finally, if You purchase a domain which is not new and has been in the Internet for some time, consideration

must be given to:

-Age of a domain name.

-Domain’s history, its scope in the past.

-Make sure that this domain doesn’t have punitive sanctions in search engines and its e-mail is not recognized as

a spam.

-Make sure that other companies/persons don’t make claims on this domain.

-PR and Alexa statistics of this domain.

www. AtixMedia.com

Copying, printing and distribution of this article is allowed as long as it includes attribution and all the links

mentioned in the text.

The competition in the domain industry is steadily increasing as more and more people are becoming aware of it’s global impact in today’s financial marketplace. Professional investors and huge corporations are staking their claim of this internet real estate and have turned this once primitive name exchange into a booming multi-billion dollar industry.

Today’s domainers are needing take their domain investing to another level in order to have continued success and profitability. Below are 15 Ways To Become A Better Domainer.Utilize the forums

As I’ve said in previous posts, the importance of domaining forums in the domain industry are vital and serve as a great resource for beginners and professional domainers alike. Whether you are looking for some honest appraisal opinions or asking questions that only another domainer would know the answer to, the domain forums are there to assist. 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, this constant stream of domain information has shaped many beginner domainers into today’s greatest professional domainers. If you’re not a member of a domain forum you should greatly consider joining one today. Are you a domainer or a domain developer?

Are you buying domains for quick profit sales? Are you buying domains for the long-term traffic revenue? Are you buying domains to develop and birth new traffic? Whether you choose to do one or all three, you must come to terms and clarify a solid game plan when it comes to your domain investments. It’s reasonably okay to have a few domains being developed but your overall strategy needs to take shape and be narrowed down to a specific objective. Developing a domain name takes time, effort and more time, but the possible payoffs are always huge. Buying domain names in bulk for quick sales is also profitable but relies more on a constant sales initiative to be successful. Either way, you need a tactical approach on how you want to market your domains. Dissect your portfolio

I once spoke to a guy who boasted a domain portfolio of over 3000 names. After hearing how he was considering selling a few of his “best” domains, I offered to peruse the list and maybe assist with finding some end users that might be potential buyers. He agreed and the next day he sent me a list of about 1000 of his best domains that he was willing to sell. To my surprise over 90% of them were, in my humble opinion, not worth much more than the reg fee. I contacted him back and explained that I was only to find about 75-100 names that could possibly be decent sales. He was stunned. He declined and stated that my appraisal was not correct and thanked me for my time. 3 days laters, I received an email from the exact same guy asking for assistance in selling the 75-100 domain names I previously found in his list. Seems that during those 3 days, he spoke to a few other domainers and received the same appraisal and evaluation of his so called “best” domains. This guy thought since his domains contained popular words like gamble, casino, sex and technology that it automatically made his domains super valuable. What he didn’t consider was the multiple hyphens and terrible combinations of typos and keywords. Don’t be the domainer with a huge list of terrible domains just to brag about how large your portfolio is. Trim your “extra” domains and streamline by selling or trading and use the profit for investing in quality names that are earmarked for immediate revenue or immediate development. Be proud of the overall quality of your portfolio and not just the number of domains it contains. Know your rep

I amazed on how many people I encounter that in the domain industry that have no idea who their representatives are for such companies as Sedo, Moniker, Go Daddy and other big domain powerhouses. The representatives of such companies exist to assist their members who utilize their services and are hands-down the quickest and easiest way to get something resolved if you feel a mistake has been made. If you have domains either parked or offered for sale with a domain company, I highly suggest sending a quick email to find out who your representative is and do you best to maintain a professional and courteous relationship with them. It’s easier to ask assistance from someone whom you know and knows you than it is to ask a complete stranger. And don’t forget to vote for your favorite domain rep at next years Domainers Choice Awards.Stay clear of Trademark Infringements

This should be a no-brainer. Time and time again I see domainers struggle with the headaches caused by trademark infringements and bad faith domain registrations. Not only do most of the trademark claims filed at the WIPO result in the domain being transferred to the appropriate party, but it also indicates that your choice in domains is questionable and therefore proving that you are still purchasing non-quality domain names. Domains that infringe on trademarks are not quality. Ask any lawyer. Save your registration fee and steer clear of legal woes. Auto-renew

Now that your portfolio is streamlined and contains only select domain names, you definitely don’t want to lose or let any of them drop and take a chance of someone else buying you lovely internet real estate. Do yourself a favor and set your domains for auto-renew at your domain register where purchased. It’s a terrible feeling to have someone else scoop up one of your prize domains just because you didn’t or couldn’t find the time to renew the registration. Visit this great article by the Daily Domainer that explains the life-cycle of a domain name and don’t let accidental “drops” happen to you. Limit the hand regs

Hand regs or hand registrations are domains that are purchased from a publicly available source at a regular registration fee and are either brand new (never been purchased) or have expired and no longer owned by the previous owner. Go Daddy is a domain registrar that is popular with domainers and consistently used for hand regs. The possibility of stumbling along a unregistered domain is always there and the opportunity for someone to register a new domain name that never existed and create value to it is also conceivable, but in essence, most domain names that are hand regged are simply non-researched, impulse purchases that pad a domain portfolio with non-value names. Distinguish yourself as a profitable domainer and limit the amount of hand regs you add to your portfolio. One good way is to wait 24 hours before registering a hand reg domain and then re-evaluating before buying. You may lose a registration every so often but in the long run you will save on unnecessary registration fees and useless domain name ownership. Stay current with news and sales

To be successful is to be informed. The pulse of the domain industry is constantly evolving and therefore it is beneficial to a domainer to know exactly what is the next potential opportunity or trend being created within our industry. If you buy domain names, you are an investor. If you are an investor, you need to stay current with the news of your investments and other people’s investments. You can do this by monitoring the recent domain sales and news offered by many websites that are specifically geared towards todays domainers. One of my favorite websites is Ron Jackson’s DNJournal. You can find great articles, news and the popular Year To Date domain sales. You need to know what domains are selling, which domains are being bought and how much they are being bought for. Invest time in your investments and reap the rewards. Predicting the next big trend is priceless. Blog around

Domaining blogs are sprouting up everywhere with domainers eager to share their experiences, setbacks, lessons learned and tips with anyone who wants to listen. We all need to take advantage of this free and useful information by visiting various domain blogs and getting another person’s perspective on our industry. And don’t forget to subscribe to their RSS feeds, if it is offered, and have all this new information sent directly to you to read at your convenience… for free. Subscribe to this blog here.Diversify with other TLD extensions

While some domainers swear that .com is the only extension worth being bought, there are others, like me, who think it’s absolutely insane to dismiss all other TLD’s and only buy one flavor of domain name. The popularity of .TV and .Mobi and the ongoing success of ccTLD’s has risen and is playing a prominent part in today’s domain marketplace. Generic domains in any of these extensions are being recognized as a highly sought after commodity with no signs of slowing. Familiarize yourself with other TLD’s beside .com, .net and .org and evaluate your domain purchases on a global niche scale the next time you go to buy a domain.Consider fractional domain ownership

Fractional domain ownership is simply a group of people that own a domain name and share in it’s profits, development and use. There is not one sole owner because it is owned by the entire group. Owning a portion of a high value domain is a great way for a newcomer to the domain industry to begin and understand the ins and outs of professional domaining and share in the profit growth associated with that certain domain. It also allows “regular” domainers to group funds together and own a very premier domain name without one person having to pay the entire purchase price. Look for this trend to boom in 2008.Optimize your parked pages

Once you buy a domain name, it is up to you whether your domain will contain a fully-functional website that you can customize/adsense or whether you will “park” your domain and allow targeted content to automatically be placed and monetized per visitor. If you choose to park your domains, it’s imperative that you understand how domain parking works and how it can be optimized to bring better results. Sedo is a popular place for domain parking and allows users to see detailed stats and account information for each domain parked on the Sedo network. Revenue is shared with Sedo each time someone clicks on content on one of your parked pages and relies on consistent traffic to be a steady stream of income. Brush up on your domain parking information here. Update your WHOIS information

The WHOIS database is sort of like a directory of purchased domain names that contains the owner’s contact information, purchase date and expiration of a certain domain. One use of this information is being able to contact a domain owner and inquire about purchasing the domain. Without the correct information in the WHOis database, a potential buyer may not be able to contact the current owner and allow an offer to be placed. Contact your domain registrars and make sure your WHOis information is current and correct. If you opt not to be contacted by potential buyers, you may consider using a service that purchases domains for it’s clients and keeps their information private. There is also an option to pay an additional fee at some domain registrars for private domain registration.Contact more end users

So you have a great domain name that is considered gold in a certain industry. Great job. Now, if you have decided not to develop it and simply want to profit from a sale, I highly suggest contacting an end user. What’s and end user? An end user is someone who would use the domain name specifically for creating brand recognition in a certain industry. Here’s an example: Adam owns organicdogfood.com and Bob owns an organic dog food company in Texas but uses the domain BobsSuperGoodOrganicDogFood.com. Adam contacts Bob and offers a shorter, brandable and easier to remember domain name that can increase Bob’s exposure on the internet for people searching for organic dogfood. Adam has just contacted a possible end user. A domain name can usually be sold to an end user for more since it is valued more by the actual user of the domain instead of a regular domain buyer. Change your views on the domain industry

Are there still opportunities to be successful in today’s domain industry? Yes.

Is there still time to take advantage of the booming domain sales? Yes.

Is it still possible for a domain newbie to come in and thrive even with a small initial investment. Yes.

Free stuff sites make up a very decent percentage of all sites
on the internet. You can get anything from free screensavers to
free software to free iPods to free vacations on the internet.
Obviously other than a very few select products none of them are
‘truly’ free. They are not even a ‘shareware kind’ of product.
Most of these schemes will expect a certain action to be
performed to claim the ‘free stuff’.

Normally, signing up to an offer from an advertiser, referring
friends to a site or service or buying a related product all are
examples of the ‘actions’ expected. For example, the free iPod
offer that took over the internet by craze works on the premise
that each person will refer 5 of their friends to the scheme as
well as sign up to a few sponsor offers himself.

What is surprising is that out of all these offers, there are
very few that are webmaster-centric. You hardly find offers for
free domains, free webhosting or free traffic when you sign up
for an offer. This is probably because the cost of these
services or products are too low to warrant much interest. It
can also be that webmasters prefer more direct forms of rewards
like cash.

It is not that there are absolutely no free domain offers on the
net. There are a few but their ‘action’ expected is either to
buy hosting or to sign up and post at forums. The first scenario
is a little scary because most web hosting companies will
register the ‘free’ domain in their own name. So if want to
change the web host, you lose the domain name and with it all
the hard work you put in to develop the brand image. That leaves
the posting at forums option. Well, if you asked me to post, say
50 messages and all of reasonable length (atleast 10 – 15
words), it will take me a month. This assumes that I also have
something better to do! I cannot wait that long for a domain
even if it is free.

From experience, it is seen that a webmaster will never refuse a
free domain name. For that matter no one will will refuse a free
thing if there is no catch involved. A webmaster should be
willing to sign up for a free offer or two in exchange of a free
domain. If such a scheme were available it should be quite
sucessful. May be not as much as the free iPods schemes but
atleast 50% as effective as them. If the free offer does not
involve disclosure of credit card information, it will be the
icing on the cake!

This is exactly what I have been working out. You sign up for an
offer. If it is a valid sign up then I buy you a domain name. No
credit card information required and no obligation too. That
simple. The only condition is you must be from the US and must
fill up the information required (name, email, address etc)
honestly. As soon as I recieve confirmation of the signup
(usually 2-3 days) you get your domain name. And, yes these are
not pharmaceutical or gambling offers, you need to sign up to
recieve more information from an online education university.
Can it get better than that? Visit
www.freedomainscentral.com for more information and to sign up. Today!

Creating a website is not just about creating your pages, designing them and including all the important information. It is also about creating a domain name

* That relates to your products and services

* That is easy to remember and spell for your customers.

A domain name that is easy to remember will have more return customers and more word of mouth advertising than domain names which are hard to spell, remember, or both. When it comes to searching for a domain name, all you have to do is go online and search for ones that you are interested in to see if they have been taken or not. There are a lot of sites that will let you search domain names.

First of all, prepare a list of domains you would like to register. Try to get several combinations, don’t register the first one you can think of. You need at least 10-20 versions.

If your site doesn’t necessarily need to be international, then you also consider buying a domain for your own country instead of .com – .de for Germany (Deutschland), or a co.uk for the UK, for example.

Stick with a .com, don’t opt for .tv, .biz, or any other suffix if at all possible especially if that exact domain name is taken as a com. You will end up losing business to that site.

Now submit a list of domains to some site to search for the available domain names.

If you are lucky, some domains are available. Register them and don’t wait until them get someone else.

Don’t set your mind on one particular domain name. Also remember that there are niches where every two dictionary words names are already taken. You may need a patience to find the available and good one.

Try to find synonyms for keywords you use, or try to remove some letters. For example, madconomist.com instead of madeconomist.

There is a way to simplify domain name selection – use software! Powerful software, such as Available Domains Pro can generate thousand of valuable domain names in a few minutes. It can be easily customized to fit your needs. Try this one and you won’t regret.