How To Find Diamonds In The Rough

Is it too late to start in the domaining industry without spending big bucks? This is a common question that is being asked by many people looking to get into the domain name industry. An analogy that people have used to put the current status of the domain industry in perspective is the great California land rush. In today’s real estate market the two letter, three letter, and one word .com’s of the world would be the beachfront property. The only way to obtain them is to have purchased them a long, long time ago or to pay big bucks for a small parcel today. The rest of the domains would be land in the Valley, affordable but over populated. In an industry where every two and three character .com is purchased and almost every dictionary domain is purchased, how does one attempt to make a profit? There are a couple of different ways a domainer can have a late start and still be successful.

The first way is to take the risky road of buying CCTLDs. Buying new emerging country code TLDs can be like day trading, one moment they are hot the next they are not. There are a couple of different country codes that have done pretty well and have beaten the current trends of CCTLDs. These country codes are the .de and .co.uk extensions. These two country codes have beaten current trends and produced a desirable TLD for the world marketplace. As with most popular extensions these TLDs are becoming saturated. Another disadvantage of CCTLDs is that in many cases they require certain prerequisites for registration such as proof of land ownership. Although profitable for some I personally would stay away from this investment as it can be risky and nationality prohibitive.

The next two alternatives are much safer and viable solutions for the new domainer. The next option is the area of Geo domains. To get started in this area I would suggest first doing research on areas of upcoming growth. These areas can be towns, regions, or states. Having inside information can be a big positive for this kind of investment. When I say “inside information” I am referring to information developers and real estate friends typically have from just being in their profession. Ask for their input as to what is an up and coming area.

There are companies in the industry who make their living off of these types of acquisitions, such as BuyDomains.com and Fabulous.com. These two companies are pioneers in buying generic keyword domains and profiting off of their traffic and desirability. An easy way to get starting in this type of investment is just to drive around and take notes, noticing things like where Home Depots and Lowes are being built. Typically, this is a good indication that there is going to be development in an area.

Buying region specific domain names is a good idea. For example, CaliforniaLaw.com is an example of a good region specific domain name. Acquisitions such as these will eventually add up to a quality portfolio that is highly desirable. You have to keep in mind that you are buying Internet realty at a discounted price, generally around 7 dollars. This is a very inexpensive investment, but one needs to have the same type of mentality as anyone in a speculative area of investment. Foresight and patience is a must. These types of investments take time and research, but can pay off big.

The third type of investment is the expired domain market. This market has been growing immensely in the last couple of years. Many different auction houses have been emerging such as Fabulous.com and TDNAM.com to provide services that allow the common domainer the ability to buy expired domains. Buying domains at an expired domain auction can be like finding that rare Beatles album tucked away at a garage sale for $5 dollars. With the right tools and research the expired auctions held by many auction houses can be an invaluable asset to new domain buyers.

When I am looking for expired domains, oftentimes I am looking for names that I can make a quick profit on. When finding these types of names the most important things I look for first are that if it is a .com it has good back links and that it has age. Once I have narrowed the list down, I then look for short URLs containing no hyphens. Typically this will yield a short desirable list. From that list I make determinations of what I am willing to spend for names. Expired domain auctions can also yield good keyword domains as well. Most platforms offer a type of filtering. Filtering creatively and correctly can yield gems as well.

I think there are still many different avenues that a new domainer can take to make money. I believe that new domainers need to possess an ingenuity that anyone entering any new field needs to have to be successful. Buying domains can be treated like buying real estate if one has the creativity to approach it that way. For the people who say that it is too late to make money as a domainer, I say look at any industry, creativity and ingenuity always manifests itself in profit.