How to Buy Abandoned Domain Names

Domain names are the unique web addresses of websites and blogs. When an individual chooses a domain name he wants, he purchases that name for 1 to 10 years. At the end of this time period, the name expires. If the owner still wants to own that domain, he renews it, but if he doesn't, the domain expires. Daily Changes estimates that almost 100,000 domain expire every day. These expired domains are then available for others to purchase. Many companies specialize in domain-name investing and make it easy to buy abandoned domain names.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Locate sources of bulk expired domains. These companies keep track of expiring and expired domain names, and are the best way to find abandoned domains. Lengthy lists of available domain names are provided. These companies give you important information about the volume of daily traffic a domain gets and how popular it is with search engines. Some of these companies offer tools that are free, but others charge monthly subscription fees; Oddity Software is one such company. (See Resources.)

2. Look for good domain names among the bulk names. After you have a list of available domain names, look at each name individually to find names that are interesting or contain good keywords. Some domains are available because they are dreadful names. You want to find good names that will be profitable.

3. When you have narrowed down your choices of possible abandoned names to register, check for backlinks. Backlinks are incoming links to the web address from other websites. The more backlinks a site has, the more traffic the domain will enjoy, and the more valuable a domain name is. Link Popularity Checker is one online tool that helps you check the banklinks of a domain.

4. Check for keyword popularity. A domain is more valuable if it contains keywords or keyword phrases people search for via search engines. Websites like WordZe and SEO Book (see Resources) give you the most popular keyword searches from search engines and directories like Google, MSN and Yahoo.

5. Buy the domains you like. You can buy an abandoned domain name from any domain registrar. Prices vary widely, from $7 to $30 for a 1-year registration. You also have the option of public or private registration. With public registration, your name, address, email address and phone number are made available to the public as the owner of the domain. With private information, your privacy is protected. A proxy name is used on the public records. Private registration costs about $10 a year. GoDaddy is one very popular domain-name registrar (see Resources).

Resources

• WordZe
• GoDaddy
• Daily Domain Name Blog