Domain Parking Provides a Source of Residual Income
Domaining is an interesting business and investment vehicle because, after the first investment has been made, it is a business that takes very little maintenance to run successfully. The fact that it is a residual income business model makes it one of the greatest models available on the internet. However, this does not imply that domaining is a simple process. Working as a domainer simply entails devoting all of your time, energy, and resources up front to studying which domains to purchase and acquiring them.
Domaining is defined as the act of registering a domain name.
Domaining is essentially the business of purchasing domain names for the purpose of reselling them later. When thinking about this company, it is helpful to conceive about domain names as if they were pieces of real estate. Consider them to be parcels of virtual internet-land that have some inherent worth, with the bulk of that value derived from their location and level of development, rather than as commodities. Their “location” on the internet is analogous to their online exposure. In addition to being the most expensive, names with immediate recognition are in the most desirable locations. Buildings on a plot of land are analogous to a website that has been established under a domain name. The website is likely to attract visitors, either via its content or through its functioning, and as a result, the value of the domain name will rise as a result.
As is the case with any mature real estate industry, the majority of the desirable names have already been acquired and are only available at a high premium. Speculative names, as well as names with unconfirmed extensions, are still available for purchase (.info, .biz, .us, etc.) When it comes to domain names, one significant distinction between the real world and the virtual world is that new names with potential become accessible all the time as new words and trends become popular and as old domain names expire and new technologies arise.
Using a Domain Name to Earn Money
As long as you are prepared to construct a website on your domain name, there are several methods to monetise it. However, because this post is about the purest form of domaining, I will only explore ways to monetize domain names without developing them.
Resale of Domain Names – Just like with any other piece of real estate, your domain name may be worth more to someone else than you paid for it originally. For example, if you learn to generate brandable names ahead of time (e.g., google, digg, myspace, zappos), or if you successfully acquire names that are associated with an emerging trend or idea, you may be successful (ie. bird flu, wimax, AJAX). Investing in domains is a risky method to make money, but your initial investment of $6-9 per name won’t break the bank and you may see a significant return on your investment. Once you have purchased a number of domain names, you should offer them for sale on services such as Sedo and DomainState to see if any of them are purchased by someone else. Keep in mind that patience is a virtue.
Parking Domains – Targeted traffic on the internet is quite valuable. Visitors who are interested in a given topic are referred to as targeted traffic. Assuming that your domain names receive traffic (more on this later), you may monetise that traffic by registering them for domain parking services like as Sedo, DomainSponsor, or Fabulous. To use the service, you just register your domains with them for free, link your domains to their DNS servers, and you’re done. In exchange for your domain name, the service creates a basic one-page website that contains advertiser links and information based on the keywords and categories linked with your domain name. When visitors click on such links, you receive a portion of the income produced in partnership with the domain parking provider.
Identifying and Purchasing Domain Names
In order to come up with and study domain names to purchase, there are several ways to consider. In addition to tons of (well researched) speculation, there are a large number of domainers who are purchasing domains with the purpose of generating passive revenue from them. Domainers achieve this by purchasing domains that receive traffic that may be turned into money.
Type-ins are the most straightforward way for a domain to obtain traffic even if it does not have a website associated with it. We’ve all been accountable for type-ins in the past when we went directly to the address bar and entered yahoo.com, money.com, or bored.com into the browser’s address bar. Every day, websites such as cellphones.com and business.com receive hundreds or thousands of targeted visitors who put in their search terms. Often, users would put their search phrases straight into the address bar of their browser, followed by the dot com, in the hopes of finding relevant information. This conduct is typical of a novice on the internet, but keep in mind that there are more newbies on the internet every day, and as broadband becomes more widely available, this is a trend that is likely to continue in the future.
The most significant investment a domainer makes before purchasing a domain name is their time. Domain All-in-One from DomainState is a fantastic free tool that I use for domain research and that you should check out as well. In addition to checking domain availability rapidly, it also allows you to search for keywords on Overture and domain popularity on Alexa, among other things. Listed below are a few ways for selecting and locating domain names on the internet.
Give it a shot if you have a strong sense of humour and can come up with creative titles that might one day become the name of a company’s next product or brand. Also, keep an eye out for emerging trends and catchphrases, and register domain names that are associated with them. There is also a lot of room for conjecture when it comes to names in other languages and names in other Top Level Domains (TLDs) such as.info,.us,.biz, and so on. Keep in mind, however, that speculation is just that: guesswork, and there is no assurance of a future return.
Traffic by typing it in – Even if the most apparent keywords and phrases have already been registered, new ones are constantly being introduced into the public mind. Reggaeton, avian flu, and other worldwide crises, together with new technologies like wimax, provide the early bird with an opportunity to register keywords and phrases that are anticipated to receive an increasing amount of type-in traffic in the future. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, and do a little research every day to discover what opportunities are out there for you.
Typos – Typographical errors in well-known domain names generate traffic through type-ins. Included in this category are well-known names such as gogle.com and yahooo.com, as well as lesser-known ones such as celphones.com and homelaons.com These domains can be profitable since you can park these domains with the appropriate keyword and generate immediate cash from them. SearchSpell has proven to be a really valuable tool for me when it comes to brainstorming potential typos and calculating their chance of occurring.
Existing domain names that have expired without their owners caring to re-register them are known as expired domain names. In the past, expired domains may have served as a home for many websites, portals, blogs, and companies; as a result, they may have received incoming links from other websites and may appear in search results. Therefore, they are likely to receive some traffic, which you may monetise using Sedo or other methods. Given how profitable this method is, you will very certainly have to go via a drop-catcher such as Pool, SnapNames, or NameWinner and pay a premium for the expired name at an auction in order to implement it. Remember that when these sites fall in the search engine results and visitors understand that the previous page is no longer available, the traffic to these sites is likely to decrease over time.
Domains with established traffic and income can be purchased with existing cash if you have a large amount of money on hand and are willing to pay a premium for the assurance of a steady source of income. Depending on the name, prices can range from $7.5 million for business.com in 1999 to more realistic 5- and 6-figure costs for established domains today, to a few hundred dollars for a domain that generates a small income stream. SnapNames, Sedo, and the For Sale forum at DomainState are all good locations to start your search for a domain name. In this situation, it might take anything from a few months to many years before you see a good return on your investment, but the stability of an income has always been a valuable commodity.
Steps to Take Next
If you are new to domaining, take your time to learn the ropes and keep your money in your wallet for the time being. There is a wealth of valuable information available on the internet at sites such as DomainState and DNJournal. Many costly mistakes may be avoided by reading their articles and participating in their conversations. You can also learn where to put your time and money to maximize your return.
Once you have a firm knowledge of the business and the necessary confidence to get started, you may begin experimenting. It is not necessary to invest significant quantities of money up front or to purchase hundreds of domain names at the same time. But get started by purchasing a few domain names; one of the benefits of beginning a business in this industry is that you can register a domain name for less than the cost of a burger. Check out 1and1 and NameCheap for domain names. You may list them for sale on Sedo and see what kind of response you receive. And if you want to proceed down the development path, you may go ahead and set up a website on their servers.
Maintain consistency while having a good time. Learn something new about the business every day and experiment with different techniques until you discover one that you are comfortable with. If you play your cards well, you might soon find yourself earning money while you sleep.
