A Look Back At Making Money With Domain Names
If you do a deep dive into this site, youll find a 2006 post titled Alternative Investments Domain Names. Think back to technology in 2006. Chances are that you had a personal computer at home. However, the iPhone was yet to be invented. And you likely chatted using AIM. Things were different back then.
In fact, the Internet was about to explode in new and interesting ways. Blogging was about to become big business. And savvy folks realized that they had the potential to make a lot of money with domain names. If you bought a domain name that people ended up vying for a year or two later, you could make tens of thousands of dollars off of just that one domain sale. And the risk was low because domain prices were low.
How To Make Money With Domain Parking
Domain flipping is often done with the intent of finding a buyer quickly after youve purchased a domain. Some flippers prefer to hold on to some domains longer in hopes of getting a better price.
If you intend to hold on to a domain for a while, or if you have some domains that arent selling, you dont have to let your domains sit idle. Instead, you can park your domains. Parking a domain means you monetize your domain by serving ads through a landing page generated by a third party that provides domain parking services. This allows you to make money from your domains in between the time you buy and sell them.
FreshDrop is a domain marketplace that helps you find dropped domains to buy directly, through auctions, or back orders .
Can You Make Money With Domain Names Today
Its been fifteen years since that article on domain names as alternative investments. In Internet time, thats several lifetimes of change. So, is it possible to make money with domain names today? Yes. In particular, if youre looking for a way to make a side income, then buying and selling domain names can be a great option. There are three core ways that you can make money with domain names:
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Ways To Make Money From An Old Domain Name
Do you have an old domain name that you’re not using registered somewhere? Why not make some extra money with it? Here’s what you need to do.
You don’t need a website to make money online — just the URL, or domain name, will suffice. If your old domain name is useful, catchy, or in some other way meaningful, you could be sitting on a goldmine without even realizing it.
Let’s look at how you can make money from that old domain name.
Limited Supply And Growing Demand
The internet is an ever-expanding entity. In fact, last year, the number of global web users exceeded four billion, and as we migrate to an increasingly digital existence, this number is only going to grow.
As more businesses and individuals enter the digital arena, the demand for domain names is growing exponentially. And with this demand comes great opportunity.
The best thing about committing to invest in domains is the fact that youll be entering a limited supply and growing demand situation.
Domains are like prime real estate in that almost every business needs one and many brands will be looking for the same or similar names.
Thats the reason carinsurance.com sold for so many millions.
If you own the right domain names, youll be able to sell them to the right buyer at the right price, because there will be a serious demand for your domain name, and in the eyes of your prospects, a significant lack of supply. This, of course, will put you in the drivers seat, increasing your chances of making a healthy profit from every investment.
Related: 5 tried-and-true tips for buying and selling domain names for profit
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Consider Hiring A Domain Broker
Once you’ve established yourself, consider hiring a domain broker. These professionals can purchase domain names on your behalf, taking care of all negotiations and making sure you’re receiving the best price. They can also take care of sales for you and price your domain names fairly with their market expertise.
Make Money Buying And Selling Domains
Have you ever considered flipping domain names as a way to make money? Buying and selling domains is an interesting business model with a lot of potential. You can buy low, sell high, and work in all kinds of niches.
One of the great aspects of domain flipping is that you can spend less time on all the tasks that are needed to flip a website, and still get a good return. You wont have to worry about content creation, web design, or monetization.
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It Undermines Your Quality And Reputation
If you know how to get websites to page one, why are you not marketing that fact to potential clients and consumers or would-be domain purchasers? Trying to get a keyword driven domain to rank high and sell it off for a profit isn’t a good investment, either time wise or for the long-term success of your company. Instead, use sites that you have already ranked high as an example of how awesome you are and sign them up for a monthly fee, rather than trying to sell them a “make money now” domain.
- Demonstrate SEO prowess to potential client using existing sites as proof of results
- Sign up client for basic SEO services at $600-1000 per month
- Invest 30-40 hours in making the client’s site soar in results
- Client is happy. Refers friends and other business owners your way
- You get: More clients, better reputation, month recurring income, and gain a positive reputation for being a quality SEO provider.
Purchasing The Right Domains
Knowing which domains have the potential to become profitable requires some luck, but you can get a better idea of what you should be looking for by having a basic grasp of Search Engine Optimization. Its easier to obtain valuable domain names when you have some idea of what people are searching for. Keep in mind that the types of domain names that are optimal for todays search engines may not be a few months down the road. In the early 2010s, very general domain names such as artgallery.com or localmovingcompany.com were indexed high on Google because they closely matched common search terms. In 2012, Google launched the Exact Match Domain penalty for sites that have a generic domain but very little in the way of quality content. This can be bad for a domain value, as youre usually only purchasing the domain itself, not a fully-functional website. Recently expired domain names may be profitable because they can still have active back-links that help index them higher in a search engine. Back-links are links to the domain on other existing websites.
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Selling A Domain Use Escrow
If you’re selling your domain name for a large amount of money, you’ll need to make sure the transaction is secure. The best way to do this is by using an escrow service.
This basically means that the funds are lodged with a third party, who only releases them when the conditions of sale are met. Be aware that scam escrow services exist, so we recommend you use escrow.com, which is undoubtedly the safest.
Feel your URL is worth more than the offers you’re getting? It might be time to think about spending some time on building a website around it, and making some money this way. Twelve months down the line, you should be able to demand a higher figure based on the income generated to date.
Where Can I Purchase A Domain Name
There are many registrars available to purchase domain names. Some are less expensive than others. Some of my favorite domain registrars are Namecheap and GoDaddy. Namecheap offers domains starting for as little as $8.88 per year.
Some other options include:
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How To Earn Money Buying And Selling Domain Names
Domain flipping can be a profitable online business opportunity for the right person. Could it be you? Well, lets find out.
Buying and selling domain names isnt anything new. In fact, it has been a practice since the early 1990s. If you are new to learning about how to earn money buying and selling domain names, let me explain how it all works.
A domain name is the address of a website. It is the word you type in to find a website. Like this website: JustOnlineBusiness.com.
And some domains can be highly lucrative. The domain Voice.com sold for $30 million in 2019 and Whisky.com for $3.1 million in 2014.
But, you will probably never up with a name that will sell for millions. Thats a bit of a long shot. But once you are experienced, you can find domains that sell for a few $100 to a few $1000s of dollars in profit.
If you know what you are doing then it can be quite a good part-time income to a full-time income. Now, dont go running away thinking it can make you an overnight millionaire. The chances of you succeeding and actually making a decent profit within your first few months are low. But, hey, dont let that put you off learning about this unique online opportunity.
Find Strong Domain Names To Sell
The first step in flipping a domain is to find the right domain. This can take hours of research and some good old fashioned luck.
To find a domain name, go to any domain registrar and search based on topics you think would be a good candidate.
Some domain flippers have software that helps to analyze a domain name to lessen the time it takes to vet a domain.
Once youve found a good domain name, purchase it with a registrar. It typically costs around $10 annually to keep a domain. Not sure if your domain is a good candidate? Dont worry, Ill help you decide below.
Looking to make more money? Check out my complete post on making money online for beginners!
Related: Best Items to Flip
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Jumping On New Trends
An example of a new trend Mark jumped on and made some money is .gg extensions. .gg domains came out relatively recently and quickly became popular in the gaming and e-sports niche.
Fun fact: GG stands for Good Game and is a common phrase used when playing against other players online.
Some examples of domains he registered are:
- Lions.gg
- Lotus.gg
- Traction.gg
It wasnt long before Mark sold Lions.gg to a professional soccer team in Indiana. He paid $35 for the domain and sold it for $1,500, so that was a nice profit. The team is using it for their homepage:
Either Im going to be a genius, or Im going to be a guy that wasted all the profits that he made selling them, Mark told me.
Passive Income Flipping Domain Names
One way to make passive income online is by flipping domains. Flipping domains is like participating in online real estate. The properties consist in the domains, and your goal is to purchase the best properties, and to hold onto them until you find a buyer.
What is domain flipping? Domain flipping consists in buying domain names, parking them and then selling them later on at a higher price. Many people are making thousands of dollars by simply registering domain names for $1 a piece and then selling them for $5,000+ upwards.
Below, we go into detail on how to make passive income by flipping domains, therefore buying domain names, parking and then selling them to the highest bidder. Learn about some of the risks, difficulty level, seasonality and more when flipping domain names as a beginner.
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Get Your Domains In Front Of The Public
You will find several places where you can post the domains for the public to buy. But before that consider the below things:
Is the Place Trusted and Well Known?
You should feel confident that you will get paid and that the buyer will receive the domain name he has paid for.
Select a place with good ratings and recognized organizations such as Better Business Bureau or licensing from a trusted government source. With this, it will be easy for the buyer to click on the button to purchase the domain and build trust on the domain seller brand.
While selling domains, it is important to build trust among the visitors about your brand.
Is the Distribution Network Strong?
The potential to get your domain name in front of the right buyer is a key. List your domain in a popular distribution network so that it gets displayed in front of millions of potential buyers each month.
Find the people that can get the benefit from the domain name. Reach out to them and check if they are interested in using the domain. If you are into the particular domain niche, you should know the way to suggest the value proposition of your domain name for the potential buyer.
Dont start sending spam emails. Instead have conversations with people you know will welcome the ability to own the domain.
Learn More With These Resources
When buying the domains for reselling, you will always have a learning curve. Ask a lot of questions to those who have taken a step forward, opt for forum discussions, keep a track of industry trends and reach out to our support team for more information.
Go to the conferences to gain knowledge quickly and meet several other professionals in your industry. You can also get an idea about the tools and services available to you from different vendors of your niche. All these things will help you make smarter investment and get most out of your time and money.
Pallavi is a Digital Marketing Executive at MilesWeb and has an experience of over 4 years in content development. She is interested in writing engaging content on business, technology, web hosting and other topics related to information technology.
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Find Great Names That Are Searchable
The key to be successful in buying domain names, parking them and re-selling them is to find the right names to focus on. Think of it this way. You are buying a valuable name that will prove to be a great asset to a future buyer. Think ahead of the curve and try to determine what people will want in the next few months or years.
When searching for names, you should start with keyword groups. These are words people actually use to search for things. Our own name is a good example of this Beginners Passive Income. If you are looking to learn more about making passive income online, and you are a beginner, you can imagine our site strives to serve you just that passive income ideas and guides for beginners.
Other types of names you can look for are potential business names or events. A good example is the FIFA 2022 in Qatar. That event, which will be held between November 21 and December 18, has a huge potential for domain names. Lastly, geographic names that relate to cities or countries can also be sold to people who want to start their own local events, businesses or sites.
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