Domain names are hot commodities in today’s tech-centric world. For instance, according to Investopedia, cars.com was purchased at $872 million in 2014. This development, and the fact that domain names often appreciates, paved the way to domain flipping. It has become a money-making opportunity for tech-savvy entrepreneurs.
Domain flipping means buying and selling quality domains through domain listings, domain marketplaces, auction sites, and other channels. If properly executed, it can be a lucrative side hustle or even a small business.
Want to learn how to buy and sell domain names? Here are some domain flipping essentials that can get you off to a successful start.
How do you determine the value of a domain
If you want to invest in a domain, you need to determine its value. Whether you’re buying or selling, understanding these key facets is going to help you make an informed decision.
Length and memorability
In general, short domain names are easy to recall and this makes them digital real estate gold. Plus, they can be easily integrated in social media as well as conventional marketing strategies. This makes them easier to sell compared to their longer counter parts.
This is because a concise web address can reduce typing errors and other mistakes. This contributes to a positive user experience, which is a factor that helps improve a website’s search engine visibility.
Keywords
Keywords for domains remain significant components for user and search engine success. Putting this into consideration, strategically adding niche keywords is essential to increase the value of a domain name.
Extensions
The right domain extension (.com, .net, .edu, etc.) can improve how a website performs in search results, establish trust, and support business growth. The .com extension is the gold standard, especially if you want to build credibility. This is the reason why many companies make it a point to use .com in their websites.
Since you’re into buying and selling domains, it’s best to go for websites with .com extensions. This is because they are known to attract interested buyers and command a higher price. Their desirability, demand, and the fact that they potentially sell are contributory factors for such development.
Brandability
Brandable websites are easy to remember and reflective of business identities. They can effectively convey a message and make a strong impression online.
Existing traffic
When buying a domain for flipping or domain name investing, it’s important to opt for one that has existing traffic. By going this route, you can be rest assured that it has the attributes to catch the attention of potential buyers.
Some important questions to ask: Does the keyword in the domain name have at least 200 searches per month? Are there Google Ads keyword bidders?
If the answer is yes, you have a might have a website worth investing in.
Sales history
When you’re buying a website with high and consistent sales performance, you’re essentially buying a quality domain that can double as a ready-made income stream that’s primed for domain name investing.
How to purchase a domain
Purchasing a domain requires keen attention to detail and careful consideration. This is to ensure that you acquire the right domain that can deliver in terms of profit.
Check expired domains
Expired domains are registered domains that have not been renewed by their owner. Opting for one is ideal since rather than starting from scratch, you can have its existing SEO value. It includes domain history, authority, and backlink profile. An expired domain can make it easier to boost a website’s search engine rankings, making it more profitable when you go to sell it.
Negotiate
When negotiating a domain purchase, employ strategic steps to achieve the best price for a good domain in a specific industry. Find a trustworthy domain broker or direct seller that is backed by good ratings. At this point, be ready and patient when presenting essential information such as past usage, overall value, and search engine optimization (SEO) potential.
A fair offer that is below your maximum budget is a good start. This leaves plenty of room for negotiation while ensuring the seller that you’re serious. Re-negotiation is always possible so remain flexible. It’s common for bargaining parties to go back and forth before coming up with an agreement.
Stay professional throughout the whole process. Once you find the right buyer, draft a formal purchase agreement. Make sure that you have full control of your purchased domain. This way, you can be rest assured that your domain investing endeavor is going to be a breeze.
Watch for domain auctions
There are several entities that offer auction domains including GoDaddy Auctions, Flippa, NameJet, Namecheap, and Sedo. Each platform requires signing up for an account, verifying your identity, and submitting a secure payment method.
When bidding, many experts advise to wait the last minute before making a bid for a domain. That’s because, by bidding late, other bidders will be less likely to outbid you, even if they are willing to pay higher. On the other hand, many domain auction entities prevent this method, which is known in the industry as “bid sniping.” They employ safety measures to ensure utmost fairness is employed throughout the bidding process.
Some domain auctions’ approach is to extend the auction timer whenever a bid is placed close to the deadline. Putting this factor into consideration, it’s actually better to bid early and diversify your maximum bid amount. This way, it’s less likely to tie with another bidder.
How do you increase the value of a domain?
You can boost your profit potential by making your domain more attractive to prospective buyers.
Hold for market appreciation
If you’re not in a hurry to sell domains; you should consider holding on to your purchased domain and wait for it to appreciate.
Take note that domain values tend to fluctuate based on industry trends, market conditions, and technological advancements. By holding on to quality domains, you can capitalize on industry growth and emerging market opportunities.
For instance, the price of domains that are associated with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning may shoot up since they’re becoming more mainstream. Hence, waiting for optimum market conditions may pave the way to higher results than instant flipping.
Optimize for SEO
SEO is essential if you want to improve your domain’s capacity to capture interest and further drive conversions.
Find target keywords
Make sure to use terms that your target audience can relate to. This way, you can improve search visibility. Modern search engines such as Google utilize sophisticated AI technology to understand what users want. Because of this, they provide more relevant and accurate results.
Therefore, you should take a more detailed approach to content creation and take it from the user’s perspective. This is a way better move than solely focusing on marketing tactics.
Optimize on-page content
SEO-friendly articles rely on relevance. Blog posts, dedicated landing pages, videos, digital resources, and the like, should be focused on your target market. It’s also important to optimize them for search engines. This is where on-page optimization comes in. It can amplify rankings, improve user experience (UX), and increase click-through rate (CTR).
There are several ways to do this. They include:
- Inserting keyword-based page titles
- Integrating relevant keywords and phrases
- Adding useful images with alternative text (alt text). Alt text is a written copy that conveys the meaning and context of images for search engine crawlers. Images with alt text have better chances of being indexed.
- Hyperlinking internal and external links
Boost website speed
Website speed on both desktop and mobile is a crucial component of UX. It needs to be enhanced to ensure that a website’s SEO attributes are compromised.
There are several ways to achieve this:
- Utilize a reliable content delivery network (CDN) to reduce the distance as well as time it takes for content to travel to users.
- Cut down redirects since an inappropriate number of redirects or redirect chains can slow down your website.
- Compress images to speed up page loading times.
Park the domain
Domain parking prior to flipping is a worthwhile move since it allows you to reserve the name and use it in the future. This means that a domain is registered, but is not attached to any active website. When visited, it may display contact details for a potential buyer, an under-construction message, or an advertisement.
By going this route, you can achieve the following benefits:
Protect your brand
Registering a domain and parking them can prevent domain name buyers from acquiring it. It can also protect brand identity as well as reputation.
Ensure availability
Parking a domain is one of the most overlooked aspects of how to buy and sell domain names. This should not be the case since you need to be sure that the one that you want is available if you decide to use it. Also, by parking your domain, you can easily offer it to other domain flippers who offer a fixed price and further boost your profit potential.
How do You sell a domain for maximum value
Domain flipping businesses can be lucrative, especially if your approach is backed by careful planning, execution, and everything in between. Here are easy-to-execute tips on how you can sell a domain for maximum value.
List on multiple marketplaces
Listing them on domain marketplace entities involves a strategic as well as a well-coordinated approach. It can generate interest and boost the probability of finding prospective buyers who are willing to pay.
Some of the most reputable marketplaces out there are GoDaddy Auctions, Sedo, and Afternic. Exposure across these platforms can drastically increase your chances of finding the right buyer.
Market your domain independently
Maximizing your domain’s value independently requires a strategic and multi-faceted approach. It also offers control over your domain listing process, promotion, and sales procedures.
While more hands-on compared to conventional methods such as buying and selling in domain listings, it often delivers higher returns. This is because of the fact that it eliminates middleman fees and other similar charges.
Use escrow services
Escrow services are critical if you want to make sure that your transactions are protected against fraud, merchant error, and other corrupt practices. Understanding and properly utilizing the said services can amplify buyer confidence and facilitate hassle-free transfers. All these are achieved without compromising profitability.
Putting the said factors into consideration, it’s best to go for a tried and tested escrow service provider that’s backed by a strong security protocols, foolproof incident management, and the like.
What are the risks of buying and selling a domain?
The domain flipping sector comes with significant risks, particularly in the buying process. Understanding them is essential since it can minimize pitfalls and give the utmost protection to your investment. Eventually this can ensure a successful domain purchase can protect your investment.
Overpaying for domains
Overpaying for domain names is a common pitfall that can erode potential returns. Here, keeping emotions at bay is essential.
In general, when buyers spot what appears to be the right domain names, excitement follows. This sense of enthusiasm often results in shelling out exorbitant prices for sites that may take several months or years to resell.
Here are tips on how to avoid overpaying when buying and selling domains
- Set a budget and stick to it no matter what
- Perform extensive research
- Don’t be afraid to walk away from domain sellers who overprice
Speculative Buying
Speculative domain buying is generally one of the riskiest strategies in the domain investment market. This often leads to significant financial losses, especially if not immediately managed. On the one hand, the allure of purchasing domains that are based on future value is indeed tempting if you want to maximize profit potential.
Understanding the pitfalls is a must if you want to achieve worthwhile sales, as well as protect your investment portfolio.
Legal Issues
Domain name purchases, regardless of the niche, come with severe legal risks that may result in costly disputes, potential lawsuits, forced surrenders, among other legal penalties. Understanding them is crucial if you want to protect your investment.
Get started with your domain investing journey
Learning how to buy and sell domain names in an effective and efficient manner takes time. With the right attitude and cutting-edge tools, you can simplify the whole process. In line with this, if you have the luxury of starting from scratch, seriously consider using a domain generator.
Domain generators have revolutionized the process of finding new and creative domain name ideas. And what’s offered by Web.com is no different. It offers aspiring domain flippers a powerful tool for developing digital assets.
Let Web.com help you get started with the perfect domain.
