Menu
Before we get started, in case you are not familiar with who a domain name investor is, let’s start by clarifying the term domain name investor.
Just like Realtor is the shortened form of Licensed Real Estate Agent, domainer is the shortened version of domain name investor.
The definition of the term ‘domainer’ that I share with others is borrowed from Domain Sherpa: “Domaining is the process of buying, selling and monetizing domain names for profit.”
The more detailed explanation includes, “A domainer is an individual or company that actively engages in the buying, selling, marketing, monetization and publishing of internet domain names and other related web and or internet-based properties.
Domainers often generate income through domain parking and/or website development, with the main purpose of generating revenue from advertising click through and/or selling a property for a multiple of the cost to develop the website.”
The short version, to me, is not only concise but better explains what a domain name investor, aka domainer, does and why.
Domaining is the process of …
The ease of achieving those three targets, buy, sell, monetize, is the foundation of why Website Web Hosting Services is an ideal domain registration and hosting provider for domainers.
Domain names are the inventory of a domainer. True, some domainers search for and negotiate the purchase of domain names owned by others for their clients. And yes, some domain name investors have a clientele of other domainers who they market and sell domains on behalf of.
But domaining all starts with someone having a domain name they want to sell. By-the-way, that someone could also be a corporation or business who want to divest themselves of a domain name they’ve registered. Domain names are intangible assets. Their value could be in the thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars and more.
For the majority of domain name investors, buying, selling, and monetizing domain names is their bread-and-butter.
Where Do Domain Name Investors Buy Domain Names
With few exceptions, most domain name investors buy a domain name through a domain name registrar. A popular example of a domain name registrar is GoDaddy.
The exceptions are domainers who buy domain names from other domainers. The common element is that even in those transactions transfer of ownership needs to be handled through a registrar. There are strict rules on domain name registration that must be met in any transaction.
With few exceptions, most domain name investors buy a domain name through a domain name registrar. A popular example of a domain name registrar is GoDaddy.
The exceptions are domainers who buy domain names from other domainers. The common element is that even in those transactions transfer of ownership needs to be handled through a registrar. There are strict rules on domain name registration that must be met in any transaction.
A question often asked is ‘How can you monetize a domain name if you do not have hosting?’
Domain parking, domain auction, and domain resale are the answers.
Many registrars offer a service where you can register a domain name and then link it to their parking service.
When someone searches for the domain name by entering it in a web browser, the parked page is displayed.
That page will display your domain name as well as a list of advertisers.
When one of the advertiser links is clicked, the registered domain owner gets a portion of the revenue the advertiser pays to the registrar.
GoDaddy is an example of a registrar who offers an auction as well as resale service.
You do not need to have your domain name registered at GoDaddy to participate in their auction services to sell a domain name.
For me, and other domain name investors, the advantages of using Website Web Hosting Services (WWHS.ca) to register domains and develop them into websites for clients and others or to sell them as a developed website far outweighs the benefits other web hosting providers offer.
One reason for this is the many features WWHS includes in membership.
I have the Corporate Plan. Corporate sort of sounds expensive. It really isn’t.
The plan includes unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited websites hosted, unlimited email accounts, unlimited FTP accounts, free SSL, URL redirection, and much more.
Plus, the Hepsia control panel, not cumbersome cPanel, requires minimal smarts to do just about anything you would want to do as a domain name investor.
The biggest plus is WWHS’ domain backorder service that is only available to members. A member is anyone who has at least one domain name registered with Website Web Hosting Services dot com
Investing in domain names is a science and an art.
Science of Domaining
The science is uncovering important data about a domain name before buying it. An important lesson is to avoid buying a domain name unless you have a purpose for it.
Art of Domaining
The art of being a successful domain name investor is knowing what domain names will be valuable in the future. More specifically, investing in domain names today for a resale down the road.
The two avenues for a domainer to buy a domain name we will review today is immediate purchase and backordering.
Immediate Purchase
Immediate purchase is just as the name implies. A domain name you are interested in is available now. To purchase it, on your Website Web Hosting Services dashboard you would use the Register Domain Name feature.
Backordering
You would use the Website Web Hosting Services Backorder feature for domain names expiring at some point in the next five days.
The backorder feature allows you to filter the list of domains.
Thousands of domain names expire daily, often more than 100,000. Hence, filtering by length, dictionary words, expiry date, etc. is a must.
And I would encourage filtering by day as well.
Essential tools for effective domaining include …
Members of Website Web Hosting Services enjoy those tools as well as services for securing, managing, and marketing domain names.