Think About Your Domain Name End Game

When you are buying a domain name, whether it’s a newly registered domain name or a domain name in the aftermarket, it’s important to think about your end game for this particular domain name. Some of the most likely things that   domain investors   think about when buying include:

  • I am going to build this website into a…
  • XXXXXX company would want to use this for…
  • This would make a great website for…
  • Some day, some company will want to buy this…

Based on how you answer this, your actions with the domain name should reflect this strategy. Think about this for all of your domain names at the time of registration, and take action to see it through.

Either map out a website and build it, contact potential buyers with reasons that they should buy it from you, contact potential partners on development, or put up an appropriate landing page to announce your intentions.

With a little bit of effort, your success rate – whatever that may be – will improve.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

5 COMMENTS

  1. Here’s some more:

    1. If parking died tomorrow, could the domain still be monetized by automated systems. A product domain could be made into an eBay page, but a domain about a national park, would be hard to do this with.

    2. Is it brandable? Specific? What’s the intention of the surfer? How fast does a surfer realize what the domain is about? Is there a “fast need”, like a plumber, overnight business cards, etc….? Is it a commercial domain? Does it hold significant mindshare for a given product or service? How many different intentions could one have on that particular domain, some domains means several things?

    3. Could the domain be flipped to another investor or end user if you have an emergency?

    4. Is the domain protectable? Will you have a UDRP or suit possibly? A domain like SDN,com might cause you problems, but TorontoSushiRestaruants,com probably never will.

    5. What did the previous registrants do with the domain? Something that could get you into trouble?

    6. Is the domain stolen? Who’s the source?

    7. Does the domain help build onto other domains you already own? Could one help the other through synergy?

    etc………. 🙂

  2. All great tips. Too often newbies want to hand register a domain then try to sell it for $10k.

    I always think about development potential and if the domain is memorable and easy to say or spell.

    Does it pass the “cocktail party test”?

    If you tell someone at a cocktail party that you own this domain…

    1. Is it easy to say and without having to explain anything?

    2. Will other people react with an ethusiastic “That’s a great domain!”?

    3. Can you pitch an intuitive business model to the appropriate people?

    4. Are there companies you can contact who would be interested to advertise on your site?

    So, what does all this mean? It means (in most cases if you say anything other than .com, it’s not a great domain. If you have to say “the number 4 not the word for” or if you have to say there’s a dash in the domain, it’s not a great domain.

  3. I like and agree with the analogy of the cocktail party test (great one Rob). Although most of my friends and acquaintances don’t know what a domain name is, I think it is essential that it must be easy to say and without having to explain in a 5 minutes with the oh so common blank stare.

    However, I might add that the end consumer (a.k.a. the cocktail party attendee) is beginning to understand the alternative domains (anything, but .com). In some cases, for the very newly released tlds, they are conversation starters.

    Doemainer
    http://www.thedomainscene.com

  4. I have never understood the “XXXXXX company would want to use this for…” game plan. Seems alot like putting all your eggs in one basket to me, although I hear of people following this line of logic all the time. “I bought xyz.com because I just figure I could sell it to abc.com”.

    I’m more of a fan of the “Some day, some company will want to buy this… ” approach, even though still not usually compelling enough on it’s own for me to make a buying decision.

  5. I usually purchase a domain name with the idea that it can be developed and could achieve a good ranking. Then, if I wish to sell it, there is a reasonable value. I try to purchase names where people can readily identify the product or service, are easy to recall and that get substantial traffic and are dot com Tld’s. There are still many of these that are still available. All of the names are generic and “keyword rich”.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recent Posts

Handoff to Dan on Imported Leads Can be Confusing

0
I've been using the lead import option at Dan.com more regularly. Although the 5% commission is not ideal, transactions tend to move more quickly...

ArtificialIntelligence.com Goes Up for Sale

8
I tried to buy the ArtificialIntelligence.com domain name multiple times over the last 10 years. The emails I sent to the registrant went unanswered,...

EU Gives More IP Protection to Food & Drink Producers

0
Did you know that some well-known food and drink varieties are protected intellectual property regulations? Popular types of drinks and foods that are protected...

Price Testing

1
In 2022, my wife and I decided our kids were ready for some big mountain skiing and we planned a trip to the Rocky...

GoDaddy Making You Sign in to See What You Renewed (Updated)

3
This morning, I noticed something different in a domain name renewal email from GoDaddy. Instead of telling me exactly what domain names I renewed...