by 2 people |
Want to get started in the domain name business? Want to learn more about the domain name industry? This is the lens for you! Domain name business is the business of using domain names (like www.squidoo.com) to earn you money.
In this lens, I present you with the best tools, information, and resources available regarding the domain name industry. Whether you are looking for domain registrars, parking services, domain name marketplace, or tools like whois lookup, I've got you covered!
Registering Domain Names
To start in the Domain Name business, you must have domain names under your possession. One of the easiest ways to get yourself a domain name is to register one. Here I list some of the best domain registrars out there!
- 1AND1.com
- One of the cheapest .com, .net, .org domain registars out there. They also offer several great web hosting packages. The only gripe I have with them, is that they lack batch editing utilities for managing domains.
- GoDaddy.com
- Besides cool Super Bowl commercials, they also got great domain managing tools. A little bit more expensive than 1AND1, but using their frequent special discount codes will save you a bundle.
- Eurodns.com
- Good place to register european domain names, such as .EU, .BE, .DE, .ES, etc. I particularly like how they allow you to save many different DNS Servers on file, so you can quickly assign them to your domains.
Expiring Name Catching (Dropped Names)
Besides registering brand new domain names, you can also try to register expired names. The problem with registering expired name however, is that the best names are often snatched up by dedicated "name drop" catching services. Here, we present you with
- eNom's Club Drop
- Club Drop supports .COM and .NET domain names. Once they get the domain name, you will enter into a bidding process if there are multiple members of Club Drop that want the name. They name is automatically registered through one of eNom's partners if not eNom itself, so you will pay for that registration price, whatever it is.
- Pool.com
- Provides backordering service for names that are about to be deleted or expired. Also has a .EU domain name landrush service.
- SnapNames.com
- Provides backordering service for domain names about to be dropped. Costs $60 dollars if the name catching was successful, plus any bid amount in case there are multiple users who wants the same name.
To learn more
check out these resources...
Domain Names for Dummies
Amazon Price: (as of 01/01/2010) 
tuimperio.com Premium domain name for a online browser game in spanish like travian, see the Appraisal
Amazon Price: (as of 01/01/2010)
Domain Name Marketplace
You can also get domains by buying existing domains, here we lists some of the most popular domain marketplaces today. Of course, if you want to sell your domain names, these are also the places you want to visit.
- Afternic.com
- One of the largest domain marketplace on the web today. The bulk of the sales here are wholesales, which means the people buying domain names on this site are mostly people who are in the domain name business. There is a $20 annual fee to pay in order to list. Definitely worth it because, well, it is a large marketplace.
- GreatDomains.com
- Sells premium domain names. The cheapest domain name listed on this site is $5,000. Because they only sell premium names, they will review every name you attempt to sell and decide whether or not your name is good enough. The method they use to determine the value of a domain name however....is quite a mystery.
- Sedo.com
- Contains over 1,500,000 domain names for sale. Listing your site here is a must, especially for international extensions, such as .co.uk. I particulary like their domain name search tool, it is very powerful.
- Tdnam.com
- The domain name marketplace of GoDaddy.com. One of the easiest place for purchasing expired domain names without having to pay a huge fee. Of course, if you're looking to buy premium expiring names, this is not the place to shop. By premium, I mean names that worth thousands of dollars.
Get some domains from eBay
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Domain Parking Services
Selling your domains isn't the only way to earn a buck. You can also monetize your domain names by
- DomainHop
- A subsidiary of Kanoodle, this parking service owns their own ads. Which means you get a bigger piece of the CPC money, since they only need to share it with you. The service also boasts "real destination" sites by populating your landing page with news from various topics. One thing to look out for is that once your domain name is listed with them for awhile, it gets blacklisted by SORBS for some odd reason.
They offer the following payment methods:
1. Check
2. Paypal ($1 service fee)
Minimum payout amount is $50. Payments are made on a NET 5 to 15 schedule. - Fabulous.com
- Fabulous is known for giving you the best revenues for gambling related names such as poker. They prefer generic, type-in, and poker names, although they'll pretty much take any name with high traffic.
They offer the following payment methods:
1. Payment to Fabulous Account (default)
2. Cheque (minimum $25)
3. PayPal (minimum $25)
4. Wire Transfer (minimum $1000)
Payments are made on the 10th of each month. One thing to note is that in their current program, you get a 50% revenue share if you manage your own domains, but 75% if you let them manage your domains for you. - NameDrive.com
- One of the new comers in the domain parking business. They offer powerful tools like domain portfolio management, and very customizable landing pages. This is definitely one of the parking service you must check out.
They offer the following payment methods:
1. Wire Transfer
2. Paypal
Minimum payment amount is $20. Payment is made every 30 days as long as you meet the minimum payment amount. - Sedo.com
- Sedo also provides a parking service to its members (membership is free). Besides a manual keyword optimizing tool, you can also export many of their stats to an excel file. If you have many foreign domain names, this is defitnitely the service you want to check out.
They offer the following payment methods:
1. Check
2. Paypal
3. Wire Transfer (minimum $50)
Minimum payment amount is $20 (except wire transfer, see above). Payments are generally made on the 15th of the month. - TrafficZ.com
- About the only parking service out there that will pay you a RPC AND RPM together!! Great keyword optimizing tools and domain name branding tools. However, it is difficult to have a domain name that qualifies for a 1-click landing page.
Most pages requires 2-clicks to get to a paying link. RPM is paid based on impressions on the pop-under ads, so just because 1,000 people visited your site doesn't means you are paid based on 1,000 visits.
They offer the following payment methods:
1. Check
2. Paypal
Minimum payment amount is $25.
To learn more
check out these books to become really really smart!! Really!!
The Domain Name Handbook; High Stakes and Strategies in Cyberspace
Amazon Price: (as of 01/01/2010)
Domain Names: How to Choose & Protect a Great Name for Your Website
Amazon Price: (as of 01/01/2010)
How to Select & Buy an Elite Domain Name
Amazon Price: (as of 01/01/2010)
Domain Name Law and Practice: An International Handbook
Amazon Price: $550.00 (as of 01/01/2010)
Domain Name Resources
Need help picking keywords? Choosing domain names? Checking Whois information? Figuring out possible typos? We got the help you need right here!
- AVUW.com
- Contains a list of currently available 4 letter .com domain names. Updated weekly.
- Overture Keyword Selector Tool
- Yahoo's Overture keyword selector tool is good place to check out how many times a given word/phrase is searched in a month. This tool will not only help you with selecting your own keywords, but it can also help you search for that ever so valuable type-in domain name.
For example, if there are a lot of people searching for "google.com", you can bet there are a number of people typing in "google.com" straight into their browser. - Overture View Bids Tool
- Yahoo's Overture view bids tool lets you see how much people are bidding for a given keyword. This will help you identify what are the most high paying keywords for you.
- Searchspell.com
- Type in your domain name, and get suggestions on what common typos are there for your name. Very useful if you want to register typo domain names for popular websites, or just to make sure no one else owns a typo name of YOUR popular website.
- Whois.sc
- A great tool for looking up whois information. Besides your standard Whois record information, it also contains useful extras such as Alexa traffic rank, ip address, whois history, name server, and registration expiration date.
- DNS Belgium
- Provides Whois lookup for .BE domains.
- DNSStuff.com
- Free comprehensive web-based DNS and domain name tools for DNS hosting, going beyond just ping, tracert/traceroute, WHOIS and DNS lookups.
- ESNIC
- Provides Whois lookup for .ES domains. Although the site is in Spanish. To perform a Whois look up, use the search box located on the top right titled "BUSCA". Type in your domain, and click on "Buscar" button.
Next, click on "Registrdo. Ver datos" next to the domain name your are looking up to see the whois record.
Some more interesting reads...
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 01/01/2010)
The Name of this Book Is Secret
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 01/01/2010)
The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name
Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 01/01/2010)
by kwei80
I'm 25, and I take interests in many many things. The LensMaster you know as "Kai-Wen Wei" is really maintained by me and my girlfriend, Jamie.
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