by: Lois S.
All the good ones are taken. The really good ones, that is. But they donØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t always stay taken.
Domain names often come back onto the market. Even before they do, domain name prospectors are sifting through them to find the gold domains among them.
Why domain names become available again
Thousands of domain names expire every day. Other domains are offered for sale. The reasons are varied:
- Carelessness
- The webmaster forgets to renew the domain by the expiry date.
The email address that the domain is registered with becomes invalid, and the domain name registrant doesnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t receive the renewal notices.
- Lack of need or funds
- The company that had registered the domain goes out of business.
- The website owner loses interest in or doesnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t have time for the website.
- The website owner doesnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t have funding to continue the website venture.
- The domain name registrant registered numerous domains on speculation and couldnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t afford to continue renewing unused domains.
Profit
- The domain name registrant may realize how much a domain is worth and decide to sell it.
- The domain name registrant may have registered the domain because of its potential worth, with the aim of selling it later.
What makes a previously registered domain name valuable?
In July 2005, the domain name website.com sold for $750,000, the highest-valued domain name sale this year. Why would anyone pay so much for a domain when they could register a new domain for under $10?
- Instant traffic
If the domain name previously pointed to a website, search engines have already indexed that domain name. Other websites probably still have links to that domain. If the domain is listed in directories, these links bring in even more traffic. You register the domain, and the work getting incoming links has already been done for you.
- Surf value
Sometimes web surfers search by typing generic words followed by dot com (or other extensions) into their browsers, for example, dogs.com. This particular domain name redirects to the website for a company that sells pet products and services. A domain name like this constantly brings visitors to the website without the cost and effort of advertising and marketing.
- Easy to remember
Your company name may not be memorable, but domains such as dogs.com and website.com are. People are more likely to return to a site or pass on the name to their friends when they can easily remember it.
How to find domains pending expiration
You decide to join the gold rush for valuable pre-registered domains. Finding expiring domains is the first step, but you also need to research domains that are about to come back on the market.
Lists of domains pending expiration
At these websites, among others, you can search for domains containing keywords you enter. At expireddomains.com, the results contain domains that are currently available, soon to expire, on hold, in the Redemption Grace Period (RGP), or for sale by their registrants. Extensions searched: .com, .net, and .org.
The domainsbot.com database searches .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz extensions for domains that are available, for sale, or expiring.
Domain research
You can find some (but not all) incoming links to a domain by entering Ø£¢Ã¢‚¬Ø¥“link:siteURLØ£¢Ã¢‚¬
Why domain names become available again
Thousands of domain names expire every day. Other domains are offered for sale. The reasons are varied:
- Carelessness
- The webmaster forgets to renew the domain by the expiry date.
The email address that the domain is registered with becomes invalid, and the domain name registrant doesnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t receive the renewal notices.
- Lack of need or funds
- The company that had registered the domain goes out of business.
- The website owner loses interest in or doesnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t have time for the website.
- The website owner doesnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t have funding to continue the website venture.
- The domain name registrant registered numerous domains on speculation and couldnØ£¢Ã¢‚¬Ã¢„¢t afford to continue renewing unused domains.
Profit
- The domain name registrant may realize how much a domain is worth and decide to sell it.
- The domain name registrant may have registered the domain because of its potential worth, with the aim of selling it later.
What makes a previously registered domain name valuable?
In July 2005, the domain name website.com sold for $750,000, the highest-valued domain name sale this year. Why would anyone pay so much for a domain when they could register a new domain for under $10?
- Instant traffic
If the domain name previously pointed to a website, search engines have already indexed that domain name. Other websites probably still have links to that domain. If the domain is listed in directories, these links bring in even more traffic. You register the domain, and the work getting incoming links has already been done for you.
- Surf value
Sometimes web surfers search by typing generic words followed by dot com (or other extensions) into their browsers, for example, dogs.com. This particular domain name redirects to the website for a company that sells pet products and services. A domain name like this constantly brings visitors to the website without the cost and effort of advertising and marketing.
- Easy to remember
Your company name may not be memorable, but domains such as dogs.com and website.com are. People are more likely to return to a site or pass on the name to their friends when they can easily remember it.
How to find domains pending expiration
You decide to join the gold rush for valuable pre-registered domains. Finding expiring domains is the first step, but you also need to research domains that are about to come back on the market.
Lists of domains pending expiration
At these websites, among others, you can search for domains containing keywords you enter. At expireddomains.com, the results contain domains that are currently available, soon to expire, on hold, in the Redemption Grace Period (RGP), or for sale by their registrants. Extensions searched: .com, .net, and .org.
The domainsbot.com database searches .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz extensions for domains that are available, for sale, or expiring.
Domain research
You can find some (but not all) incoming links to a domain by entering Ø£¢Ã¢‚¬Ø¥“link:siteURLØ£¢Ã¢‚¬