Domain Flipping – An Introduction to Domain Name Brokering

October 7th, 2009 by canid

It seems to me that the more specialized something gets the more complicated the jargon is used to describe it. Domain and website flipping are two that come to mind.

Could you tell me what either of them are if you had only heard the term before in passing? Probably not. But like most specialized terms they refer to something very simple. Lets take a look at domain flipping.

When somebody says that they flipped a domain, what they are saying is they sold it. Yes you can sell domain names. I told you it was simple. Some people, domain brokers, make a very comfortable livings flipping domains.

So now you know what domain flipping is, you can surely guess what website flipping is.

Just like you can flip a domain name you can do the same with a website. Website flipping is when you take an already developed website and put it up for sale. How much you can sell it for really depends on what the website has to offer. Does it have a large user base, years worth of content on a specific topic? The more the site offers the better your chances are to make good money off of it.

Think of it in the same way you think about buying a home. The more the home offers the more it costs.

While this is true for website flipping, it is another story all together for domain names. When you buy a domain name you don’t have to build it up. You’re not required to put content on the site to increase its value. Domain name flipping is less time and work intensive than website flipping. You merely need to find a buyer that is willing purchase the domain. There are brokerage companies that will aid you in selling your domain for a percentage of the profits or listing fee.

Some domain brokers make their living buying and selling domain names. They have portfolios that contain hundreds if not thousands of profitable domain names. Some domain names sell for several hundred dollars, others have been know to sell for well over 100,000 dollars.

So stop and think about it the next time you plan on buying a domain name. That $8.99 might just be one of the best investments you’ve ever made.

Interested in learning more about domain brokering? I have written other articles about this area of the Internet to help novice entrepreneurs learn about this exciting business. Visit http://iqbanq.com/1/domain-names for more information.

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Become a Domain Broker

September 25th, 2009 by canid
Domain Brokering

Domain Brokering

Below is a collections of different training programs that will help you get started as a domain broker.

Domain Brokering Books & Courses

Domain Sales Machine Mickie Kennedy has been working in the domain industry for the last five years. Domain brokering has earned him $2,399,583, and now he shares his secrets to success with you. Learn through Mickie’s 9 week course how to become a domain broker and start earning some money.

Quick Cash Domaining Written for those who are just starting out, or have no experience with making money online. Phil Craig talks openly about the industry secrets used to earn money through domain brokering. Phil shares domain brokering secrets with you that have never been openly discussed before, getting you up and running fast.

Instant Domain Cash Learn how, with only a small investment and limited time, you can enter the world of domain brokering and get your business up and running, fast. Get insider instruction on how to collect profitable domain names and how to make money with them before you ever broker them.

Beyond Domaining This is much more than just a book explaining how to broker domain names, it is a full fledged training course teaching you how to develop and profit from every aspect of your domain name portfolio. Additionally, it comes with scripts, templates, software and widgets to improve your buinsess.

Revenue Domains Exposed Brian Johnson course explains how you can turn expired domain names into cold hard cash. The material covered here pertains more to domain name development than brokering a domain. However, those interested in the website brokering aspects of domain names should find it very interesting.

Fast Domain Riches Sherry Han shares her techniques for success on how to buy and sell domain names. For example Sherry shows you how to find the domains with the highest marketability and more importantly how to attract buyers. Besides the training material you will receive instructional videos as an added bonus.

It is important to remember that while some of the users have earner X dollars by following the methods used in these books and courses that doesn’t mean that all users will earn the same amount. Some will earn less, while others will earn more. They are by no means a guarantee for success.

Domain brokering, like anything else requires you to learn the techniques you need to succeed, these books are here to help. But for you to successfully broker domains you will need to be determined and not give up if things don’t go your way the first day. Remember every time something doesn’t work if just brings you one step closer to what does. So don’t give up, I know you can make it as a domain broker!

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Domain Brokering

September 25th, 2009 by canid

Profiting from Online Property

Domain Brokering

Domain Name Brokering

Have you ever wondered how people make money online “buying” domain names? During the big Internet boom of the early 90’s I was fascinated with domain brokering, however, it wasn’t until years later I actually learned how to make money as a domain broker.

Your first hurdle usually comes when you find out you don’t even own the domain name, rather you are merely renting it. You can rent the domain name indefinitely, but owning it isn’t an option.

The logical question from novice domain brokers is: “If you are renting a domain name, how can you make money brokering it?” After all, if you are renting an apartment you can’t make money brokering it to another renter. Can you? In a word, no.

But you don’t need to own domain names to make money with them, if you did, domain brokering wouldn’t be so popular. Using the apartment example, lets look at it like this. When you rent an apartment no one else can rent it. You live there. You take up that space, so nobody else can use it. The same goes for the Internet.

A top level domain name can only point to one website at a time, and that is where domain brokering comes into play.

Do you see how domain brokering works? You are essentially leasing or transferring the domain name rights to another company.

While you can theoretically broker any domain name, it helps if the domain you are trying to broker has some equity.

What is domain name equity? Well, lets look at it with another real world example. If you own property in Atherton, California (currently the most expensive city to buy property in in the US), it is likely to be worth more than property anywhere else in the United States. The Internet isn’t much different. In fact, most of the offline business models have online counterparts. Domain brokering is the equivalent to a land developer. Or at the very least a real estate agent.

When you broker a domain you sell the rights to that domain to another company, or you lease the name to them for a period of time. You make money, because the domain name has value, either because it is currently trendy, or it fits into the company’s niche.

Lets explore these options a little further.

First, take the trendy option. If you have been a part of the online community for a little while, you know which sites are currently the top hangouts. They’re trendy, and there are a lot of other sites out there offering supplementary services to these sites. They are often similarly named and styled. Often, domain name brokers will create derivative names for the “in” sites. These names are now in their portfolio. As popularity grows for the site, demand also grows for good domain names to offer supplementary services through. This is where the domain broker’s portfolio comes into play.

Brokering the domain names now will result in profit. The amount of profit depends greatly on the demand for the domain name, and the experience of the broker.

One case of trendy domain brokering is casino.mobi, which was brokered for $135,000. This isn’t an unheard of amount for domain brokering, some portfolios are worth millions. However, it was a milestone for the .mobi top level domain names.

What about niches? You know the expression: “find a niche and fill it.” Niches are what drives business on the web today. They are also lend themselves to domain brokering.

Let’s use a fishing example here. But before we do we will have to zero in on our niche. Fishing isn’t a niche, it is an umbrella term. Fly fishing is a niche, so is deep sea angling. The more granular you can make your topic, the more potential you have to dominate it on the Internet.

The deep sea angling niche is granular enough to rank in, yet still gives us some room to grow. And since it is our passion, we were able to build up a lot of content on the topic. We have even found like-minded people to share our passion with. We now have a community. This domain, let us call it YourDeepSeaAnglingSite.com, now has equity.

If you were looking into brokering this domain name now, you would see that it is more valuable than it was when you first got it. How much more depends on what you’ve done with it.

These are just two examples of how to make money in the large and lucrative domain brokering industry. Which is just one of many ways people make money online today. Hopefully you have enjoyed this article as much as I have writing it for you. And that it has helped to clear away some of the mystery surrounding domain brokering.

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Buying Domain Names

September 25th, 2009 by canid

Is your major source of traffic going to be organic search results or even pay per click (PPC) campaigns? Then it makes sense to focus your domain name on the main keyword you targeted when researching your niche.

For one, the domain name has an impact on telling the search engines what your site is about. A keyword focused domain name makes ranking in your target niche a whole lot easier.

Second, search query terms will appear bold in the Google Search Network. So your websites URL will be easier to distinguish from the competition. Also, it will show your potential visitors before the click that you offer what they are looking for.

However, buying a short tail domain name, consisting of merely one to two words, can be difficult.

A lot of top keyword focused domain names are already in use, many are parked, and some are being auctioned off for more than you might be willing to pay.

Don’t be afraid of long tail phrases when buying domain names. Too generic short tail phrases are likely to attract too large of a demographic.

Make sure you get both the hyphenated and non-hyphenated version when buying domain names. For long tail keyword phrases it is best to direct traffic to the hyphenated version of your domain. These are easier to read for both humans and search engines. Redirect any secondary domain names you buy with a 301 Permanent Redirect to your primary domain. This saves you from generating duplicate content.

For offline branding purposes you may want to consider buying a shorter, if necessary less keyword focused domain name that will be easier for potential customers to remember.

Buying Top Level Domains

I recommend using the .com extension for most online purposes. The .com top level domain (TLD) is recognized and remembered by most people as the default and legitimate web extension.

You may also want to consider buying the .net TLD web extension. However, I do not suggest only buying domain names ending in .net. Why? Simple. If someone else buys or owns the matching .com domain you may end up loosing visitors to them because people mistook their .com for you.

The .info TLD may sound interesting for certain business models. And with their low prices, buying domain names ending in .info can be very attractive. Still there is a very small problem with buying these domain names. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you saw an .info TLD listed in a search engine result? The answer is rarely. The reason you don’t see them any more, they were greatly misused by scammers and have since acquired a bad reputation.

Don’t worry though, with a little creativity buying domain names can be fun. Some examples of services that use more exotic extensions to build their brand are bit.ly and del.icio.us to name a few. It is important to note that most of these sites buy the matching domain name with .com extension, too.

To conclude, buying domain names is often the first hurdle you face when you decide to start your online business. Because buying the wrong domain name can make or break your business it is important to get it right at the beginning. Once you have bought the right domain name the rest of the pieces fall into place easier, and your marketing efforts will be more effective.

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