Alex Mandossian's Blog

Over the past month, we’ve taken an in-depth look at domain trading, also known as domaining. There’s one last topic to discuss: how to protect your domaining business. The domaining experts at Protrada offer several tips for guarding your investments.

Protect Your Domains from Theft. Domains are a big business, which means that theft is a big business, too.

One of the most common ways that domains are stolen is when a thief hacks into your email account and transfers your domains to a new registrar in their name. This scenario is almost impossible to reverse. Most victims discover that trying to recover a stolen domain is too expensive to be worthwhile.

You can protect yourself from this type of theft by [Read more...]

Buying domains can be a very emotional process. To easily avoid making bad buying decisions in the heat of the moment, research your buys and develop a domain buying strategy before you initiate a purchase.

In Domaining 101, the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada offer four tips when buying domains:

1. Be ready to walk away. Domaining is definitely a buyers market – which puts you in a strong negotiating position. There are always more sellers than buyers. And there will always be more domains you can buy if your current deal doesn’t pan out.

This may feel uncomfortable at first, because we’re used to paying sellers’ prices without question. But buying a domain isn’t like buying a gallon of milk. Domains are not commodity items, so you have the power to make an offer. Do your homework and know what is fair and profitable for you. If the seller turns your offer down, start hunting for a similar domain that you can buy instead.

2. Do your homework. When buying domains, you’ll want to know [Read more...]

Successful domainers know there are two primary ways to monetize websites: Advertising and direct sales. Good content plays a key role in both strategies.

With the advertising model, content is used to attract and keep visitors at your site. The content is provided for free, and other companies or individuals pay to advertise on your site.

Advertising revenue comes in four forms. Cost per click (CPC) pays you every time a visitor clicks an ad. Cost per impression (CPM) pays you every time a certain number of people see an ad posted on your site.

With lead generation advertising, you get paid for each lead your site generates, and with cost per action (CPA) ads, you get paid [Read more...]

To maximize your domaining profits, it’s critical to sell at the right time and for the right price. A clear selling strategy will help you make good decisions, so you don’t turn off legitimate buyers or sell your domains for too little.

In Domaining 101, the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada offer several tips for getting top dollar for your domain.

• Price it right. As a general rule, you should set your price at 5-10 times what you have paid for the domain or 4-7 times the current monthly revenue.  In other words, the routine buy/sell strategy is to buy domains at 10% of what your selling price is.  Amazing, huh?!

Be sure that your asking price will make up for all expenses you’ll incur with the sale, including renewal or Paypal fees, as well as [Read more...]

Selling domains is one way to make money as a domainer. Some domain sales will be straightforward to negotiate. Others will make you second-guess yourself, wondering whether you could have made more money. Keep reading for proven tips to making domain selling easy and painless.

According to the domain trading and monetization experts at Protrada, a good rule of thumb is selling for 2 to 3 times what you paid for the domain.

You can usually sell domain names in the same places you buy them, such as listing and auction sites. (Click here to see a list of five places where you can buy domains.)

A key question to consider is do you want to make money quickly or is it more important for you to sell for top dollar?

If you want to sell quickly, target investors. Just like you, other domainers are looking for good-quality domains they can buy at a decent price, then resell for more money. Another domain investor may be willing to pay you enough to turn a profit, then invest the time and energy developing the domain into a greater value.

If you are focused on getting top-dollar for your domain, selling to an [Read more...]

Are you ready to start “domaining” – buying and selling domains to make a profit? Then you have to buy some domains. Here are the five types of places you can go to buy domains.

• Domain backorder services. According to the domain trading experts at Protrada, 36 million domain names expire each year, and domain backorder sites are where you can snatch them up. A backorder service lets you place an order that goes through only if the domain expires. You set the price you’d be willing to pay if the domain becomes available. If no one else orders, it’s yours. If multiple people order, it goes into an auction.
• Domain auction services. Multiple potential buyers will bid on a domain, and the highest bidder wins. Reputable services allow buyers and sellers to leave feedback, similar to Ebay.com.
• Domain listing services. In its free e-book, Domaining 101, Protrada recommends that new domainers stay away from this source, explaining that backorder services and auction services offer [Read more...]