What It Means To Be A Domainer
A domainer or domain investor is an individual or organization that registers domains for profit or as an investment.
Typically a domainer will buy or sell domain names and gain profit by selling the domain names at a higher price or engaging in advertising activities.
This activity is gaining more attention due to the straightforward process of this business and the prospect of gaining profit in a relatively easy way.
Here, we’ll discuss more what it means to be a domainer and how it might be the right type of business or investment for you.
There is Money in Domain Names
Long ago, people might not have thought that there can be money made from the domain naming system used in the Web. By simply registering a domain name using generic or generally common or useful terms, as a domainer, you have the potential to get someone interested in buying your registered domain. The reverse process can also apply with you as a buyer and you happen to see a domain with great selling potential in the future.
You will try your best to get the lowest possible deal in buying that domain in the hopes of gaining a bigger profit when it’s time to sell.
Domaining is a Serious Investment
As easy as it may sound, domaining or domain name speculation is a serious investment and has a very competitive market. The market is composed of regular domainers and professional domain brokers. Both market players agree that you need experience and capital to survive and succeed in domaining. Over the years, more and more domains are being registered, and chances are, you may no longer be able to register high-value domains. This makes the current domain market more challenging, but also more engaging. To have access to premium and high-value domains, you either need to strike a deal or offer with the current domain owner or wait for the opportunity to grab the domains as they expire.
Domain names have varying expiration dates, ranging from 1 year to 10 years. For you to know if the domain name is active, expired, or near expiring, you need to perform a WHOIS lookup on a domain name that you are interested in. The important information can be found at the bottom of the record. There, you can see when the domain was created and when it is due to expire.
Domainers Continually Refine Their Skills
In the field of domaining and investing in domain names, change is a constant thing, and domainers must adapt to these changes. More new extensions are emerging in the domain naming conventions, but the established extensions such as .coms, .orgs, and .nets are still more reliable and have a better potential for profitable positions than the new extensions.
Over the years, domainers develop good discerning skills when it comes to relevant and sensible names for domains. They also become adept at registering highly sought after .com domains and have learned to rely more on gut feel rather than to follow keywords. Constant practice in the trade has also allowed many domainers to acquire useful tools and websites that can help them in their trade, such as domain appraisal tools, domain name registrars, domain marketplaces and auctions, and many others.
There’s never a dull moment in a domainer’s trade. There’s always the need to be on the lookout for trends and changes in the market and the preferences of prospective buyers. Competition is healthy and opportunities are also opening up. Most importantly, treat domaining as a business and understand the market, sales, and client’s side of things to become successful.
