Domain Name Trading

Just when you have enough money to buy that thing that you've always wanted, it's sold to someone else. Not a problem if you can get another but when it comes to items of which only one exists, chances are that the item is going to become pretty pricey. So it is with internet domain names. And wise investors have been capitalizing on the boom. You can too. First, learn about the profits that can be made in domain ownership:

The man who owns the Internet

High prices domain names get

Masters of their domains

Which dots to choose

It's not called the "dot com" industry by chance. The domain suffixes that fetch the highest prices tend to be the dot coms. However, as good dot com names become harder to find, other TLD (Top Level Domains) are growing in popularity: dot net (.net- originally meant for networks), dot org (.org - originally meant for orginazations), dot de (.de - TLD for Germany), dot co uk (.co.uk - TLD for the United Kingdom), dot us (.us - TLD for the United States) and dot tv (.tv - TLD for Tuvalu).

Heavy marketing by the dot info (.info) registrar helped driving the value of those domains, with travel.info selling for $116,000 in 2007, but lasvegasgames.info going for cheap. Also keep an eye on country TLD that are attracting attention: dot es (Spain), dot fr (France), dot com.au (Australia), dot cn (China) and dot cd (Democratic Republic of the Congo), the latter quite nice when planning to release your own CDs. Finding a good European Union (dot eu) name could turn out to be a healthy investment.

Which names to choose

Experienced domainers (domain name traders - or speculators, if you like) suggest buying dot coms and other TLDs that:

a. are short and easy to remember, typically four-letter or five-letter domain names, such as love.com, wine.com, etc. (pizza.com recently sold for $2,6 million);

b. are generic English - or the generic term in any language - versions of a dot com or TLD, such as iloveyou.com, freegames.org, etc. Not always easy to find but don't give up looking. And you should familarize yourself with the rules set by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers;

c. explains specific names or terms clearly, such as findadoctor.com, creditcheck.com, freshfruitandveg.com, etc.;

d. appeals creatively (read: out-of-the-ordinary), think google, yahoo, flickr.com, del.icio.us, blo.gs, outside.in, etc.;

e. fall within growing trends, such as the wikis, community sites (dogster, mustang, etc.) or cell phones (smspoems, etc.).

Good luck!

Well, you can't win the lotto unless you buy the ticket! Start by scribbling down some names you like and search for them at reputable registrars - you can use the below quick search form provided by GoDaddy, the largest domain name registrar in the world. Keep in mind that, typically, domain names are register for a one-year period. But also keep in mind that there are very few opportunities in the world where you can start your own business for less than ten dollars. Good luck!