150 Domain tips

[IconPacks]

Hi guys,

Thought it would be interesting to create a thread where everyone contributes a few tips to make a Top 150 domain tips list. Just general snippets of advice/knowledge that might prove useful to other domainers/developers out there. If we get over 150 tips I'll update the thread title.
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Rules
- only 1 sentence per tip.
- must relate to domain names (buying/selling/development etc...)
- tips not facts, so can be opinions.
- no duplicates.

I'll start, with 5 from me.
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1) Create brandable domains by replacing the first letter(s) of a common word.

2) Don't start work developing an idea around a domain that you don't yet own thinking you can grab it when you're ready!

3) Don't use hyphens in the domain if you can help it.

4) Does the domain look good in upper and lower case?

5) Say the domain out loud before registering it, is it easily pronounceable over the phone?

 

[IconPacks]

Resurrecting this thread with another tip!

139) It might be a minor thing, but does the domain look good underlined? Certain characters look better than others when underlined.

e.g. krust.com keeps completely above the line and there is no confusion about spelling of the first letter of the domain. However guppy could be confusing at first glance as 4 of the letters have "tails" that go below the line. g's could look like a's and q's and y's like v's. Not a serious factor, but worth thinking about

 

[gamenz]

I had a best tip from one of the best domainer around when i sold him a name and i never forget this and thanks him a lot.. I asked him "how to pick a name"?

he simply said "go where advertisers are"

 

[Mike]

Threaded "Stickied" (Stuck). Please keep the tips coming as they provide an invaluable resource for new domainers and veterans alike.

M.

 

[namethreads.com]

Keep a list of all domains you own. If you don't know and can't find out easily how many domains you own, you are probably not well organised.

I'd like to second RJ's advice of attending domain conferences: they are well worth the money due to what you can learn and the networking opportunities.

 

[Pommy - The DN Doc]

141) 2 NP forums to watch:
*Legal forum: Much wisdom and experience
http://www.namepros.com/legal-issues-and-disputes/

*Available domain names: Users will paste in available names for NP'ers to simply reg for rep/NP$ or just good karma!
http://www.namepros.com/available-domain-names/

[Unnumbered tip and purely in my opinion and experience: Go no where near 1 and bloody 1]

 

[disarmed]

142) When a deal seems too good to be true, always thread carefully. Good deals do come along once a while, but sometimes they are just traps laid down for greedy domainers.

 

[competentdomains]

143. Domain names that begin with certain letters seem statistically, not as a general rule, to yield more success because of more phonetic impression.
My theory is from an linguistic point of view, that this order, relating also to speech development, is maintained as an unconscious preference order even in adulthood.
These letters g, m, b, c(/k) and d (+p) especially. Followed by o, a or u after b, or in the very beginning of a words first syllable.

( Source: http://speechtherapyweb.com/page/3/ )

"Newborn - 3 months: Sounds
Your newborn is very limited in making sounds because the oral structure and vocal cords are not well developed yet. Between 2 and 3 months your baby is much better able to control his sounds because he has better control of his vocal cords and oral muscles. Babies start to laugh during these months and start to make sounds in the back of their mouth like "goo" and "ga". They're beginning to recognize different voices, and also inflection and tone in your voice.

4-6 Months: Vocal Play
Now wih better control of their oral muscles they are making sounds that sound more like speech. Your baby is now experimenting an practicing with putting sounds together and making syllables. Your baby has also discovered other sounds that are not speech sounds such as squealing, yelling, and raspberry sounds.

6-11 Months: Babbling
Babbling is the repetition of syllables in sequence like "ba-ba-ba". Unfortunately at this age when your baby says "ma-ma" or "da-da" he is really babbling and typically not attaching meaning to these playful sounds. He is practicing his oral motor skills that he will later need for actual speech."


"Goo" / "da-da" .... google .. godaddy . You have to admit.. coincidence?

Among biggest words/names in various fields to compare with, some old: ma, pa, dad, dog, cat, boy, girl, man, / .com, car, canon (biggest camera brand), Kodak (oldest?), kenwood, camera, computer, coca cola, cash, chaplin, money, market, marantz, mac, mcdonalds, donald duck, dollar, dolly parton, presley, pink floyd, pioneer, pepsi, bucks, big mac, burger, blue, bb king, beatles, bush, bill clinton, carter, barack obama, (adams, madison, monroe, mackinley, buchanan, grant, garfield, cleveland, coolidge, kennedy).

 

[Andrei P.]

144) If you register domainsellingthings.com don't think hyphens are so bad. For 3 words domains they are even obligatory. And though domain-selling-things.com will be more convenient to type and remember than without hyphens - register them both. I've been doing with a lot of companies and many of them register word-word.com domain instead of available wordword.com that just emphasizes that end users have another way of thinking than domainers.

 

[rick123]

145> Domaining can be addictive, know your limits.
146>be careful what WHOIS service you use. Some are bogas and will
automatically registered for you.

almost there

 

[seven]

advice #7

Per someone who has purchased over 200 names in a little over a year:

1. Search for names at Moniker. I have never had a domain I searched for at Moniker magically be taken the next day or week. Well once, but it was due to a llll.net semi-rush, not Moniker. Other sites I cannot say the same for.

2. Buy from either Namecheap, Godaddy, or Moniker. Godaddy can have spectacular promos. Namecheap gives free whois guard. Moniker is dirt cheap on .nets and offers more extensions. (By the way, privacy protection is free at Godaddy right now with a purchase of 5+ domains).

3. Buy only .coms to start out with. There's usually a reason the other extensions are available. When you have a better feel for the market, then you'll have better standing to decide whether you want to plunge into the lower extensions.

4. If other extensions are taken and the .com isn't, that's a good sign.

5. You need to develop a sense of distinction between a good buy and the alternative. Sometimes good names can be had for a discount, but other times if someone is claiming they have a really great name but are selling it for $70, think to yourself, why would someone sell such a great name that makes $12/month (or whatever the claims) for $70?

6. I don't think GEO specific or industry specific domains should be sold through auctions. Why? Most people don't see their value because they don't know the industry. This greatly increases the chances you'll sell your domain for less than had you negotiated with someone within the industry.

7. If you buy something pay for it ASAP. If you sell something, push it ASAP after payment.

8. Domains can be a very slippery slope when it comes to cost. If you're hand regging, $8 doesn't sound like very much but it adds up fast, especially when renewals come.

9. Keep a very detailed excel sheet of all your domains, registrar, purchase price, sell price, and whether it's parked or a site.

10. If your domains aren't parked, put a contact email somewhere on the site so someone can contact you if they are interested.

Last thing is I personally pay close attention to the more tenured posters at this site and would recommend that as part of your researching.

 

[RazorNF]

2. Buy from either Namecheap, Godaddy, or Moniker. Godaddy can have spectacular promos. Namecheap gives free whois guard. Moniker is dirt cheap on .nets and offers more extensions. (By the way, privacy protection is free at Godaddy right now with a purchase of 5+ domains).

Just remember to set auto-renew off. The free whois privacy is only good for 1 year - after that you'll be renewing at regular rate, so you'll be paying almost double price for a domain if you want to keep the privacy.

So you may want to transfer out a few weeks before renewal time if you need the privacy option...

 

[N-grace]

147> Do not purchase domain names just after reading some buyers preferences. If your name is not sold at the value you wanted or if it is not sold at all, you will be loosing your money. It applies only to those names which are customer/buyer specific. If they can be used anywhere else, you will not be loosing anything. So, just "think coherently" before you make a "wanted name's" purchase.

 

[thetruman]

I have been reading through all the points, excellent thread.
I think I missed a point that sound quite obvious but apparentely is not in the thread (please correct me if I am wrong).

148)
when buying or selling a domain , compare sales for similar names (namebio, DNJ etc) so that you can have a range you can ask/offer for the name without being unreasonable, out of market or even worst underselling a domain for 20$ then see it sold a month later for 2K.
A name is worth what somebody (the market) is willing to pay for it not what you think is worth.

 

[Sufyan]

149) Don’t park your domain if you can afford to create a (5-10 page) mini-site with some PPC ads. Once you have created it, give it a few links. This will let it get indexed in major search engines. A big SEO factor is site age these days.

 

[Shane]

I dont have a tip, however could I have everyones permission to collate this and post it on lonelydesigns.com? I can give all of your credit for each tip, it would make a wonderful post and is extremely useful.

Thanks,
LD

 

[Firthy]

Tip 150

150) Register at a few domain parking services and try different types of domains at each one. Different services pay out different amounts depending on catergory, so play around to maximise your revenue.

//I got tip 150!

 

[Kuka]

Here is my one tip.....Go to MoreWords.com and check all words that you want then cut and paste them into a domain search tool........you can check hundreds at a time...

Kuka

 

[Web Master]

Always do not fluster. Only buy a domain name after your considerations --- the domain is really valuable and has definite development potential/resale profits.

 

[fordy]

Missed the 150! My tip is if it's for real use, register it for a few years. Google knows that people who are serious about a website will register it for a long time, people after a quick buck will register it for 1 year, and it'll improve your SEO

 

[bijaybd]

all the tips are really very usefull thanks a lot