Eric Lyon
Scorpion Agency LLCTop Member
- Impact
- 33,757
Today, I'll be analyzing the .how gTLD to see if I can dig up any helpful data points that could be stacked with someone elses research into the .how extension.
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Note: At the time of this analysis there was a 1-character minimum to register a .how domain. There were also a lot of 1-character .how domains available to register, but with a mid-to-high-3-figure premium registration cost.
With the above in mind, lets dive right in...
.how domain registration costs
According to Tldes.com the .how registration cost ranges from $20.11 to $28.99..how domains registered today
According to DNS.Coffee there are 3,427 .how domains registered today.Public .how domain sales reports
It's hard to find that many .how domain sales reports online, indicating most might be private sales.Note: NameBio.com shows 5 .how domain sales reports ranging from $102 to $7,877.
The notable sales were:
- 2.how – $7,877
- next.how – $970
- a.how – $710
- unblockit.how – $156
- 4.how – $102
5-Year .how domain growth summary
The .how gTLD has experienced a cycle of slow growth, a distinct pandemic-era peak, a correction phase, and recent stabilization over the last five years. By analyzing the official historical tracking data from DNS.Coffee, we can see that the extension has maintained a highly compact and exclusive footprint, never crossing the 5,000-active-domain threshold.
Historical Registration Data (DNS.Coffee)
- June 2021: 3,061 domains
- June 2022: 3,326 domains
- June 2023: 4,034 domains (Historical Peak)
- June 2024: 3,833 domains
- June 2025: 3,398 domains
- June 2026: 3,427 domains (Current Baseline)
- Growth: +8.6% (+265 domains)
- Context: During this period, the extension saw steady, organic growth. The global shift toward online learning, e-courses, and digital "how-to" guides drove independent creators and developers to secure highly specific, instructional branding.
The Historical Peak (2022 – 2023)
- Growth: +21.3% (+708 domains)
- Context: This represents the sharpest expansion in the gTLD's history, pushing active registrations to an all-time high of 4,034. This spike was fueled by a broader post-pandemic tech boom and speculative domain registrations as creators attempted to build niche authority websites.
- Contraction: -15.7% (-636 domains over two years)
- Context: Like many specialty extensions, .how faced a severe drop-off once initial multi-year registrations expired. Because Google Registry enforces a higher annual wholesale carrying cost (~$20+) compared to cheaper alternatives, speculative investors and abandoned projects chose to let their domains drop rather than pay renewal fees.
- Growth: +0.85% (+29 domains)
- Context: Over the last 12 months, the extension has successfully bottomed out and entered a stabilization phase. The current count of 3,427 represents a highly sticky core user base of active websites, legitimate brands, and premium single-character assets (like the $7,877 2.how transaction reported by NameBio).
8 niches for .how domains
1. Software & Tech Troubleshooting- Focus: Coding tutorials, hardware fixes, and software configuration guides.
- Why it works: Developers and IT professionals naturally look for quick solutions to technical errors. A domain like fixcode.how or unblockit.how tells the user exactly what to expect.
- Focus: Step-by-step guides for search engine optimization, ad campaigns, and funnel building.
- Why it works: Marketing agencies and freelance consultants sell "blueprints" and "frameworks." A .how domain positions the site as a tactical, zero-fluff resource.
- Focus: Carpentry, plumbing fixes, interior design hacks, and handmade crafting guides.
- Why it works: The DIY space thrives on detailed, step-by-step imagery and videos. This niche relies heavily on search traffic answering "how do I fix..." queries.
- Focus: Budgeting strategies, tax filing guides, retirement planning, and crypto security steps.
- Why it works: Financial topics can be intimidating. Breaking down complex wealth-building tasks into simple, actionable steps under a .how brand builds immediate clarity.
- Focus: Specialized online courses, bootcamps, and digital certifications.
- Why it works: Modern learners prefer bite-sized, objective-based education over lengthy degrees. This extension serves as a modern alternative to crowded .edu or .com options.
- Focus: Cooking techniques, baking chemistry, and step-by-step meal preparation.
- Why it works: Food blogs are notoriously cluttered with personal stories. A food creator utilizing a .how domain can signal a focus on pure technical execution and clear culinary steps.
- Focus: Weightlifting mechanics, mobility routines, meal prepping schedules, and physical therapy guides.
- Why it works: Audiences in this niche actively search for exact execution strategies (e.g., "how to squat correctly") to prevent injury and see optimal results.
- Focus: Corporate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), automation workflows, and project management setups.
- Why it works: Companies buy tools and frameworks to streamline their operations. A B2B platform built on a .how domain highlights efficient, structural utility.
What a playful .how domain hack might look like
A domain hack occurs when a registrant combines the letters before and after the dot to spell out a single, seamless word or phrase.Because .how is an explicit, question-starting adverb, it is uniquely suited for imperative domain hacks (commands) or gerund phrasing (actions).
The Single-Word "Gerund" Hack (Spelling -ing words)
The most popular domain hacks use the country code or gTLD letters to finish the spelling of a common word. Because .how ends in -ow, any action word that naturally ends in those letters can be split right at the dot to create a highly memorable, single-word brand.
- know.how (Knowhow)
- s.how (Show)
- any.how (Anyhow)
- some.how (Somehow)
Instead of spelling one word, the word before the dot forms a functional, two-word phrase when read left-to-right across the dot. This creates an immediate "call to action" that mirrors exact voice-search behavior.
- learn.how ("Learn how")
- see.how ("See how")
- ask.how ("Ask how")
- teach.how ("Teach how")
- find.how ("Find how")
By placing an interrogative pronoun or connector before the dot, the domain frames a specific philosophical, analytical, or journalistic narrative.
- but.how ("But how?")
- and.how ("And how!")
- that.how ("That's how")
- Bypasses Premium Costs: Short, dictionary .com words cost thousands of dollars on the secondary market. A domain hack like kn.how lets you own a premium, dictionary-grade word for standard registry pricing.
- Higher Click-Through Rates (CTR): When displayed in search engine results, a semantic hack like learn.how/to-weld looks incredibly clean and authoritative compared to long, messy URLs, encouraging users to click.
- Micro-Branding: It compresses your entire brand identity and business purpose into a tiny visual anchor that fits perfectly on physical business cards, social media profiles, or minimalist mobile apps.
10 lead sources for .how domain outbound campaigns
1. Udemy, Skillshare, and Teachable Profiles- The Profile: Independent course creators, instructors, and corporate trainers.
- Why it works: These creators already have validated, monetized educational content. Pitching them a matching .how domain (e.g., selling them PythonCoding.how to match their Python masterclass) gives them a clean, professional landing page to migrate traffic off third-party marketplaces.
- The Profile: Early-stage SaaS startups, micro-tools, and digital standard operating procedure (SOP) platforms.
- Why it works: Founders launching specialized calculators, template bundles, or workflow automation tools frequently utilize long, clunky .com URLs. A hyper-focused .how domain provides an ideal micro-site or rebranding opportunity for their flagship utility.
- The Profile: Operators of paid educational newsletters, niche industry deep-dives, and tactical "how-to" advice columns.
- Why it works: Newsletter writers heavily rely on short, memorable links for social media bios and audio/podcast sponsorships. A domain hack or concise .how domain is a much easier call-to-action to read aloud than a default Substack subdomain.
- The Profile: Mid-tier channels (50k–500k subscribers) focused on coding, home improvement, photography editing, or auto repair.
- Why it works: Video creators are constantly looking for ways to diversify their income outside of YouTube ad revenue. A .how domain gives them an authoritative web identity to launch their own premium text guides, downloadable PDFs, or member-only communities.
- The Profile: Buyers and sellers of starter niche sites, content blogs, and Amazon affiliate properties.
- Why it works: Investors buying or flipping digital assets understand the value of domain authority and premium branding. You can target buyers who recently acquired poorly branded content websites and pitch them a clean .how alternative to complete a brand upgrade.
- The Profile: Lifestyle bloggers, fitness coaches, recipe curators, and crafting influencers.
- Why it works: Visual platforms drive millions of clicks to "how-to" blog posts. These creators are plagued by messy, generic linktr.ee/username links. Pitching them a semantic hack like [BrandName].how instantly modernizes their mobile landing page.
- The Profile: Boutique agencies specializing in setting up Notion workspaces, Zapier automations, or custom CRM workflows.
- Why it works: These agencies make their money entirely by selling their technical "know-how." An outbound pitch to a workflow agency offering a domain like Automate.how or Workflows.how positions them as the absolute market leader in their tech stack.
- The Profile: Users or companies consistently answering technical, highly upvoted questions in niche subreddits (e.g., r/webdev, r/HomeImprovement).
- Why it works: You can target founders who are already using organic forum marketing to pull leads to their primary businesses. A dedicated .how domain provides them a direct, branded funnel to host those highly sought-after answers on their own digital real estate.
- The Profile: Media sites or blogs occupying positions 4 through 10 on the first page of Google for keywords starting with "How to...".
- Why it works: These sites are actively fighting for click-through rate (CTR). Pitching a domain that perfectly matches the search query (e.g., BakeSourdough.how) can help them stand out in search engine result pages against bloated authority sites.
- The Profile: Newly funded or newly launched software companies that missed out on securing their exact-match .com.
- Why it works: Startups frequently launch with long, compromised domains (e.g., get[Brand]software.com). Pitching them a clean .how counterpart gives them a short alternative to use specifically for their customer success documentation, knowledge base, or training portals.
- How to leverage an Ai Assistant to find domain leads
- How to leverage Social media to find domain leads
- How to leverage Job Boards to find domain leads
- eMail Marketing Best Practices for Domain Outreach
- List of FREE tools for outbound domain sales
- Outbound Domain sales Tips
Legal considerations when selling a domain to an existing business
Approaching a business that holds an existing trademark to sell them a similar domain name is a high-risk strategy. In the domain industry, this is often viewed as a legal minefield. If your outbound campaign is not handled with extreme caution, you can easily face costly litigation, the forced forfeiture of your domain, or accusations of extortion.Bad Faith and Cybersquatting (ACPA)
In the United States, the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) makes it illegal to register, traffic in, or use a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to a distinctive trademark, with a "bad faith intent to profit."
- The Trap: If you register a domain after a brand has already trademarked that name, and your very first interaction with them is an unsolicited email offering to sell it to them for a profit, courts often view this as prima facie (self-evident) evidence of bad faith.
- The Consequence: Under the ACPA, a trademark owner can sue you in federal court. Damages can range from $1,000 to $100,000 per domain name, and you may be forced to hand the domain over for free.
Outside of federal court, trademark owners almost always use the UDRP, an administrative process governed by ICANN. To win your domain through a UDRP panel, the trademark owner must prove three things:
- Your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to their trademark.
- You have no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name (e.g., you aren't actively using it for a real business).
- You registered and are using the domain name in bad faith.
Trademark Dilution and Infringement
Even if you argue that you didn't intend to target their specific brand, using a domain that mimics a famous trademark can trigger legal action under Trademark Dilution laws.
- Blurring and Tarnishment: If your domain diminishes the uniqueness of a famous mark, or links it to low-quality or unsavory content (like a generic ad-parking page), the brand can sue to protect its reputation.
- Consumer Confusion: If the domain is likely to confuse consumers into thinking the website is officially sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with the trademark holder, it constitutes standard trademark infringement.
There is one defense mechanism to be aware of: if a corporation files a UDRP against you in bad faith to bully you out of a domain you legitimately own, the panel can cite them for Reverse Domain Name Hijacking.
- When this applies: If you registered a generic word (e.g., apple.how to talk about the fruit, or next.how which was reported as a $970 sale) before a company trademarked that word, or if the word is so generic that no single company owns it entirely, you have a much stronger legal footing. However, targeted outbound pitching still weakens this defense.
If you own a .how domain that shares a name with an existing business and you still want to reach out, you must completely reframe your approach to avoid the "cybersquatter" label:
- Never Initiate with a Price: Do not mention a dollar amount, or even explicitly state that the domain is "for sale" in your initial outbound email.
- Focus on the Brand Upgrade: Frame the email as a professional inquiry or a courtesy notification. For example: "We have secured the domain [Name].how and are reaching out to see if your digital marketing team utilizes alternative extensions for your customer success or training portals."
- Utilize an Independent Broker or Landing Page: Instead of outbound pitching, it is legally safer to set up a clean landing page on the domain itself via a trusted marketplace (like Dan.com, Afternic, or Sedo) with a set "Buy It Now" price. Let the trademark holder find you organically if they decide they want to protect their brand footprint.
Potential .how domain investing strategy
Based on a comprehensive synthesis of the registry metrics, historical growth data, and market realities of the .how gTLD, a clear picture emerges. With a microscopic global footprint of just 3,427 active domains (per DNS.Coffee) and historical secondary sales topping out at $7,877 for a single-digit numeric (2.how), .how is not a mass-market, high-liquidity extension like .com or .xyz. Speculative bulk domain flipping will fail due to high annual carrying costs (~$20/year) and aggressive trademark protections.The Core Strategy: "Develop or Target, Don't Squat"
Instead of buying hundreds of random keywords hoping a buyer finds you, you should focus on a highly curated portfolio of under 10 domains that rely on exact linguistic alignment (Domain Hacks) or high-value B2B utilities.
The Short-Character "Gerund" Hack (Highest Liquid Value)
- The Play: Look for single-word combinations where the dot splits a natural action word ending in "-ow".
- Target Examples: sh.how (Showhow), kn.how (Knowhow), pl.how (Plowhow).
- Why: As proven by NameBio's reports of 2.how selling for $7,877 and a.how selling for $710, ultra-short 1-to-2 character prefixes command premium structural value. They are highly memorable, impossible to replicate, and immune to trademark claims if they are dictionary words.
- The Play: Register 2-word imperative sentences that mirror voice search and direct calls-to-action.
- Target Examples: Scale.how, Automate.how, Invest.how, Code.how.
- Why: These domains possess intrinsic value to modern B2B agencies, SaaS companies, and EdTech platforms. Because they are purely functional verbs, you completely bypass the legal risks of cybersquatting and trademark infringement. You can safely run an outbound campaign targeting high-earning agencies on Upwork or Fiverr to sell the domain as a "brand upgrade" for their onboarding and training portals.
- The Play: Do not leave the domain parked. Register a high-intent, long-tail instructional keyword (e.g., BakeSourdough.how or FixCode.how), use AI tools to rapidly build a clean 10-to-20 page directory of elite tutorials, and point it toward affiliate offers or digital templates.
- Why: The .how extension carries strong organic keyword alignment for instructional search queries. A live, traffic-generating website built on a pristine domain can be flipped on marketplaces like Flippa or Empire Flippers for 20x to 40x its monthly net profit, completely bypassing the stagnant secondary domain market.
- Cap Your Portfolio: Keep your .how holdings to a minimum. Because there is a flat registry floor price (~$20.18 via Cloudflare), holding 500 un-developed .how domains will cost you over $10,000 annually in renewals, which will quickly erase your profits.
- Set "Buy It Now" Safe Landers: For your semantic domains, host them on escrow landing pages (via Dan or Afternic) with clear, realistic pricing under $2,000 (similar to the $970 sale of next.how). Let corporate buyers find you organically rather than initiating high-risk cold outbound emails that can trigger UDRP complaints.
- How to leverage an Ai Assistant to find domain leads
- How to leverage Social media to find domain leads
- How to leverage Job Boards to find domain leads
- eMail Marketing Best Practices for Domain Outreach
- List of FREE tools for outbound domain sales
- Outbound Domain sales Tips
Questions for you
- Do you own any .how domains?
- If so, how are they doing for you?
- Thinking about investing into .how domains?
- If so, what niche will you target and why?
What works for one may not work for another and vice versa.
