Most budding internet entrepreneurs are looking for that perfect business opportunity to make a lot of money online. Buying and selling domain names is a great opportunity to do just that. Finding a good domain name can be like finding a million dollar home that has been foreclosed and is now selling for $50,000. It can be a great investment. But for many people just starting out in this business, there are a handful of mistakes that just about everyone makes. Some of these mistakes are minor and can cut into profit potential, while others can put you behind bars. No joke. In this article I reveal these common mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Avoid These Domains at All Costs!
While good domain names can be hard to come buy, do not make the mistake of buying a domain name that contains a lot of dashes. For example, [http://www.dog-training-tips.com]. While this might be a reasonable site you use if you are developing it yourself, the resale value of the domain itself is going to be minimal. Google recognizes domains with lots of dashes as lacking the authority of domains without dashes. This greatly effects the search engine optimization capabilities of this domain. It is best to avoid domain names with even one dash, as it is likely to drastically cut into resale value.
2. Find Domain Names With Less Than 20 Characters
I use 20 characters as a rule of thumb, though this number is not set in stone. Generally speaking, domain names that have high value are going to be short and sweet. A few examples: loans.com recently sold for $3 million, cinemas.com sold for $700,000, and asseenontv.com sold for $5 million. These domains are simple and to the point. Granted, there are not a lot of domain names like these left, but you can imagine the resale value of cinemas.com as compared to thebestamericancinemas.com. The longer and more convoluted the domain name, the lower the resale value.
3. Misspelled Domain Names
Buying domain names that are common typos is a dangerous path to take. This is often called “cyber squatting” or “typo squatting.” There is now legislation to protect trademark and service mark owners from this practice. In order for a domain name to fall under this category, it must be “identical or confusingly similar” to some other trademark or copyrighted service.
A recent court case found a man guilty of “typo squatting” on over 5500 domain names that were variations of copyrighted terms. To make matters worse, when unsuspecting surfers arrived at his web pages, they were re-directed to pornographic web sites. This gentleman was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and forced to pay huge fines. The moral of the story: Do not be a “typo squatter!”
These are three of the most common mistakes people make when buying and selling domain names. Fortunately, there is an exact formula for domain flipping that has made a lot of people rich. The best part is, you do not need to be an internet professional or have any experience in running a business to make money from buying and selling domain names. Follow the blueprint and you will be well on your way to becoming a “domain profiteer.”
