In our previous blog, we talked about some of the benefits of securing a ‘second-hand’ domain name. Today we’ll run through some of the methods used to identify and then analyse strengths and weaknesses of expired / expiring domain names.

Let’s start with how to find an expired / expiring domain name. The easiest option here is if you know what you are looking for – may be you are aware that one of your competitors is about to close for business and potentially allow their domain to expire.

In this case, you simply visit WHOIS and keep an eye on the expiry date. If the domain is not renewed, it will be released for anyone to re-register within 90 days.

However, you may be looking for a domain name associated with certain keywords. Here, the challenge is slightly greater and you will need some additional tools / software. Make your first port of call a search engine and enter a phrase such as “expired domain name search”. You’ll find a good choice of free-to-use websites and paid-for software that will allow you to search for expired / expiring domain names based on a criteria of your choice.

A lot of these websites and software packages can be pretty inefficient and will still require a good degree of perseverance on your part. However, eventually, this process should pay off.

Another option is to keep an eye on domain auction websites – try SEDO, the Ebay of domain name auctions.

There are, of course, more obvious sources, namely, web hosting companies. If a domain name is hosted with them, they’ll be the first to know if it has not been renewed.

So once you have identified your domain name, how do you evaluate it?

The key measures are a domain name’s current rankings and inbound links. These along with other key variables usually determine where a website appears on search engines. Two key sources to view some of these metrics are Alexa and Google.

Visit Alexa and enter the domain name you are interested in and you’ll be presented with a range of information about the domain. Two key elements are Traffic Rank (the lower the better) and Sites Linking In (the higher the better).

Google too allocates a Page Rank (0-10) for each website it indexes – rule of thumb here is the higher the PR the better the positioning on search engine results. Simply search for Google PR Calculator in any search engine where you will be able to enter a domain name and discover its PR.

Of course, there are many other sites (for example, Linkvendor and Linkdiagnosis) providing similar analysis for existing and expired domain names. And while results of analysis will vary from source to source (Alexa, Google, etc) you can certainly get a very good impression of the likely success a domain may yield.

Happy hunting!

Domain · domain name · second-hand domain name · Web Hosting

Whenever new markets develop and mature, second-hand markets tend to follow quickly. Take a look at the second-hand markets in cars, computers, video games, household goods – in fact, it’s a very, very long list.

And now, you can add domain names to that ever burgeoning list.

Whether it’s existing domain names that are auctioned off or expired names that are re-registered by new owners, there are many benefits of buying ‘second-hand’ domain names.

For example, a domain name with an associated website would have been indexed by search engines. It may have attracted significant traffic. In other words, it would have built an online presence. Certainly this would give you a head start compared with launching a new website under a brand new domain name.

Of course, from a cynical point of view, one might wonder as to why anyone would want to sell or allow to expire a successful domain name.

Well, actually, there are some fairly good reasons. There are plenty of people who simply register and sell domain names – that’s their business (and some are doing a roaring trade). There might be others for whom the business hasn’t quite delivered the returns that they had planned for and either sell or simply allow their domain name to expire. By buying that domain name, you are also getting the associated traffic.

So what kind of second-hand domain names could you benefit from?

Well, let’s start with variation of your existing domain name. Perhaps with / without the hyphen, a .com, .co.uk, .net or dot something else you don’t already have. Then there may be competitors who’ve allowed their domain names to expire. Potentially, all the traffic that was previously going to their website could now be directed to your website.

Of course, you don’t have to limit this to domain names related to your existing business – you might find yourself inspired by some of these second-hand domain names to start a new venture!

And the cost of registering an expired domain name? No more than registering a new one – in fact, most UK web hosting companies offer .co.uk domain names for less than £3.

Now, before you part with any money, there are a few key questions you might want to consider:

• how do I keep an eye on domain names that are coming up for renewal (and might not be renewed)
• what Google page-rank does / did a specific domain name have?
• how many inbound links are / were there to that domain name?
• what sort of traffic does / did it attract?

This is the equivalent of getting the AA to run a detailed check on the Porsche you are about to buy – except that it’s free, you can do it yourself and you won’t get any oil on your hands!

However, we’ll do this on our next blog – together with answers to above questions, we’ll direct you to some useful websites that will allow you to assess the real value of a second-hand domain name.

auctioning domain names · domain name · second-hand domain name