| Who would have thought that money could be made | | | | on your behalf. |
| from names? With the advent of the Internet, | | | | Get your domain name listed. |
| industry regulars slowly realized the gold mine sitting | | | | Before you can sell your domain, you have to be |
| literally under their fingertips in the form of domain | | | | registered. That's how you can be 'legally' recognized. |
| names. These days, buying and selling domains has | | | | Getting the name registered also bestows upon you |
| become a real business, with some highly | | | | the right to claim it and if you so wish, sell it later. |
| sought-after names selling for five-digit figures. The | | | | Registering a domain name may be done for a limited |
| domain name ClearDay.com, for example, reportedly | | | | period of time, usually as short as 12 months to as |
| sold for $60,000 while made a lot more -- $700,000. | | | | long as 10 years. Beyond the chosen period, the |
| Think there's a market out there for your domain | | | | registration expires and you can choose to renew it |
| name? Here's how you, too, can make money from | | | | and continue to claim ownership over it. Or, you can |
| a name: | | | | choose not to; at which point the domain name will |
| Find domains that you can sell later on. | | | | be made available to another buyer. This is where |
| Generally, people who buy or 'grab' domain names | | | | you can sell the domain. |
| don't really have industry-specific monikers in mind. If | | | | Register a potentially valuable domain. |
| you like jewelry, for example, you don't have to stick | | | | Many people scour popular shows and events to try |
| to buying domains such as or SparklingJewelries.net. | | | | to find out which personalities, events or gadgets are |
| You can pretty much pick any name that strikes | | | | developing a following. If you've been watching |
| your fancy and then buy it. | | | | shows such as American Idol, for example, and you |
| However, paying for names that won't sell later will | | | | check out sites that register domains, you'll find a |
| considerably drill a hole in your pocket if you're not | | | | few that are familiar. This is because some people will |
| careful. You could buy dozens of names for a small | | | | try to register a name of some rising star who will |
| fee but if you're not going to use them or can't sell | | | | potentially become famous enough to want to build |
| them later, what's the point of grabbing them, right? | | | | his own website someday. Since his name is already |
| Do a search on domains that have a potential or | | | | registered, he will want to buy it back and thus earn |
| those that have shown some sort of following in the | | | | the investor a nice profit. |
| past few months. Use the Alexa toolbar to find out | | | | If you don't mind speculating, this may be a good |
| which domains or sites are these. Look for names | | | | route to take. Just remember, though that it can go |
| that have registered a minimum of 1,500 to 2,000 | | | | either way in which the domain name gets sold or it |
| hits 30 to 60 days prior to your search. If you're | | | | gets ignored. |
| willing to pay more, look for domains that have | | | | Build traffic to your domain. |
| registered five-figure hits because that's an assurance | | | | If you want to take this route and build your domain |
| that these domains already have a strong following. | | | | from scratch, prepare to work. If you have a domain |
| You can either sell the domains back to their former | | | | name that you created by yourself or bought, you |
| owners or have interested parties bid on them. Either | | | | need to make it valuable to potential investors. Offer |
| way, you'll profit from your efforts. | | | | high quality content, build a reputation, link up with |
| Automatically bid on domains. | | | | quality sites, allow your visitors to interact using your |
| You can't always spend hours online searching for | | | | website. Once you start appearing on major search |
| domains to buy. Try online grabbing systems that let | | | | engines' radar and gain a good following, you raise |
| you automatically bid on domains you're interested in. | | | | the value of your website and your domain. When |
| Sites such as and are just two of these sites. You'll | | | | the time is ripe, you can then sell that domain for a |
| pay them a fee if they successfully grab the name | | | | nice, fat profit. |