How to buy a domain.

Krutal Desai

You never get a second chance to

make a first impression.

There’s no traffic like direct traffic.

5 Step Process

•Brainstorm

•Research

•Approach

•Negotiate

•Acquire + Test

Brainstorm: Best Practices

•Buy a domain that ends in .com

•Buy a domain that’s easy to remember

•Age matters (first registered)

•Think about trust & relevance to your business.

BeyondTheWhiteBoard.com

What is this site about?

Crossfit Training progress tracker

Brainstorm: Keywords

•Keywords will help identify the purpose of your site.

•Keywords will also help boost rankings of searches for those words.

•Hard to find a domain with just keywords so you do a hybrid: Engadget.com KISSmetrics.com

Brainstorm: Hyphens -

•Use these only when keywords become questionable.

Research

•Check existing domain marketplaces:Sedo, Dnforum.com, Sitepoint, Namepros, Digitalpoint

• Learn whether your target audience will understand your domain/business.

•Weigh pros and cons of each domain you are considering. (benefits vs. cost & time)

•Check history of the domain name.

Approach

•Domains are only as valuable as what someone is willing to pay for them. There is no set price.

•Squatters are only looking to maximize profit, they buy to sell.

Approach

•Play your cards right.

•Understand the deal.

•Try some deals.

•Ask for permission.

Approach: Don’t give up.

•Find the owner by any means possible.

•Chances are if you can find him, nobody else has tried an offer.

•Private registration e-mails go through.

•Be as personal as possible.

Negotiate

•If you like a domain and it passes your research phase: Make a REASONABLE offer.

•Low ball offers tend to result in a squatter ignoring any further e-mails you may send. You only want to send one, make it good.

Negotiate: Options

•Prices vary, think before you act.

•Cash is King.

•Trades for other similar names + cash

•Equity in your business + cash

Acquisition

•Make sure domains over $1,000 are paid via escrow services.

•PayPal does not protect against “in-tangible goods”

•Read and understand transfer policies.

Testing

•Fuinvegas.com / Fupinvegas.com

•Send traffic (1,000 - 5,000 visits) to multiple domains and test the direct traffic to each over the next 7 days.

Other Tips

•SnapNames works

•Whois.sc/NAME.com

•Backlinks / PR

•Avoid trademarked names / brand names.