This article is guest posted by Christopher Johnson.The short answer is yes. The long answer is a bit more complicated. Used to be, you could just register any old name and someone would come along and buy it from you for ridiculous amounts of money, especially if you were squatting on a copy written domain name. But that was before. Now they have laws that protect intellectual property from being used like that, and many of the good names have been taken. So what to do? Here are some useful ideas and tips on how to monetize your domain portfolio:
1. First thing’s first.
Choose your domain name. This should be done by researching a niche market, and finding a name that is either still available, or about to expire, be careful to check that the name isn’t copy written first. i say niche market, and many of you are probably going, “why not just get a variation on the most popular searches out there?” Because, those markets are hard to break into. I own four domain names, one for jobs in California, one for couture style clothing (hey don’t laugh, it’s just business), one about beer, and one that is an adult domain name. The one for California jobs has received the most hits, the couture one next, followed by the one about beer, and the adult domain was a DISTANT last, as the market for that is literally flooded with domain names. Pick a niche you know people have interest in.
2. Find out, within that niche, what people are searching for.
You want your domain to be immediately associated with that search, so use Google Trends to find out what key words and what synonyms of key words people are actually typing in, then use the most popular. In this instance, past the domain name category, with key words more popular is better. This will ensure that your site comes up more often in the searches performed most often by your target market.
3. Pick a good registrar.
My money so far has been on GoDaddy, not just for the prices ( and a simple Google search for “GoDaddy discount codes” will get you money off), but also because their back office is really clean and easy to use.
4. Be open to sales.
Sell the domain name when the price is right, but be patient also. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your fortune. Some may even be complete duds, so be sure to ask some friends if they think it would be a name they would buy before you purchase it.
5. Don’t just sit there, do something. Great, you bought it.
You are now the proud owner of a domain name that doesn’t go anywhere and no one knows about. Park the domain. Parking is when you set your domain name’s name servers to a different site like my favorite Name Drive. They have really nice templates that look like actual sites and a decent payout rate. If not Name Drive, check out Sedo. There is also They then populate the template with adds and people click on them. That is they will once you promote the domain names. For my money, you can’t beat free, so check out Web CEO. This tool submits your contact info, as well as your URL to tons of search engines in one shot, and helps you optimize your other sites, too.
6. Lastly, be patient.
This may take a while and you may need to buy a bunch of domain names before you hit on some winners. In this business, the greatest tools in your toolbox will be creativity and patience.
This post provided by Christopher Johnson, author of The Chris Johnson Project, a free resource about making money online. Christopher lives in West Virginia with his wife and two kids.
