Domaining

Domaining refers to the business of buying, selling,developing and monetizing domain names.

Short overview

Domaining, also called "domain name speculation", describes of purchasing and selling domain names with the goal of earning profit; the domainer is an entrepreneur. Being able to identify a name that can be registered in the primary market or purchased in the secondary market and then later sold at a profit is the key talent required to earn a profit.

Domainers also earn income by developing domain names into either parked pages or more complete websites with the goal of attracting traffic which can be monetized by selling advertising.

How it works

Picking a good domain name requires skill, instinct and probably some luck. Like real estate it's critical to understand the trends and be able to do the research necessary to understand why one name is more valuable than another. This includes keyword analysis, traffic patterns and new trends. There have been many attempts at automated domain name valuation, but all fall far short of human judgment.

The price of some domains increase dramatically while other increase more moderately. There is risk of course, but many have done well. In addition, some decide to get out of the business by selling their entire portfolio in a "bulk sale".

Necessary domaining elements

There are many online resources and guides to help the novice get started, but being a risk-taker is definitely the right personality profile to have.

CyberSquatting

Some people purchase domain names that are the exact or similar name of existing companies, famous people or organizations with the goal of selling the name to them at a later point in time. This practice is an abuse of the intellectual property of others and avoided by most professional domainers.