{"id":17227,"date":"2024-02-09T15:22:31","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T15:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/how-to-make-money-with-domain-flipping-a-unique-side-hustle-idea\/"},"modified":"2024-05-24T19:38:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T19:38:38","slug":"start-domain-flipping-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/start-domain-flipping-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make Money With Domain Flipping – A Unique Side Hustle Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"
Did you know that after Q1 of 2019, there were over 350 million domain names registered<\/a> in the world, and that domain registration rates have grown by 5.4% year over year?<\/p>\n The internet is an incredible place, and every day, thousands of domain names are bought and sold at auction in the world of cyber real estate. It's truly remarkable if you think about it.<\/p>\n Additionally, if you have a bit of know-how and patience, it's even possible to make money by buying and selling domain names.<\/p>\n If you're looking to learn more about this unique way to make money online<\/a> and how to flip domain names for profit, read on!<\/p>\n Domain flipping is a money making method that involves purchasing domain names and then reselling the names for a profit.<\/p>\n You may have heard of people who flip houses as a side hustle. Well, domain flipping is basically the real estate game of the internet.<\/p>\n A lot of guides assert that domain flipping is a quick game, but this isn\u2019t necessarily true. Some domains can remain for sale for a number of months\/years before the holder makes a profit, whereas some flips quickly.<\/p>\n Additionally, like the real estate market, domain names can carry a hefty price tag.<\/p>\n Check out this list from GoDaddy<\/a> on the most expensive domain names ever sold:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This list also omits the sale of Cars.com, which allegedly sold for $872 million dollars based on SEC filings.<\/p>\n As you can see, people don't mess around when it comes to purchasing the perfect domain name for their website or business!<\/p>\n If you look at the above list, you\u2019ll also notice a commonality among these valuable domain names: they are mostly single word domains or short letter phrases.<\/p>\n This is a common trend across pretty much any niche or industry when it comes to domain name value.<\/p>\n Some characteristics of valuable domain names include:<\/p>\n Length: <\/strong>3-4 letter domain names are inherently valuable because it is impossible to register more of these domain names, and many of these domains can serve as exact matches for brands or companies.<\/p>\n Age and Authority: <\/strong>Aged domains typically have greater domain authority due to their age and the potential they\u2019ve had for gaining backlinks over the years.<\/p>\n Brand-Ability: <\/strong>zyxq.com or some random 4 letter combination isn\u2019t the easiest domain to transform into a brand\u2026privatejet.com or aaa.com on the other hand have potential.<\/p>\n Domain Extension: <\/strong>.com domains are the most valuable domains around, but .org, .net, and some newer extensions like .io are still capable of putting up some impressive valuations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Considering these value-adding factors is one of the most important parts of successfully flipping domain names.<\/p>\n The nature of what potentially makes a domain valuable also leads to 2 main domain flipping strategies: topic based domain buying<\/strong>, and exclusivity based domain buying<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In other words, domains are either considered valuable if they are excellent names for a topic\/niche\/business or because they are rare\/impossible to register again (like 3-4 letter combos).<\/p>\n Here are some examples of each domain flipping tactic:<\/p>\n In his interview with Domain Sherpa<\/a>, expert domain flipper Ali Zandi outlines some of his first successful domain name flips, which included:<\/p>\n Zandi also reached over $400,000 in sales after 7 months of domain flipping based on Flippa transaction records, reaching the title of Super Seller on Flippa<\/a>.<\/p>\n As you can see, none of these flips involved profiting from extremely rare, 3-4 letter combo domains. However, flippers like Steven McDonald and others aren\u2019t afraid to go down that path.<\/p>\n Take a look at some domain flipping results mentioned in this Forbes article<\/a>:<\/p>\n So, as we can see, there is money to be made in the rare domain name sphere as well.<\/p>\n The sheer size of the internet has created a very saturated domain marketplace in which it is practically impossible to register 3-4 letter combos, single word, or even popular double word domain names.<\/p>\n So, if you want to go the route of flipping rare domain names that will have inherent value off the bat,\u00a0you usually have to buy expired domain names.<\/p>\n There are a number of marketplaces where you can find expired domain names and acquire them. However, unlike the guy who managed to buy Google.com for a minute<\/a>, expired domain names rarely fall into your lap.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Expired domains start out as domains that are not going to be renewed. This happens frequently as people forget to renew their domain names or don\u2019t want to spend the money.<\/p>\n When this happens, the domain registrar will grant a 30 day period in which the owner can still renew their domain.<\/p>\n Following this period, the domain name becomes \u2018expired\u2019 and is then entered into auction by the domain registrar.<\/p>\n Bidding typically lasts 7 days, and the highest bid wins. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n Extra Reading – The Best Items To Flip<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n While domain rarity and appeal are subjective metrics you should consider, they don\u2019t tell the entire story of a domain.<\/p>\n Here are a few key factors to consider when buying an expired domain name:<\/p>\n Domain Authority is a SEO metric that was developed by Moz<\/a>.<\/p>\n DA is meant to estimate how effectively a website can rank on search engines, and grants domains a value between 1-100 (with 100 being the best score).<\/p>\n Domain authority is a metric that evaluates an entire website, whereas Page Authority is page specific.<\/p>\n Age can have an influence on these metrics (the longer a website exists, the more chances there are to establish backlinks, social signals, trust, etc.) but age is NOT the entire picture.<\/p>\n You shouldn\u2019t buy a domain just because it is 3 letters and 15 years old\u2026do your homework!<\/p>\n You can research domain authority and page authority metrics by using the Link Explorer<\/a> feature on Moz.com:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I mentioned, buying expired domain names is a popular tactic webmasters use when launching a new website because of the existing backlinks old domains can carry. However, not all expired domains possess a high number of backlinks, and total backlink count doesn\u2019t mean squat if the links are of terrible quality.<\/p>\n When examining a potential expired domain to flip, you need to dig into the backlink\/SEO profile of the domain.<\/p>\n 2 main warning signs include:<\/p>\n You can pay for a research tool liks Semrush<\/a>, Ahrefs, or many other popular choices to check backlink quality, or you can use a combination of the free ones to get a general sense of backlink quality.<\/p>\n While domain names like BestSUVs.com have probably only been used for car related websites, 3-4 letter domain names could have been used for anything.<\/p>\n Even if you are buying a domain name that is obviously for a niche\/industry, you should investigate what else has used that domain name.<\/p>\n To check the history of a website, use Archive.org<\/a>. Archive.org allows you to research 333 billion records of web pages that have been saved throughout the years.<\/p>\n For aged\/rare domain names, you might find quite an extensive history:<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Learning more about an expiring domain's history can prove vital for the final part of your domain vetting process!<\/p>\n Many webmasters buy expired domains to start an authoritative niche website or add to their PBN because expired domains can carry authority.<\/p>\n However, if the domain name has been banned from Google Adsense or Google in general, this would be a complete turnoff for any potential investors you\u2019d be trying to flip the domain over to.<\/p>\n To check an expired domain\u2019s ban history, use:<\/p>\n There are dozens of popular websites out there where expired domain auctions occur, and I\u2019m going to share some brief information on each one.<\/p>\n DomCop is a frequently referenced platform domain flippers use for research.<\/p>\n For $56\/month, you are able to view an extensive database of expiring domains that includes relevant metrics such as DA\/PA, backlinks, Trust Flow (a Majestic Metric), domain age, Ahrefs information, and more:<\/p>\nWhat is Domain Flipping?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What Makes a Domain Name Profitable?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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How to Start Domain Flipping \u2013 Finding Expired Domain Names<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What to Look for When Buying Expired Domains<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Backlinks<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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History<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Check for a Google Ban or Adsense Ban<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Where to Find and Buy Expired Domain Names or Other Domain Names<\/strong><\/h2>\n
DomCop<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n