Site Flipping University

In the Blog Flipping forums I recently addressed a question from another user regarding the usage of expired domains in site flipping. This is something that I’ve had huge success with and, due to the fact that I have nowhere to post right now (following the sale of the affiliate post), Bryan has given me the chance to voice my experience here for you all.

“If you are creating a blog from scratch to flip, what is the general thought on buying a pre-existing domain to use vs. a brand new domain?”

In answer to that question I must point out that I use expired domains wherever possible; I prefer them to new domains as, if you do your homework, you can pick up a domain that has instantly more value than a new one. You see an aged domain has value! That’s right…all those old domains you have that you never get round to doing anything with are ageing and, like most things in life, with age comes value. No doubt you all heard about the guy who bought pizza.com back in ‘94. He did nothing with the site other than pay his registration fee every year and recently sold the domain for $2.6 Million!

There are several factors that aid the value of the domain alone and here is a quick list. Not by any means definitive…but for any new people it’s a good overview of what to look for:

• AGE - The older the better!
• DOMAIN - Is it a short, snappy, memorable name? ‘ABC.com’ is infinitely better than ‘thelongestdomainnameinthewholewideworld.com’
• SUFFIX - For any poker players out there you will understand this example - a ‘dot com’ beats a ‘dot info’.
• PR - Does it have any?
• LINKS - Again, does it have any? and more importantly where are they coming from?
• HISTORY - There are a whole host of things to look for here such as is banned from Google? has it ever been used for porn? Does it have existing traffic? Etc etc

Buying Expired Domains

So, you know what you are looking for, how do you go about it? Well I follow somewhat of a set process for searching out domains and the routine I follow is something not too dissimilar to this:

1. Sign up for TDNAM - There are many others like it but this is my expired domain market of choice. Best $4.99 I ever spent!
2. Log in and search for your keywords of choice - this can be done with domains beginning with or containing your keywords. I am assuming that you have done your research here of course!
3. Sort your expired domains - I normally sort them by current estimated traffic by clicking on ‘traffic’ twice to get them from high to low. Each to their own but this works for me. One of the reasons I am looking for expired domains is instant traffic so it makes sense right?
4. Seek your expired domains - I usually start by showing 500 domains on one page and scanning to see if there are any big traffic pullers that fit my budget. I also look for what I call ‘stand out’ domains, or those that grab my attention.
5. Spot check your expired domains - This is where I will do quick checks on anything that takes my fancy. Usually by using dnscoop I will have a look to see if the domain has any of the attributes I mentioned above.
6. Watch your expired domains - Having missed out on some great domains before I recommend you ALWAYS do this. Just check the ones you like and add them to your ‘watching’ list. I often add domains that I just want to see what it sells for…it never hurts to watch the market!
7. DUE DILLIGENCE - Don’t ever jump into buying anything; I cannot stress this one enough! As mentioned earlier, check the domains history as thoroughly as you possibly can. Using iwebtool ‘Google banned checker’ is a good place to start. Do some relevant searches on Google and yahoo which will always give you some info on the domain. If I have a load in my watch list from my first round of vetting then this is where a great number of domains that looked good initially will fall down. Check, check and check again.
8. Buy Your Expired Domain - More often than not I will wait till the auction has less than 24hrs to go before bidding. Again, this is probably nothing more than personal preference but I hate the time I waste checking on the bid status. By waiting you can also see if there is any interest from other parties.
9. Last Minute Advice - Don’t go over what you intend to spend. There are many other domains out there so just stick to your budget. I have never spent more than $30 on a domain so far and have still managed to pick up some really great PR2-PR4 domains. If you are on a budget then start by searching the closeout sales for $5 domains.
10. JOB DONE - Congratulations, you just bought an expired domain. You will be required to wait for the ‘grace period’ to elapse - whereby the current owners do still have time to rescue their beloved domain. I have never lost a domain in this fashion though so start preparations for your new domain name.

Using Expired Domains

“If you are creating a blog from scratch to flip, what is the general thought on buying a pre-existing domain to use vs. a brand new domain?”

For those that think I have gone off track here do not fear. There is a simple answer to this question and the general thought is good - especially if you are using said domains for flipping.

It is hard not to see how much value can be added to a site flip just by using an expired domain. This is not to mention that if you have a 30 day old domain it would look funny to a potential buyer if you had more than 30 days of content on the site, whereas with an expired domain you can always backdate the content and fully utilise the age of the domain. I have done this on the past and with 30 days hard work, instead of selling a one month old site, I sold a one year old site. You don’t need me to tell you the financial rewards were much better too!

I will draw this to a close (for fear of bogarting Bryan’s limelight) but just so you know, I have a follow up post in the making about ‘How To Make Money With Expired Domains’. All that remains for me to say is don’t forget to leave your comments and, if you have not done so already, check out the forums which have some great information…not to mention a really helpful community.

My new site Nota Bene Consulting is currently being labelled as work in progress so in the meantime I am open to doing a few guest posts if anybody can outbid Mr Clark for my services.