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Domain name speculation, generally known as domaining, refers to the business of identifying and registering potentially valuable Internet domain names with the intent of selling them at a profit.

The objective of domaining is to acquire domain names that are likely to become sufficiently popular that someone will be willing to purchase the domain at a price far exceeding the cost of registration. For this reason, common words or phrases are attractive to domainers, particularly when built on a top-level domain, especially .com.

For example, cars.com sold for $872 million, while insurance.com went for $35.6 million, vacationrentals.com for $35 million, voice.com for $30 million, and we.com for $8 million.

Of course, most domainers aren't going to make that kind of profit from any single domain but it's possible, and, more significantly, lesser profits on multiple domains can still make for a nice profit.

Just as land speculators buy land at a lower price hoping to be able to sell it at a higher price, domainers do the same thing with Internet real estate.

Clearly, there is more to it than blindly buying up random domain names and hoping for a winning ticket. Serious domain speculators will put some thought into their acquisitions. Important considerations include the length of the domain and the strength or noteworthiness of any keyword represented by the domain.

Short domain names tend to be more valuable because they are easier to remember, much easier to type into a browser action area, and easier to share via advertising or social media. Two- and three-character domain names are scarce because of the limited number of characters available, so they will tend to have a higher value than longer names. However, domain names of up to eight characters may also have value, particularly when they form a word or phrase that can become brandable. One-word domain names are typically more salable than two- or three-word domain names.

A domain name that suggests an industry or product is likely to have more value than one that consists of random characters. A related consideration is the likelihood that the word that makes up a domain name will be a keyword used as a keyword in searches conducted through a search engine since these domains will reach potential customers organically.

Words that are catchy, notable, and easily remembered will be marketable as a domain name because potential customers are likely to remember it. This is also why short domain names are usually more valuable than longer ones.

Domain speculators will often pay close attention to current events and new technologies because of words or phrases that come up in these reports that may be in demand as domain names.

There is also an aftermarket in domain names from those that have not been renewed by the original registrants. These dropped domain names might have high-profile websites associated with them, as well as links from other websites that could be valuable for SEO purposes.

These are just a few ideas not intended to serve as a useful tutorial on domain speculation. However, some of the online resources listed below should be of more value to anyone interested in trying their hand at domaining. On this site, you will find additional information from this interesting article on how to get started as a domainer.

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