Can you secure an existing domain?
An amazing website is great for attracting views. But it doesn’t do you much good if no one can find you online! Having a great short catchy domain with a good TLD extension can make an enormous difference in being found online.
There are two ways to buy a domain name for your website. Through a registrar, if it is available or you can purchase a domain that is owned by a Registrant either through an aftermarket website, such as sedo.com, or by approaching the Registrant directly.
Brandsec has successfully acquired domain names for some of the most high-profile organizations in Australia. At any given time, we have a pipeline of between 10-15 active high-profile domain name acquisitions.
Key Tips:
- Think about your industry and do some keyword research and find trendy topics. Take your time to choose the right brand/keyword for your business. We have customers that have used a brand identity for years then decide to do a rebrand. If you haven’t decided on a name yet, it’s a good idea to do keyword research for the most popular keywords in your industry. This can help identify the right name for your business.
- Your domain doesn’t necessarily need to end with a .com With the launch of the new gTLD (Top Level Domain) program there are many extensions that may be available for your brand or specific to your industry sector – for example .app .sport shop .store .xyz.
- There are many options that may be available. Keep in mind, when you buy a domain, you are only buying a licence to use that domain for a period – generally 1 year. We provide advice around options for our clients so if you are looking for advice around domain name strategy or available options, reach out for help or advice.
- Misspellings. It is a fact of life that we commonly misspell words as we navigate online? i.e. google.com as gogle.com It is important to secure certain misspellings and set them up to redirect to their key domain. It’s a small investment that may bring in valuable traffic.
Buying Domains from unrelated 3rd Parties
Brandsec regularly brokers third-party owned domains for our customers. The reason why a domain may be registered by someone but available for purchase are many. The business may be sold as part of a merger or acquisition and the name changes. The owner may go out of business. The business may rebrand for any number of reasons.
We see many instances where a domain name is owned by a domainer. A domainer is someone who purchases a domain that may be available then looks to resell for a profit. We have seen situations where domains have owned a domain for many years, they do not invest in the website, they sit on this asset until a buyer comes along that offers the best price.
Ways to buy a Third Party owned domain
Here are some tips on acquiring a third party owner domain. Firstly, an owner can not be compelled to sell you a domain. We have seen many situations where a Registrant will say the domain is ‘not for sale’ or ask for a ridiculous price. Sometimes, the best option is to buy another domain name.
Options are to buy a third party owner domain from a Registrant owner directly, through a marketplace or through a snapback. (Brandsec offers a service where we can list a domain through snapback – registrants sometimes forget to renew, the domain will lapse and you can buy the domain for the cost of a Registration fee plus a modest fee for snapback).
Buying a domain already registered directly
The process to buy a domain name that is already owned is to contact the owner and ask them if they want to sell it to you. If you can agree on a price then you will sign an agreement and organise the transfer of the domain name. To ensure that the domain name is transferred to you prior to releasing the funds, we manage this process through an independent Escrow service. This means that we can obtain the authorisation code details before releasing the funds.
Negotiating a fair price for a third party owned domain
How long is a piece of string? Agreeing a price can be drawn out, subjective and frustrating. Brandsec completes an Investigation Report before we reach out to the Third Party Registrant. This report contains the history of the domain name, record of ownership, DNS details and web archive search. We research the recent sale of similar domains by looking at the taxonomy of the domain name in question. We Will provide a guide price based on our research.
The actual negotiation of a pre-owned domain name is not always easy. Particularly if you have an emotional attachment to your brand. We are used by our clients to broker the acquisition of third party domains as we have years of successful experience in managing this process. Remember, a Registrant will not sell you a domain name for peanuts. You will need to make a fair and reasonable offer. The negotiations can be drawn out and lengthy.
Also, remember that it is important to use an independent Escrow service before parting with any money. That way you can ensure you secure the domain prior to releasing the funds to the seller. If you are looking to purchase a third-party owned domain, reach out to Brandsec for an initial consultation.
About brandsec
brandsec is a corporate domain name management and brand protection company that looks after many of Australia, New Zealand and Asia’s top publicly listed brands. We provide monitoring and enforcement services, DNS, SSL Management, domain name brokerage and dispute management and brand security consultation services.