Julianna
It’s easy to think “all the good names have been taken” and to be honest, most of them have, at least in the major extensions like .COM, .ORG, .BIZ and .NET. But now you can take a second kick at the domain name can and get an incredible domain on the Webnames.ca Domain Aftermarket.
What exactly are aftermarket domains?
Aftermarket domains are registered domain names that are available for sale in a secondary “aftermarket”, whereas the primary domain market is comprised of extensions available for immediate registration via a regular domain search. These domains are often owned by domain name speculators – aka “domainers” – who purchase them as an investment in “internet real estate,” similar to how real estate investors purchase property. Many aftermarket domains are considered premium domains – that is, short, memorable or descriptive words or combinations of words that highly marketable and ideal for branding. Premium domains may also leverage keywords which signal to search engines what your website is about and help your organic search engine optimization. Given the range of new gTLD options, it’s actually gotten easier to get a premium, brandable, or keyword relevant domain than it was when there was just .COM, .ORG, NET, .INFO, etc. to choose from.
Are premium domains a good investment?
Domain names are unique assets, and every niche, vertical or topic has a limited number of great ones. Two main categories of premium domain names come to mind – 1) catchy and memorable domains, and 2) keyword relevant, semantic domains. Both categories can give you an edge over the competition. The first category relates to brandability. Think of names like HubSpot.com, Hootsuite.com, Snappa.com, or even something like Quiet.ly. Catchy names like these are powerful branding and marketing tools that will stand out next to inherently generic domains, and can help reduce reliance on PPC to drive traffic. These types of names become even more powerful if there have some sort of association to their niche (e.g. Snappa.com is a software for creating images and graphics). Brandable names are the new domain ideal. The second category relates to things like VancouverUsedCars.com or even Webnames.ca, names that incorporate top ranking keywords and have direct semantic relevance to your business. Domains that include keywords continue to have proven SEO value to this day, but there generic-ness can be drawback depending on your business and goals.
We often see growing businesses invest in a premium domain to replace their less-than-ideal one after they have achieved some success because a memorable name can save significant marketing effort, time and money long run. (Here’s a great blog post about exactly that by Chris Gimmer of Snappa.com for those who are interested). A generic domain like Telsa.com, which Elon Musk finally purchased last year after a decade of trying, provides a home for all of a brand’s products (cars, solar panels, batteries), keeping everything wrapped up in a cozy brand hug!
The aftermarket is more affordable than you might think
The other great thing about aftermarket domains is that a lot of them are surprisingly affordable given their linchpin importance in a business’ branding and marketing strategy. And for many startups, it is entirely viable to buy a great domain straightaway or at least very early on, as many domains in the aftermarket are priced at less than $1000. And for fun, here are a few examples … Happen to own a plant supply business? Plant.supply is on the market for the low price of $299. Are you the owner of a meme worthy cat blog – well then, you can upgrade from ima-cat-mama.biz to the unforgettable CatMama.com for only $2400. Expanding your wind turbine business into Canada? Powerwind.ca is only $500. Seriously, how great is that name? Own a chain of brewpubs … you’ll be thrilled to learn that brewerypub.com is available for $1799.
How the Webnames Domain Aftermarket works
If you have searched for a domain on our website recently, you may have noticed a second tab on your search results page called “Alternatives”. This tab will show you aftermarket domain options that are related to your original search query. You can also search Webnames Domain Aftermarket directly to browse thousands of domains for sale. When you check it out, you will see that some domains are available for immediate purchase, while others require you to request a price from the domain’s owner.
If you only want to see domains available for immediate purchase, tick the “Fast Transfer Only” filter on the right. Domains with a listed price can be added to your cart directly, just like a regular domain – and with our Fast Transfer function, it takes only minutes for it to be transferred into your account after you pay. And you won’t get outbid because it’s not an auction – the price you see is the price you pay. If you need a little more time to consult your team before finalizing your decision, the domain will be “held” for you for 2 hours after being added to your cart – this feature prevents anyone else from snapping it up, just make sure you don’t close your session if you’re not logged-in.
If you’re feeling stuck trying to think up a name for your new product, project or brand, throw in a word into the “suggestion engine” that encapsulates your new venture and voila – names aplenty. I recently did a search for a friend who’s opening a barber shop which he hopes to expand into a chain one day and came up with buzzchop.com for $877, barberclip.com for $577 and barberbooth.com for $799 respectively … and I’m pretty sure one of those won’t be available by the time you go to look for them.
The next time the domain you want is registered, try searching the Domain Aftermarket as your next step and invest in a great name from the start – it will likely save you time, effort and money in the long run.