April 10, 2019

What is a Premium Domain Name?

written by

Joe Uddeme

Joe Uddeme

What is a Premium Domain Name?

Domain Buying Guides

Name Experts provides premium
domain service to:

MAX
MAX
MAX
Hope Channel
MAX
MAX

Domain brokers like NameExperts.com help clients buy ‘premium’ domains – but what is a premium name, and how do you get one? In this post, domain name specialist Joe Uddeme lifts the lid on high-value web addresses.

 

Imagine a business today that didn’t have a website. Seems almost inconceivable, right? The internet is one of a business’ primary channels to entice potential customers, meaning any organization that doesn’t have an online presence is massively missing out.

The best way to showcase yourself online is by having a website stating clearly what you or your organization offers. And the way to do that? With a premium domain name.

The domain name is how people will find you on the web, so unless you strike it luck and some cheap random jumble of letters you’ve bought as a domain name suddenly becomes in vogue, you’ll need to dig deep and buy a premium domain name.

But what are the elements of a premium domain – and how much are you going to have to pay? Read on for the full details.

Key Takeaways

  • Understanding what premium means in the domain name world
  • Elements of a premium domain
  • How to buy a premium domain name
  • Why you should buy a premium domain

What are Premium Domains?

Premium domain names are high-quality domain names, giving you greater recognition on the internet. They’re often short, catchy, and memorable. They’re the domain names that people are likely to search for and trust over other names.

A premium domain name would go a long way in drawing organic traffic to your website. They’re usually costly, but one of the best investments you can make.

It’s not a coincidence that most of the successful online businesses we know have premium domain names – see Stripe.com, Amazon.com, Google.com and other big-hitters.

Need help buying a domain? We make the domain buying process easy.
Get a Free Domain Buying Consultation

How Do You Know if a Domain Name is Premium?

The easiest way to determine if a domain name is premium is the price you see when you search for it for a domain registrar. Likewise, you can use a premium domain checker for this task.

Premium domain names often range from a few hundred dollars to thousands or tens of thousands. They can go for even larger sums – as our post about the most expensive domains ever sold illustrates.

There are also specific characteristics differentiating premium domain names from the pool of all domains, and they include:

Length

“The shorter the name, the better” is the rule of thumb when it comes to domain names. Most two or three-letter domains are considered premium because they’re easy to imprint on customers’ minds.

These short names are also usually abbreviations adopted by various companies, so there’s intense competition for them.

Generic Value

Domain names consisting of generic words fetch a higher value than those with non-generic words. Generic names are easy to remember and brand, so there’s significant demand for them.

You’d have an advantage over competitors if your domain name consists of a word that broadly relates to your industry.

For example, Checkout.com, Bill.com, and Authorize.net are leading payment providers. Crypto.com and Blockchain.com are two famous cryptocurrency exchanges.

Customers need little effort to memorize such generic domain names, so it gives these companies a significant marketing advantage compared to their peers.

Search engine optimization

Search engines are the primary way people discover websites. Hence, any domain name matching what people mostly search for carries more weight.

CreditCards.com, HouseRepairs.com, and RentalCars.com are examples of domain names with high value stemming from search engine optimization.

Buyer Demand

Some domain names don’t look attractive at first glance but see great demand from prospective buyers for various reasons. These domains command high values because of the bidding war over them.

Numerous domain registrars let you check for available domain names, and it’s easy to identify the premium ones based on their prices and the other factors stated above.

If the domain name you want is already taken, don’t give up. You could still acquire it by making a direct offer (more on that below).

How Do You Get a Premium Domain?

The first step to buying a premium domain name is knowing if it’s available using a premium domain checker. You can buy it straight away if it is. If not, you’ll need to find the owner.

Many domain names are registered but not utilized to a considerable extent. Sometimes, you’ll see a homepage filled with advertisements and affiliate links but hardly any content.

This is an attempt by the owner to monetize what’s basically an abandoned site. If you encounter such a website, then it’s positive news for you. The owner is more likely to sell than someone actively hosting a site and doing good business.

If the website has a contact form, you can use it to reach out to the owner with an offer. If not, you must get creative in finding them. The easiest way to do this is through the WHOIS database.

It is a public database containing the information collected when someone registers a domain name or adjusts their DNS settings. ICANN, or the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, regulates the WHOIS database.

screengrab of WHOIS website homepage

 

Searching the WHOIS database

ICANN allows anyone to search its public database for domain name ownership information. You can do that through the agency’s online lookup tool or your PC’s command prompt.

Searching WHOIS Online

The official URL of ICANN’s WHOIS lookup tool is lookup.icann.org. Once you open that page, you’ll see a search bar where you can type in any domain name and press the lookup button. We searched for Microsoft.com to demonstrate, and we got the results shown below:

Microsoft.com registration on ICANN site

You can see the email assigned to Microsoft’s domain name is [email protected]. Hypothetically, we can contact that email with an offer for the Microsoft.com domain name, but we’re pretty sure the well-known technology company isn’t willing to sell.

Searching WHOIS via Command Prompt

Searching WHOIS through your Windows command prompt is a complex process, so we recommend that only computer geeks take this route.

Step 1:

Download the whois.exe file from this link.

Step 2:

Open the command prompt terminal.

Step 3:

Set the command prompt directory to the folder where you save the whois.exe file.

Step 4:

Type in your query in the following format: Whois domain.com or Whois64 domain.com if you’re running a 64-bit computer. If you want to search for Microsoft’s domain name info, then type Whois Microsoft.com, and you’ll see the contact information.

Sometimes, a domain name owner may have enabled privacy protection through their registrar, meaning you can’t see their information. It implies that they’re likely not interested in selling their domain.

With the contact information, it’s time to negotiate a domain name sale. The process can be hectic and take long periods, so we advise you to hire an experienced domain name broker to help you.

 

Why Should I Buy a Premium Domain Name?

A premium domain name carries more authority on the web, meaning you’re more likely to get found through search engines or social media. It also brings about better brand recognition, making it easy to attract customers through advertisements.

Many domain registrars have a premium domain checker for their users to find and bid for premium domains without stress. Examples include Name.com and Domain.com.

 

Who Owns Premium Domain Names?

Anybody or any organization can own a premium domain name. Some are owned by business-savvy people or companies looking to flip them for a profit. Some are owned by domain name registrars themselves hoping to find buyers.

 

How Do You Value a Premium Domain?

There are various factors to consider when valuing a domain name. They include length, how generic they are, search engine recognition, and historical domain name sales data.

There are numerous appraisal tools available online that combine these attributes to value individual domain names. A good example is GoDaddy’s Domain Name Value & Appraisal tool.

 

Why are Premium Domains So Expensive?

The price of premium domains can be high because there’s considerable demand for them. The number of premium domain names is significantly less than the number of potential customers vying for them. Hence, premium domain owners can charge high prices and still make easy sales.

As professional domain name brokers, this is the world we live in – and we help people buy and sell premium domains globally every week. Clients choose us for our years of experience – it means we can help them get hold of names that seem impossible to purchase.

Our expert negotiation skills often save clients large sums of money, too.

Hundred-dollar bills fanned out and held by a hand

About the author

Joe Uddeme is Director and Principal of Name Experts, one of the world’s leading domain name brokerage services. He has overseen domain name sales and acquisitions totaling more than $150 million and is renowned worldwide as a go-to expert in buying and selling premium domains. Contact us at: [email protected]

Need help buying a domain? We make the domain buying process easy.
Get a Free Domain Buying Consultation
Subscribe for More Domain Buying & Selling Advice

Related posts

Close up of man's hand pointing at a laptop keyboard, as if checking how to buy/sell a doman name online
Your Expert Guide On How To Buy and Sell Domain Names

In this article, we look at the ins and outs of buying and selling a domain name for your business. Here’s NameExperts.com Director Joe Uddeme to walk you through the process.   Are you new to the industry and need to know how to buy and sell domain names? You’re most likely looking for the best places you can buy domains, where to sell your domains, how to transfer names to your buyer, how much you can sell your names for, and more. At Name Experts, we help corporations and individuals around the world buy and sell domain name assets. It’s what we’ve been doing for more than 15 years, and we have brokered deals worth more than $150m. So you can trust the information in this post. If you need more help, get in touch. We’ll help you navigate the waters – and even help you choose a great domain name for your business at the best price. Here’s our complete guide to buying and selling domain names – updated for 2025. Key Takeaways Buying domain names – everything you need to know Selling domain names – everything you need to know How a domain name broker can be your ‘secret weapon’ when buying or selling   Buying domain names Buying the right domain name for your brand can be a pretty big undertaking. New TLDs like .online or .law are part of more than 1,500 alternative top level domains that can sometimes confuse your customers. How can you know what the right choice is to help your business grow? Or maybe you’re buying domains to turn around and sell them. Whatever you need a new domain name for, having a broker on your side to help you with how to buy and sell domain names and get the domain purchase over the finish line. Especially when it comes to the negotiation process, you’ll want to have an experienced broker who knows what your purpose is for the domain name so that they can plan the proper strategy. We also encourage you to use an accredited, third-party escrow provider. We use Escrow.com as the preferred method for domain purchase transactions because it identifies all the parties involved to ensure proper transfer and a smooth transaction experience. The broker you choose should be able to work with the escrow provider and help you complete the entire domain purchase process. Escrow Process to Buy a Domain Name Here are the general steps outlined below: Buyer and seller agree to terms Buyer selects a payment method Escrow secures buyer’s payment Escrow will prompt the seller to transfer The transfer will occur either by account transfer or authorization code Seller confirms shipment of merchandise Buyer confirms receipt of a domain name in the account Buyer marks the transaction complete Domain Purchase and choosing the right broker Your domain broker should be open to communicating with you throughout this entire process and make sure the timeline is being met – as well as meeting all other expectations. At Name Experts, we will make sure that we will get you the domain you want or find an appropriate alternative if the one you want truly isn’t available. Most reputable brokers will charge a fee for any successful acquisition and should be upfront with you about that fee. They’ll also help you with successfully transferring domains so that everything is out of your hands when all is said and done.   Selling Domain Names Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned domain investor with dozens of assets or someone who just has one domain name to sell, it’s always a good idea to hire a professional who knows what they are doing. Domain experts make it their mission to maximize your sales potential and work on your behalf. This means letting you know if you’re sitting on a goldmine when it comes to domains or buying assets that are only worth a few pennies – they’ll help you figure out the value of your domain. The first step of the selling process is to establish the right expectation for your domains. Sellers should identify their needs and realistically price their assets in a way that will make people want to buy them. We’ll help you identify your goals and get to the bottom of why you’re really selling. Typically, there are different types of pricing models that we use to sell your domain name, but it all depends on intent. They include retail sellers, market seller, and liquidation seller. At Name Experts, we have experience negotiating and marketing your name assets successfully. We have the knowledge to help you nail down a strategy to make sure the right people are seeing your domain names. If you’re in the market to sell, we will help you with all of our services. Value your Domain Name Your domain name, and really anyone’s domain name, is only worth as much as a buyer is willing to pay. There are different factors to consider, though. For example, single word .com assets sell for a higher price than longer names. At Name Experts, we will evaluate your assets and take comparisons of other names that recently sold in the market. We’ll make sure you have a realistic expectation of what your domain is worth. Marketing Especially if you’re new in this industry, you’ll want someone experienced putting your name in front of the right people. We use a combination of email, phone, and press releases to ensure global exposure. This also includes reaching out to our industry-wide relationships to help you find the perfect buyer. Negotiation Don’t leave money on the table. Let Name Experts negotiate on your behalf and help you maximize your profit. Transfer Service This part of the process makes sure that the buyer lives up to his end of the deal. We handle all transfers through Escrow.com, a licensed and audited escrow service ideal for domain names.  We’ll make sure that your domain name ends up at the right registrar.   Let Name Experts Help You At the end of the day, you need someone you can trust to help you navigate these waters. A professional domain brokerage service can make all the difference. They will outline both the buying and selling process for you and make sure both sides understand the goal of the transaction. They’ll also help you take the guesswork out of the process, as well as represent your interests. As experienced brokers with an industry-wide reputation, let us help you with all the phases of how to buy and sell domain names. When you work with an experienced professional like us, you’ll see that they will also have all the relevant contracts and paperwork to help you secure the name that you want or sell it for a fair price. We’ll make sure that every step of the way is completely transparent and we always keep your best interest in mind. We don’t want to compromise your identity or your confidentiality, and we work hard to earn the trust of our clients with consistent performance and open communication. When you’re ready to get started or just want more information on the buying or selling process, reach out to us today! We’d love to prove to you why we’re the experts.   About the author Joe Uddeme is Director and Principal of Name Experts, one of the world’s leading domain name brokerage services. He has overseen domain name sales and acquisitions totaling more than $150 million and is renowned worldwide as a go-to expert in buying and selling premium domains. Contact him at: [email protected]
Image looking over a person's shoulder to indicate anonymity when securing a domain name
Domain Privacy and Protection: How and Why to Hide WHOIS Information

If you don’t tread carefully, anyone in the world can find out who bought the web address you just snapped up. Domain name expert Joe Uddeme shares his top tips for staying out of the limelight.   In the rush of excitement that comes with securing a name – especially a desirable, premium domain name you’ve been after – it’s easy to overlook one of the most basic elements of name registration: shielding your identity. Millions of people before you have forgotten to do it – precisely because it is so easy to overlook. Or perhaps you spotted the option to stay anonymous but didn’t quite understand what it meant – or felt it wasn’t worth the cost. Here’s how to stay out of the WHOIS database when buying a domain name – and why you might want to. Key takeaways: Understanding your Domain Privacy options Discover which countries keep your name secret by default The benefits of keeping your information private How to ensure your name stays out of the picture Discover Domain Privacy FAQs   What Is Domain Privacy? Domain privacy is a service domain registrars offer customers to hide their information from the public WHOIS database. Customers pay for privacy from their registrar, which replaces their contact information in the WHOIS database with a forwarding address.   What Does Domain Privacy and Protection Do? It removes a domain owner’s information from the public WHOIS database and preserves their privacy. The WHOIS database is a vast database operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN is the agency that oversees domain names, and every individual or company that buys a domain name must provide their contact information to this agency. ICANN, in turn, lists all contact information in a public database called WHOIS. Anyone can search the WHOIS database to get the contact information of a domain’s owner. Many owners are uncomfortable with their contact information being listed publicly, so they pay their domain registrars for domain privacy and protection. The registrar replaces the customer’s contact information with a forwarding or proxy address on the WHOIS database, so people can’t look up the real contact details.   Do I Need Domain Privacy? You need to pay for privacy protection if you’re uncomfortable with your email address or phone number being posted online. Many spammers and telemarketers scour the WHOIS database for the contact information of domain owners to sell them products. Domain name privacy protection prevents this from happening. People residing within the European Union (EU) don’t need to pay for domain privacy because they get it by default. On 25 May 2018, the EU passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ruling. This ruling mandated companies serving EU residents to give customers control over their data. EU customers were granted strict data privacy under this law, so domain registrars began hiding their information from the WHOIS database by default. Many other countries have passed laws similar to GDPR, such as Turkey, South Korea, Argentina, and Brazil. The United Kingdom (UK), a former EU member, also passed a similar law. You may not need to purchase a domain name private registration if you reside in these countries. However, customers in other countries need domain privacy and protection to hide their contact information.   How Important Is Domain Protection? It is important because it lets you hide your contact information from the public view. Without this protection, your personal information will be available to anyone who wishes to find it, and malicious actors may take advantage of this freedom to target you with cyberattacks and domain name scams.   Benefits Of Privacy Protection 1. Protects Personal Information Buying privacy protection when registering a domain removes your personal information from the public eye. People won’t be able to find your contact information by looking up your domain name on the WHOIS database. Instead, they’ll see the contact information of your domain registrar, which they can’t trace back to you. 2. Minimizes and Prevents Spam Spam is the biggest problem on the internet. It refers to any irrelevant and solicited message sent over the internet, usually to advertise products or steal information via phishing. Spammers search every possible medium to harvest emails and phone numbers, including the WHOIS database. Domain protection hides your details from this database so spammers can not target you with unsolicited messages. 3. Anonymity Many people are uncomfortable with their personal information being on the internet for whatever reason. Domain privacy and protection grants you anonymity even when you control many domain names. 4. Prevents Competitive Data Mining Businesses often mine public databases for information about their competitors. For example, if you run a popular blog anonymously, rival blogs may want to discover your identity and research potentially damaging information about you. Domain privacy and protection ensures that competitors can’t trace your identity through your domain name. 5. Prevents Domain Theft Hackers often target owners of valuable domain names with phishing messages to steal their registrar login details. They do this by sending a link to a website that looks exactly like your domain registrar’s page but is actually a different web address. The end game is to log into the owner’s registrar with the stolen details and transfer their domain name to another account. Purchasing domain privacy means that hackers won’t find your contact information in the first place. You can hold onto your valuable domain names without fear of being targeted by sophisticated cybercriminals. (Check out our post about what to do if you lose your domain name). How To Get Domain Privacy And Protection When Buying a Domain Most registrars display the option to add privacy protection to your cart when you choose to buy a domain name. It’s an effective method of upselling because they know many customers want privacy. Look for “hide WHOIS information,” “domain privacy,” “domain protection,” or a similar phrase on the domain registration box and select it. Head to the checkout page and pay for the registration, privacy protection, and any other item you selected. After paying, you’ll automatically have WHOIS protection for your new domain. Add To An Existing Domain You can always buy privacy protection for a domain name you already own. Follow these steps; Log into your domain registrar account. Head to the domain management section. Click on the specific domain name you need privacy for. Open the Security tab, and you’ll likely find a button that prompts you to buy WHOIS protection. Click on the button and proceed to your checkout page to pay. Wait for some time after the payment confirmation for your registrar to update the WHOIS database information. There are dozens of domain registrars, and the steps to add privacy protection to an existing domain are similar to what we explained above for each of them.   FAQs on Domain Privacy Should I add privacy protection when buying and selling domains? Yes, you should add the option to hide domain registration info because it has many benefits. It prevents spam, competitive data mining, and potential domain theft. It also guarantees anonymity on the WHOIS database, which is desirable for privacy-conscious customers. If you are working with multiple domain names, especially high-value ones, an experienced domain consultant can ensure all of this is taken care of on your behalf. How Do You Buy A Domain With Privacy Protection You’ll usually see an option to buy privacy protection on the page where you search for an available domain. Add the privacy protection item to your cart alongside the domain name and pay, and you have successfully acquired privacy protection for your new domain. Is privacy protection available on all domains? It’s available for most domains, but there are some exceptions due to government rules. These include .US., .CA, and .FR, among others. Is there a cost to domain privacy and protection? Most registrars charge between $10 and $20 annually for privacy protection while registering a domain. However, a few offer it for free, e.g., NameCheap.   About the author Joe Uddeme is Director and Principal of Name Experts, one of the world’s leading domain name brokerage services. He has overseen domain name sales and acquisitions totaling more than $150 million and is renowned worldwide as a go-to expert in buying and selling premium domains. Need help? Contact us at: [email protected]
Mosaic style image of .com on a yellow background to denote the importance of a.com TLD when securing a domain name for your business
Why You Should Use The .com For Your Domain

There have been many ‘young pretenders’ such as .ai and .io, but .com reigns supreme in the world of domain names. NameExperts.com Director Joe Uddeme explains why a .com URL is still the one to aim for in most cases.   Using a .com domain offers several significant advantages that can positively impact your brand’s identity, visibility, and long-term growth. To this day, a .com domain registration transfer is often the best choice for a new domain and purchase in your desired price range. Buying a domain name can be daunting and less secure without the proper knowledge of the transfer process, which is where a top domain brokerage service can help. Price range is a major factor when it comes down to buying your URL – or selling it – and a broker can streamline the whole process. Global Recognition A .com website has the most-recognized Top Level Domain: The .com domain extension is known worldwide and widely respected. When users see a .com domain, they immediately associate it with a legitimate organization. It’s the default extension most people think of when typing a domain name or securing one for ownership and transfer. It’s a key consideration when you want to acquire a premium domain name. Trust Factor Buyers tend to trust websites that have a .com domain over other top-level domains. Most International registrars support the transfer of .com and offer additional features. Since it’s the most established and widely used domain extension, it adds an element of professionalism, security and reliability to your marketing plan. This helps visitors with peace of mind and makes them more likely to engage with your entity and feel more secure. If you’re involved in domain name portfolio management, it’s a good bet you’ll have one or more .com names in your collection. Memorability and Ease of Use A short, catchy .com domain is easier for people to recall. People are conditioned to associate websites with .com, making it more likely that they’ll remember your complete domain name when searching for your business or product suite. This improves free direct visit traffic, where users type your domain into their browsers, leading to higher engagement and conversions on your site to protect your brand and keep you covered. Because .com is the default TLD, potential individuals are more likely to accidentally type yourbusiness.com even if your actual website is on a different extension (e.g., .net or .org). Owning the .com prevents you from losing traffic to other sites and allows your client to complete the navigation. It’s all part and parcel of a great brand name strategy. Customer Expectations .COM: Customers often expect businesses to use .com for both websites and email addresses. If a site uses yourbusiness.com for its website but an alternative domain like .net or .biz for its email, it could create confusion or even raise questions about its legitimacy, even if it is catchy. A professional email address ending in .com adds security and simplicity – and attracts more visitors to the domain to achieve success. Using the same .com domain for both your website and professional email helps create a cohesive brand identity for your new domain and keeps you protected and ready to continue to build your organization. Other TLDs: If your website is hosted on a .com domain but your email uses different domain extensions (e.g., [email protected]), it can lead to confusion and undermine the consistency of your brand. Clients may accidentally send emails to [email protected] because they assume your email matches your website domain. Credibility with Investors and Partners Perception of Success: Having a .com domain is often seen as a sign that a brand is more established, successful, and serious about its online presence. Investors, acquisition partners, and other account stakeholders may view your brand more favorably if it has secured a .com domain, especially if you’re targeting a global audience or providing services or support. Domain as a Digital Asset: A .com domain purchase that you intend to hold onto can also become a valuable long-term equity play. Premium .com domains tend to appreciate over time, adding value to your organization if you decide to sell or expand services to maximize the best price for transfer. Register top keywords that identify with your services or product offerings or answer questions. Purchase a .org for your non-profit or a .net for your network platform. Alternative TLDs such as .net and .org may each hold value to the domain name owner and may be attractive to the buyer as a cheaper alternative, based on the availability of domains. SEO and Search Engine Benefits Higher Click-Through Rates (CTR): A .com domain will ensure greater click-value in search engine results. Since users trust .com websites more, search engines like Google may favor them in search rankings, especially for advanced searches. Even if a domain extension doesn’t directly impact SEO, user behavior (like click-through rates) does, and .com domains tend to perform better in this area. Backlink Value: When other sites link to you, they may be more willing to link to a .com site due to its perceived authority and security. High-quality backlinks are essential for SEO performance, and .com domains tend to naturally attract more of those links. International Appeal Global Acceptance: If your organization operates globally or plans to expand internationally, a .com domain is universally recognized and accepted across borders and everyday life. Country-specific domains (like .co.uk or .de) can limit your reach or cause confusion in markets outside that specific country. They can also cause transfer issues. Consistency in Branding: As your organization grows, maintaining a consistent identity across different regions is essential. A .com domain helps establish a unified web presence, making it easier for customers worldwide to find and recognize your branding and url. Competitive Advantage Competitor Safeguard: Owning the .com version of your entity name prevents competitors from using it. Even if you currently use a different extension for your account, a competitor could purchase the .com and use it to divert traffic, confuse clients, or dilute your message or image and hurt security. Always be sure to check out a .com’s history before buying, though – there could be some nasty surprises if it has been used before. Professionalism: Many well-established businesses, particularly in competitive industries, prefer .com domains. If a competitor has the .com version of a similar name, they may be seen as more professional or legitimate than a business name using a less common extension. Having a .com gives you an edge in appearing professional and trustworthy. Versatility to Ensure Growth Future-Proof: As your network grows, the .com extension is flexible enough to accommodate expansions into new products, services, or geographic markets. Unlike some niche TLDs, which may be associated with specific industries (like .tech or .store), a .com can grow with your entity and remain relevant in any market. Resale Value: Premium .com domains can become valuable assets if your organization is ever sold or merged. The high demand for .com domains, especially short, brandable ones, means they often increase in value over time and make them an easier sale for the seller in a reasonable range. Some names exceed all expectations, however, and command seven-figure price tags or higher.   What other TLDs Are Good Options? Clients ask regularly if there are decent top-level domain alternatives to the .com for transfer. There are many, including .org, .net,.co, .io, .ai, .xyz and .club domains that a degree of power and authority. Top Extensions: These extensions are popular for use in the crypto and web 3 space. There are many organizations that capitalize on the generic value such as the banking industry with the .bank top-level domain. With more than 2,500 new GTLD domain extensions, you can now register and transfer anything from .legal to .car for your business, which is worth knowing if you’re securing a unique domain name for a startup in particular. Here are a list of some top extensions and how they’re often used: .ai: artificial intelligence, machine learning support, reasonable renewal cost .net: internet infrastructure sites, more technical, fairly reasonable renewal cost .co: abbreviation for commerce, corporation and community .org: non-commercial org and non-profits .io: tech sites, business or commercial use support You definitely don’t need to use a website builder for every domain name you purchase. Make sure you forward any additional domain names you register to your primary site and add a secure server to protect your organization. The .com Domain Should Be Your First Choice When we talk about long-term investing and ROI, we think about the stock market, commercial or residential real estate investing, gold bullion and Forex – but domain investing is a legitimate business pursuit, too. Domain names hold value and add instant equity to the branding strategy and ownership in the purchase and sale of domain names. There are hundreds of thousands of prime opportunities to invest in the domain space – and as the last 30 years have shown, the .com is the most credible TLD on the market, both domestically and abroad. This holds true if you are buying your domain for your business or to hold and transfer at a later date. Whether this is your first domain or you own many, the .com creates easy accessibility for consumers and brands alike. Brand Protection: Companies work hard to protect their domain brands, accounts and marketing tactics. They invest millions of dollars and countless resources at building that beach-front real estate and maintaining their Internet presence in the world. As leaders in the domain space, the NameExperts.com team continues to recommend the .com as the superior domain with considerable upside and long-term equity potential. Case Study: Tesla.com domain acquisition Here’s a case study of a .com domain acquisition transfer that highlights the importance and benefits of acquiring a premium .com domain for a business. The study involves Tesla’s acquisition of Tesla.com. Background: For many years after its founding, Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer, operated under the registered domain TeslaMotors.com. Despite its growing success, the entity didn’t own the highly sought-after Tesla.com domain. TeslaMotors.com was functional, but having Tesla.com would better align with the company’s image as it expanded beyond cars to include energy products like solar panels and batteries. The domain Tesla.com was originally owned by a man named Stuart Grossman, who had registered it long before the organization existed. Grossman wasn’t actively using the domain, but he also wasn’t interested in selling it easily, making the acquisition a challenging and lengthy process. The Acquisition Process: Need for Rebranding: As Tesla grew and became a household name, the organization realized that TeslaMotors.com was limiting its branding. The “Motors” in the domain name suggested a narrow focus on cars, whereas Tesla’s long-term vision encompassed energy solutions, solar products, and batteries. The organization needed a simpler, cleaner domain—Tesla.com—that reflected its image as a leader in the broader tech and energy sectors. Complex Negotiation: Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, revealed that acquiring Tesla.com was a difficult process, taking over 10 years of negotiations. The domain owner, Grossman, was reluctant to sell the name for many years, leading Tesla to offer a significant amount to finally secure it. Musk later hinted that they had paid $11 million to acquire the domain, though exact figures weren’t officially disclosed. Hands-on Approach: Tesla’s approach to acquiring the domain involved: Patience: Tesla waited until the domain owner was ready to sell, all while continuing to build their company. Persistence: Tesla remained in contact with the owner over a long period, signaling ongoing interest and ensuring the owner knew they were serious buyers. Strategic Timing: Tesla finally closed the deal when they were ready to reposition their entity from just a car line to a broader energy and technology company. Outcome: In 2016, Tesla successfully acquired and completed the transfer of the Tesla.com domain and immediately rebranded their website and digital assets. This acquisition allowed Tesla to secure its concept and image across all its product lines and simplify its online presence and customer support tools.     About the author Joe Uddeme is Director and Principal of Name Experts, one of the world’s leading domain name brokerage services. He has overseen domain name sales and acquisitions totaling more than $150 million and is renowned worldwide as a go-to expert in buying and selling premium domains. Joe’s specialty is helping clients secure .com domain names that appear unreachable – and at the right price, too. Contact Joe at: [email protected]

Why Work with Name Experts

Name Experts offers personalized domain brokerage services, assisting clients in buying or selling premium domain names with expert appraisal, negotiation, and complete transaction management while ensuring confidentiality.

Free Consultation

Some of our most
successful stealth acquisition and sales

Aid.com

Fit.com

Mine.com

GLD.com

Jeff.com

Fora.com

Nori.com

Secure.com

Guitar.com

F*ck.com

Radian.com

MetaData.com

Prize.com

Link.com

Loop.com

Programs.com

Claim.com

Quince.com

Hook.com

QXO.com

NQ.com

Rest.com

Humani.com

Max.com

Need help buying or selling premium domains?