written by
Joe Uddeme
How to Buy a Domain Name
How to Buy a Domain Name Owned by Someone Else
Negotiating a Domain Price
What is a Premium Domain Name & Why You Should Buy One
How to Choose a Domain Name
How to Value a Domain Name
Domain Names for Startups
How to Buy a .com Domain Name
Things to Watch Out for When Buying a Domain
Domain Name Investing
Buy & Selling Domains
Best Domains to Buy
Domain leasing is a viable solution for owners who don’t have a use for their name – and also for would-be buyers who can use it but can’t afford it. NameExperts.com Principal Joe Uddeme explores how it works.
Life sometimes doesn’t give you the hand you were hoping for. You were planning to snap up cars.com for your used automobile business, only to find it was first registered decades ago and went on to sell for hundreds of millions of dollars. Or, more probably, you have a family business with a strong brand name, but someone else owns the perfect URL. Not having access to it is getting in the way of business growth.
Domain names are an asset class that people speculate on. Some even have domain consultants advising them on their portfolio decisions. As a result, millions of domain names are simply ‘parked up’.
While that might be bad news if you want to secure a specific .com domain name that either isn’t for sale or has a price tag that’s beyond your budget, it doesn’t mean all is lost. Welcome to the world of domain leasing.
Key Takeaways
Domain name leasing refers to renting a domain name for an extended period, usually a year or more. An individual or business pays to rent a domain name owned by another individual or corporation. This arrangement allows the lessee to use a domain name for a long time without paying a substantial sum outright.
Domain leasing is usually done for valuable domain names that are too expensive for the lessee to acquire completely.
Renting and leasing are the same thing, except for the latter being for longer periods. Domain leasing agreements usually cover at least one year compared to typical renting, which covers a few months.
You can lease your domain through the following ways:
Monetizing a domain is better than having it sit idle. If you have a valuable premium domain you’re not using, leasing it out can earn you passive income. You can always reclaim your domain once the lease expires.
Many investors specialize in acquiring domain names for profit. Investors with a portfolio of valuable domain names can lease them for a long time and get stable income.
Renting out a domain for periodical payments generates consistent income for the owner. The owner is sure of getting a specific return on the capital they spent acquiring the domain as long as the lease lasts.
Active domains are more valuable than inactive ones because of online traffic. The higher the traffic to a domain, the more valuable it is. Leasing out a domain increases its value in the long term, which the owner can realize by selling it later.
Receiving periodic lease payments can generate more revenue in the long term compared to selling your domain for a lump sum. It’s why many owners lease domain names out despite getting lucrative purchase offers.
Valuable domain names can run into tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is risky to spend upfront. Leasing allows you to build a business with the domain and make periodic payments from the revenue you generate, which is cost-effective.
If the website for whcih you use the leased domain fails, you can terminate the lease and return the domain to the owner. If you owned the domain outright, that means having another asset you must keep renewing or find a potential buyer for.
Some lease terms include an option to acquire the domain outright later. This way, you can start the website to see if it succeeds. If it does, you can acquire full domain ownership and gain more control over your website’s fate.
Domain leasing lets you use very valuable domain names for lower costs. These valuable domain names can draw more organic traffic to your website.
Leasing a domain name means avoiding any legal liabilities concerning the domain’s ownership. Any legal dispute is the concern of the owner and not the lessee.
Not having full ownership of your domain is a risk. The owner can terminate the lease anytime and pay any agreed monetary penalties for early termination. It could be at a crucial time when your website is booming, and losing the domain would affect it negatively.
You have less control over your website than the domain owner. Let’s say your website grows big and becomes valuable; its fate lies more in the hands of the domain owner than yours. They could use that leverage to extract concessions from you.
Drawing traffic to your website increases the value of its domain name. Yet, the owner will capture that value instead of you working hard to maintain the website.
Many domain name marketplaces allow owners to list and lease their domain names. This method is beneficial because owners can easily find customers to lease domain names to. The domain leasing services generate a lot of traffic, giving you higher chances of finding an interested lessee.
You can approach a domain broker to lease your domain for you. Domain brokers are experts in negotiating domain deals and can fetch you the best possible price. They’ll collect a fee for their service, either a flat rate or a percentage of the lease value.
You can spread the word to your social and business circles about a domain name you want to lease out. You may find a trusted lessee this way and negotiate a good deal to earn a stable income.
You can join webmaster forums and post about the domain name you want to lease. You may find a buyer this way, but ensure you use a transaction escrow service because you’re dealing with a stranger.
While leasing a domain might be a good option for some businesses, buying your domain outright continues to be the safest and most secure option for guaranteed success.
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. He also advises on leasing strategy and portfolio management. Contact us at: [email protected]
Securing the perfect domain is crucial for setting your business apart—and that’s where domain name brokers come in. In this expert review, domain industry specialist Joe Uddeme highlights 10 of the best domain name brokerage services and explains their pros and cons.
Looking to buy domain names in 2025? Here’s Name Experts Director Joe Uddeme with a roundup of emerging trends and things to look for when adding a name or two to your portfolio. Buying the right domain is crucial for a successful business, which is why our professional team at NameExperts.com makes sure to stay on top of emerging trends. What was right for your business a decade ago – probably your brand name + .com – might still be relevant today, but there are newer alternatives and domain name combinations that consumers are comfortable with, too. Purchasing premium domain names is a great idea for any emerging business that wants to scale their brand. Top companies around the world are teaming up with domain brokers to help them buy premium domain names at the best prices – and with their anonymity preserved if necessary, too. Save money, add credibility, and give your company equity value when you work with experts like us. Key Takeaways GDPR has changed the rulebook There are now more TLDs (.com, .ai, .io, etc.) than ever – but not all are popular Catchy ‘meaningless’ names can become very valuable Trend #1: Easier Identity Protection Have you heard of GDPR? When it comes to identity and privacy online, it can be very difficult to identify actual ownership of domains – which is why we recommend working with a top domain broker who has the skills to properly identify owners and help you navigate the domain world. The General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is a new and strict set of rules and regulations that mandate how businesses that gather customer data and also how they must protect that data. It also outlines severe penalties for companies that violate the GDPR. This can make it that much more challenging to identify who owns what. No matter the size of your company, if you’re doing business in Europe, you should be thinking about how you’re protecting your employees’ and clients’ information online. Trend #2: Reduction In GTLD Registrations TLDs are the letters found at the end of an internet address, such as .com, .net or .org. Any TLD that isn’t representing a country or territory is known as a generic top-level domain. The New gTLD Program was an initiative coordinated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which has increased the domain name system. With the introduction of new top-level domains, it was meant to enhance competition and consumer choice when it comes to domain names. It also brought many new safeguards to help support a secure, stable and resilient internet. Though there is a rise in new generic top-level domains or gTLD registrations, the trend is that many registrations are not being renewed – meaning there is limited value in this type of asset. There are so many different domain identifiers, like .law, .brand, .legal that it is easy to get carried away. We believe these new registrations will continue to decline and buyers will focus much more on sensible and dependable options such as .com, .co, .net, and .org. However, there are several newer options that can be worth investigating. These include .ai domain names and also .io, which are beloved of tech brands. Trend #3: Interesting Combinations and Lateral Thinking Verbs and action phrases at the start of a domain name are in vogue. Things like ‘get’ or ‘try’ – resulting in www.getselfhelp.co.uk, for example. Thinking laterally also leads to the likes of Zyro and Figma, which have become highly-prized brands based around words that didn’t exist. We regularly help clients to align themselves with strong and/or catchy names that appear to be unavailable. It’s one of the many reasons that people turn to a domain broker. As well as helping you to choose a strong brand name that has long-term value, we bring expert negotiation skills to the table. We also take care of every element of the transaction – from soup to nuts. Our team offers a full-service domain name brokerage experience for each one of our clients. It’s our mission to protect our clients’ anonymity and deliver great results. From domain name acquisition to the divestment process, we have the knowledge you need to help you grow your business and protect your assets. 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]
Whether you want to buy names to sell straight away or hold them in your portfolio, there’s a lot to learn if you want to be a big-hitter in the domain buying and selling world. Domain name expert Joe Uddeme shares his top tips for domain buying success. Both buying and selling domains can be an exciting adventure – and it can even be a profitable endeavor. If you’re trying to get into the domain-buying game, or are simply looking for someone to buy a domain you want to sell, you need a little more information about how it all works. The actual odds of you cashing in big amounts of money from your domain aren’t high (unless you’re sitting on a desirable two- or three-letter domain name that isn’t currently in use). But if you have no idea what you’re doing, you might also be wasting time and money. If you want to make it big, you need a tried and true process to help guide you. This post covers our top tips to help you find a domain buyer or to be a domain buyer – and insert yourself into the domain buying and selling game the right way. Key Takeaways The importance of research when buying and selling domains Understand your audience Promote your domains to attract the right buyer How a domain broker can help Domain Buyer Tips Though the internet isn’t very old in real terms, there are already millions of domains already registered. And yet there’s still an endless amount of combinations available to register. That’s not even including the hundreds of new domain name extensions available (think .net, .club, .ai and so on). Do A Little Research – Get Focused The first thing we recommend is to do a little research before you get started. If you’re looking to buy a domain, start with what you already know. What are you already an expert in? Buying the right domain is much easier when you have a knowledge of the industry so that you choose something that will 1) actually sell, or 2) be a great domain for your business. If you know fishing, for example, you’ll know just the things your fellow marlin hunters will be searching for. Is there a domain name available that fits? Start your domain name search based on keywords related to the things you’re familiar with. If you KNOW it’s going to be valuable, it will be much easier to sell. Check the strength of a keyword with tools like Google Trends or Keyword Planner or similar SEO tools. We highly recommend working with a domain broker who knows the marketplace. They’ll be able to give helpful suggestions and help you avoid costly mistakes. We do NOT recommend targeting a prospective domain buyer based on their potential economic status. Targeting a certain demographic that you don’t know anything about could be an expensive error. You might also be missing specific rules associated with the industry you’re going after. The bottom line is, you won’t make any money if your buyers can’t use the domain you bought. Know Your Audience If you understand your audience, you’ll be able to really generate sales of domains you buy. If you’ve got a great domain, you can hold onto it for years and probably make a decent profit. Maybe you’ve already monetized the domain with an active website and put in some great SEO efforts – things that can help make your domain worth a lot more to a potential domain buyer. These types of well researched domains can end up paying for themselves. Talk to a domain broker. The industry’s big-hitters will have the knowledge you’re looking for and be able to steer you in the right direction for domains that will actually benefit the buyer. Domain Seller Tips Evaluate Your Domain It is so important that you actually have access to domains that would be a valuable asset to domain buyers. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Would the domain name you’re selling actually be beneficial to a business or organization? Similarly, if you’re the one buying, have a domain broker assess the value of the potential domain. Would having this domain make it easier for clients to find you? Will having that particular domain make it easier to rank higher on search engines? Would your profits increase based off of this particular domain name? Don’t buy anything without knowing its true value. Get Your Domains Out There There are many different avenues for getting your domains out to potential domain buyers. Again, we suggest doing a little research. If you’re using a respected source, you’ll have a much better chance of getting your domains sold. The best suggestion we have is to work with a sell-side domain name broker who knows the market. You can also use a distribution network to make sure you’re getting the right domain in front of the right buyer. Maybe you already know who might benefit from the domain name? Start a conversation and convey that you already understand what the domain is capable of achieving. However, if you don’t already have a place to show off your domain, partnering with a domain buying and selling brokerage business will take the pain out of everything and increase your chances of a profitable sale. Choosing the right broker If you’ve purchased one or more premium domain names and want to sell them, why leave anything to chance? Working with a broker who spends every day in the market is the way to go. Not only do they buy and sell millions of dollars worth of domains every year, they also have a network already established. They might have a long list of buyers and sellers lined up before you even set up a meeting. Domain brokers are able to accurately assess the value of potential domains, and also help negotiate on your behalf. They also know all the paperwork and legal processes that come with buying and selling domains, which means that you don’t have to worry about any of it. Look for one with a strong track record, ideally one that can demonstrate experience in high-level transactions. Global experience can be helpful, too, especially if you want to secure the international TLDs for a specific name. 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]
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.
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