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
Congratulations! You bought a domain name. But now what? In this post, domain name expert Joe Uddeme explains what to do next to keep your domain name protected – and extract its full value.
“I have a domain name. Now what?” – this is a very common question people ask.
The fact is, a domain name is pointless if you don’t do anything with it! After buying a domain, many things will run through your mind, and choosing how to use it productively can be confusing. However, don’t fret. This article will guide you on what to do after purchasing a domain name.
Do it right, and you can leverage your domain name and build it into an attractive asset. Do it wrong, and you’ll waste 20 bucks on the temporary ownership of something you can’t even touch.
Key takeaways:
Before we proceed, let’s run through how to buy a domain in the first place.
Buying a domain has become more simple than ever. In 2025, it’s just a few clicks and a swift online transaction. The first step is to choose a domain name you like that is relevant to your business. Afterwards, you can check if it’s available to buy immediately.
Find a domain registrar accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization overseeing all domain names on the Internet. If the domain name is available, you can purchase it immediately from an accredited registrar. The price depends on how high the demand for the domain name is.
If the domain name has already been claimed, you need a different approach. You can check domain marketplaces to see if the owner has possibly listed the domain for sale (see our list of the best domain marketplaces). Otherwise, you can possibly contact the owner to negotiate a deal.
If this is out of your comfort zone and you have a high-value premium domain name in your sights, check out an experienced domain name broker with a great track record.
For more details on securing a domain name, check our in-depth article about how to buy a domain name.
You have acquired a domain name and have taken the first step in building your web presence. There are many other things to do after buying the domain, and we’ll outline them below.
After buying a domain name, the first thing to consider is hosting a website with it. You’ll need a web hosting package from a reliable company. The company will host your website on its servers for a fee, and your website will be accessible once someone types your domain name into their web browser.
Web hosting has become a walk in the park, at least in terms of getting started. You can get reliable web hosting for a few dollars monthly, and the price keeps going down as computing capacity increases around the globe.
Sometimes, a domain registrar also offers web hosting services, meaning you can buy a domain name and a hosting package from the same platform. Otherwise, you can buy them separately and point your domain name to your hosting company’s servers.
Connecting your domain to your hosting provider is relatively easy. You can do it via two methods:
Either method involves changing the domain name system (DNS) configurations from your domain registrar. Your registrar allows you to directly change the nameservers from its default to the one provided by your hosting company. You can also point your domain to the hosting company’s nameservers by adding a DNS A record. It’s the same action but with two different approaches.
Instead of using a common email address ending with “Gmail.com,” “Yahoo.com,” or “AOL.com,” you can use one ending with your custom domain name. It makes you look more professional and shows people you’re serious about your business.
Many domain registrars also offer email hosting, so you can pay for it and create custom emails directly. Otherwise, you can choose an external email provider and change your domain’s DNS MX records to point to its mail servers.
The best way to put a domain to work is to create a website with it. It can be any type of website, such as a blog or online store. Creating a website is usually complex, but there are ready-made tools that make the process as easy as it can get. You can use a designated website builder like WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, etc.
WordPress is the most common tool for building websites because of its versatility. You can use it to create virtually any type of website you want. Follow these steps:
If WordPress is unsuitable for you, you’re free to choose any other website builder to create your site. Some people prefer ‘drag-and-drop’ visual editors, like Wix, for example.
If your domain name is part of a new business or startup, it’s advisable to register the business with the relevant government agency and file a trademark for your domain name. Formal registration makes your business look more legitimate to customers and fellow businesses.
You can register your business under various legal structures, including a sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited liability protection (LLC). An LLC means the business has a separate legal identity, and the shareholders (including you) won’t be personally responsible for corporate debts and judgments, i.e., limited liability.
You can file for a trademark with your relevant government agency, e.g., the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for U.S. residents. A trademark gives you legal protection against another business using your name. Domain consulting services may be able to help you here.
It’s not enough to just create a website. You must promote your website to ensure your relevant target audience finds and interacts with it. The best ways to promote your website include:
You want your website to be indexed by popular search engines like Google, and by submitting your website through a tool called Google Search Console you can get it indexed effectively.
Find a way for other websites to link back to your website. These ‘backlinks’ improve your site’s reputation with search engines, and they’ll suggest your website more when people search for relevant queries.
You can write informative content that other websites will gladly link back to. You can also exchange backlinks with relevant websites to boost your rankings. Note – this is a long-game strategy that can take months or years to pay off!
Promote your website on popular social media platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter), Reddit, Quora, and others. It’ll help you spread the word about your brand and get customers.
Google is the world’s most popular search engine, with an 83% market share. It’s practically the gateway to the web, and you’ll be doing your website a disservice if Google does not index it.
Google Search Console (GSC) is a platform that allows website owners to check their indexing status, detect errors, and optimize their visibility on the Google search engine. Anyone can create a GSC account and add their website to it.
You must verify ownership of any domain you want to add to GSC, and it works in different ways, including
After verifying ownership, generate an XML sitemap of your website and submit it to Google Search Console. This sitemap defines the relationship between all your website’s menus and pages, helping Google index it effectively.
A Google Search Console account allows you to monitor which website pages have been indexed by Google and which have not. You can detect and fix indexing issues to improve your visibility and search engine rankings. Google also provides a tool to evaluate and enhance your website’s speed and performance, which plays a significant role in its search engine rankings.
After putting a lot of effort into building and maintaining a website on your domain name, it’s understandable to want to sell the domain and enjoy the fruits of your labor. The good news is that domain names become more valuable when you use them to create websites and follow the other steps mentioned in this article; here are some tips on buying and selling domain names for profit.
The easiest way to sell a domain is to list it on a marketplace to see if you’ll find willing buyers. However, the best option is to hire a domain name broker like Name Experts to help you. Domain brokers are experienced in judging the value of a domain and negotiating the best deal for you. On your own, you may significantly undervalue your domain and sell it for less than it’s worth or overvalue it and find no buyers.
A domain broker helps you strike the right balance and sell your domain for an optimal price.
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]
From Amazon to Coca-Cola, strong brand names have helped propel businesses to stratospheric heights for centuries. Here’s how to find one that will take yours to the next level and ensure you have a domain name that supports it.
If you have big plans for your business, you’ll be in the market for a domain name to match. Cheap, everyday domains are unlikely to work for you, which is why you’ll need to get your head around the world of premium domain names, as NameExperts.com Principal Joe Uddeme explains. Domain names are the ultimate authority on the web. They can make or break any business with an online presence. It’s necessary to pick a suitable domain name if you want customers to discover your website with little stress. Most individuals and businesses understand this rule, and that’s why there’s significant demand for the class of domain names known as premium domains. There are various considerations to what constitutes a premium domain, but the most important thing to know is that they’re often short, catchy, and memorable. Premium domain names give you greater recognition on the web. If you’re serious about your business, you’ll want to buy one of these pieces of prime digital real estate for your website. Key Takeaways What makes a premium domain name Valuations of a premium domain name Long-term financial growth possibilities How to buy a premium domain name
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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