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.
The negotiation phase of buying a premium domain name is one of the most challenging steps – and things can easily go wrong if you’re new to the game. Seasoned negotiator Joe Uddeme shares his top tips. Picture the scene: the owner of a premium domain you desperately want to buy has said they will sell, and they’re asking you for your starting bid. At what price point do you enter? If you low-ball them, will they write you off as a time-waster? If you go in high, will you be offering far more than they anticipated? This is where experience in negotiation and a deep knowledge of the premium domain market come in. It’s just a small part of the expertise that a seasoned domain broker brings to the table. To the uninitiated, negotiating for a domain name can be a daunting task. Whether you’re a startup founder, a small business owner, or a digital marketing manager, mastering the art of domain name negotiation is essential. This article provides five scripts that can help you navigate these negotiations smoothly and successfully. Before diving into the scripts, we should discuss why domain name negotiation is important, so we’ll look at the impact of a great domain on branding, SEO and visibility first. Key takeaways Why a great domain name leaves a powerful first impression Strategic domains can help with SEO It’s all too easy to overspend! Preparation is key to great negotiation Use market data to justify your offer
Ever been tempted by an available domain name that seems too good to be true? Maybe it’s exactly that – with a hidden history that adversely affects its true value. In this post, domain name expert Joe Uddeme flags up the things to look out for when buying a domain name. Researching domain history is important for businesses and website owners, especially when you wish to buy a premium domain. It’s like wanting to purchase a property and checking the record of its past owners, renovations, and sales history before signing the contract. If you don’t do your due diligence, you might find your dream property was a crime scene six months ago. The same can (kinda) be true of a domain name. You’ve arrived at the right place if you’re interested in digging deep into the history of any domain. This article will give you the relevant knowledge and tools to navigate a domain’s history – and help ensure there are no skeletons in your URL’s closet. Key takeaways Domain history is important – ignore it at your peril A hidden past can help you negotiate a lower price (if you still want it) Discover all the top tips and tools that will help you unearth a domain name’s past Why Would Someone Want To Know A Domain’s History Domain name history is important in several cases, mainly when someone wants to acquire a domain. For example, you come across a domain you want to buy but don’t know the owner. Investigating the domain registration history can help you find the owner so you can begin inquiring about purchasing the domain. These are typical cases that warrant a domain history lookup: Finding A Domain Name’s Owner You might find a domain that looks valuable for your business, but the existing website has no official information to contact the owner. In that case, researching the domain name history can help you find the owner’s email address, phone number, physical address, or other contact information. Conducting Research Before Buying A Domain Due diligence is critical if you’re buying any domain. Checking the domain name ownership history lets you know its reputation with search engines, which can affect your website’s discoverability and brand appeal. This due diligence lets you know if the domain was previously used for any malicious activity, and you can immediately back out if so. Or, if it has certain questionable connotations you can live with and you feel your name/brand is strong enough to survive the domain’s hidden past, you can use its history to negotiate a lower price. Competitive Research Checking a competitor’s domain name history can reveal valuable information. Who registered the domain? How long has the website existed? How much was the domain acquired for? Has the domain ever been sold? These questions give great insight into your competitors, letting you know how to stand out and win customers. Checking A Domain’s History The WHOIS database is the first place to check a domain name’s history. This public database contains the information collected when someone registers a domain name. You can use it to find relevant information about a domain name’s owner and operational history. WHOIS Lookup You can query information from the WHOIS database using any WHOIS lookup tool. This database is publicly available, so many websites allow users to type in a domain name and see every information related to that domain in the WHOIS database. Examples of such tools include WHOIS.com, Who.IS, and WHOIS.DomainTools.com. Type a domain into any of these tools, and you’ll see relevant information about it, including: When the domain was first purchased A WHOIS lookup always shows a domain’s initial registration date. This information gives you a clue of how long the website has existed. To illustrate, let’s perform a WHOIS lookup for NameExperts.com. We typed this domain into the Who.IS lookup tool and got the following information:
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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