Online Marketing

In SEO Checklist, I wrote about how using expired domains could up the traffic of your blog or web site. I had discussed about it in SEO terms but in truth, expired domains are perfect for online marketing. If you’re looking for that initial burst of traffic to your new web site, then an expired domain could help you out. It might not be, however, viable if the expired domain is already widely known and you’re planning to build a brand around it. Not that an owner of a popular domain would let it expired just like that.

Anyhow, since now we know that expired domains could be beneficial to internet web site marketing, how does one go about getting an expiring domain name exactly? First, it’s not as easy as backordering the domain name in GoDaddy or anything similar, most especially when the domain you’re aiming for has marketable qualities.

The process of domain expiration takes 75 days in all. The first 40 days of the expiration would be the initial phase. The current owner could not use the domain anymore but re-registration does not incur extra costs. After 40 days, the owner is given a chance to redeem the domain for a price. The last five days of the expiration phase would lock the domain name, after which it will be available for grabs. The period wherein which domain names are first available for grabs is called “The Drop.”

When the domain name is in The Drop, you can then enlist the help of any of the three domain-grabbing bodies: Enom.com, Pool.com and Snapnames.com. Each of the three has its own rules — it’s up to you which one you prefer. For best results, it might be best to enlist the help of all three. To help you on your decision, read Mike Davidson’s personal experience in snatching newsvine.com.

Filed under: web site marketing