According to the popular saying, “first come, first served”. The simplicity of the unavailable domain name registration process has led to a shortage of short, attention-grabbing URLs. This is what most website administrators are experiencing, despite the introduction of the new extensions. One of the explanations for this is the explosive growth of data on the web in recent years. On the one hand, more and more companies are banking on the web and embarking on the digital adventure, and on the other hand, attractive domain names are registered very quickly. Nevertheless, plenty of domainers on the web have seized the opportunity to register TLDs to resell them at higher prices. Is the domain name you want unavailable? If so, you have the opportunity to inquire with its owner and submit an offer to buy it.
Six steps to acquire an unavailable domain name
You have a promising Web project concept. No luck, the domain name that best suits your needs is not available. In this case, there are few solutions available to you other than the possibility of buying it back from its owner. This buyback process takes place in six steps.
1. Find the owner
To buy a domain name, you need to find its current owner. There are two possibilities. Firstly, if the address you want refers to a website, you can contact its administrator via legal notice. Secondly, if the domain name is held by a domainer, it will be easy to buy it by making an offer. These URLs usually lead to improvised landing pages, which tell Internet users that the domain is for sale or redirect them to a domain name parking lot. The alternative is to consult the Whois database (a contraction of the English word who is?) of the domain name registry in charge of the address. Each registrar is obliged to create a central file in which the names of all URL owners (Holder) and their contacts (Admin-C) are registered? These databases are public and free to access.
2. Calculate a budget
Taking over a domain name generally involves a certain financial investment. Before contacting the owner, it is advisable to draw up a budget and estimate the value of the desired domain. Try to find out what the business model of the owner of the URL is and see if it is profitable. It can be assumed that online stores with high traffic are more expensive than websites whose only source of income is advertising. Estimate the market potential as well as the usefulness of a web address and look for information about its positioning in search engines. Are the keywords relevant? Is there a backlink profile? And what is the quality of the inbound links? SEO tools such as Sistrix, Wooranks or even Yakaferci can help you estimate the importance of a domain name for search engines. Use this information to come up with a buyout price, being careful to limit this price.
3. Show your desire to acquire
Have you decided to acquire a domain name? First of all, make sure that you make the right impression on the person you are contacting. Your email may be ignored or even end up in the spam folder given the number of emails they receive every day. If you don’t get a response, consider making contact by phone. They may be more receptive to it. Show your interest and start the negotiation by asking for their price first.
4. Start the negotiation
Negotiating a price is not easy. This applies to all industries, including the domain name business. Keep some leeway by setting your first offer slightly below your limit, and don’t lose sight of the true value of the domain name you want. Indeed, if your offer is too low, your interlocutor may feel wronged. Ensure that the price covers the costs of transferring ownership and the costs of running the domain. There is no limit to the price of a domain name that is already occupied: a good combination of a domain name and a Top-Level-Domain can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions of dollars.
5. Proceed to the purchase of the domain name
Once you have reached an agreement with your contact person, it is time to set the terms in writing. Such a contract must include the identities of both parties, the full name of the domain, and the amount that has been agreed upon. In addition, the means and deadline for payment should be specified and all the terms and conditions of the transfer. In general, as soon as the new owner is registered in the Whois list, the transfer is considered complete. The alternative is to use an escrow service to facilitate the transaction for all parties safety.
