Whether you’re the CEO of a new startup or you’re building the online presence for an established company, your branding must be on point. Domain names are one of the keys to effective online branding, but it can be difficult to find the right one. Even once you choose an ideal domain name that’s catchy, memorable, and perfect for your business, you might find that someone else already owns it.

However, this isn’t cause for despair; there’s a good chance you can still buy the premium domain name you had in mind. But first, it’s important to establish what a premium domain name is and what separates it from a standard domain name.

Buy A Premium Domain Name: The Basics

​On its face, domain names seem  to be  fairly simple. However, the world of web domains can be quite complex. For instance, you can never actually buy a domain name. Instead, you lease the rights to use a domain name, becoming a registrant. The organization you lease from is a registrar, a private company that seeks profit from leasing domain names and providing related services for certain top-level domains (TLDs).

A top-level domain is the second half of a domain name, the suffix such as .com and .net. The first half, the unique name that varies from one website to the next, is the second-level domain (SLD) name. In total, there are hundreds of millions of registered domain names with all sorts of TLD and SLD combinations. There’s a good chance you can buy a premium domain name you had in mind.

While on the surface it may appear that there are no differences from one TLD or SLD to the next, there are a host of benefits associated with some extensions in terms of marketing and exposure. For instance, .com is the gold standard TLD. Extensions .co and .org are also commonly used. However using a cheap, second-rate TLD such as .biz can compromise the perceived trustworthiness of your website and cause confusion among web users.

Difference Between Standard & Premium Domain Name

The overwhelming majority of domain names aren’t worth anything more than their leasing fee. Any significant shortcoming can sink the value of a domain name, such as a disreputable TLD or a misspelled SLD. On the other hand,  premium domain names are virtually flawless. A premium domain will have an excellent TLD and a memorable, brandable SLD.

Evaluating the quality of the second-level domain is trickier and partly subjective, but it largely revolves around the concept of brandability. A name is brandable when it’s easy to remember and has a wide variety of possible uses. For starters, consisting of one or two correctly-spelled words is a big boost to brand-ability. What’s even better is when these names have a high level of generic value that makes them usable for an entire industry, such as cars.com and insurance.com (or VPN.com).

Additionally, two and three-letter strings are especially memorable and can be highly valuable. There’s a good chance you can buy a premium domain name you had in mind.

When you combine a brandable, memorable SLD with a first-rate TLD, you have a premium domain that can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. In today’s digital marketplace, it’s not uncommon for premium domains to sell for millions of dollars. Buy a premium domain name now to make your brand grow!

Why Should I Buy A Premium Domain Name?

Examining what makes a domain “premium” sheds light on the many advantages of investing in one. The marketability, visibility, and reputation of your website will all increase if you invest in a high-quality domain name, which is defined by all of the aforementioned elements. There are benefits to obtaining a premium domain name beyond only those enjoyed by the site’s eventual visitors.

Domain name flipping is a popular business model in which investors purchase and then resell domain names. With the stock market meltdown of 2020, premium domain names are a great way to diversify your portfolio. How to Invest in a High-Quality Domain Name for Your Company. Take the time to read the entire piece.

Do I Benefit From Using A Premium Domain?

​As a business owner, the leader of a startup, eCommerce company, or other domain name end-user, the benefits of using a premium domain are self-evident. If you settle for a poorer-quality domain name, studies indicate that you’re sure to miss out on a great deal of traffic in the long-term as people misremember your website. There’s a good chance you can buy a premium domain name you had in mind.

Of course, it’s necessary to point out that this isn’t an ironclad rule of web hosting. There are some notable exceptions, such as tech startups causing the .io TLD to take off in recent years. Additionally, there are all sorts of novelty domain names that try to creatively incorporate an obscure TLD to make their website even more memorable; something along the lines of ceramics.art. Buy a premium domain name now to make your brand grow!

Whereas using something like “D0ma1nn4mes.dn” is an abject mistake, intentionally using an alternative domain name is more of a creative risk that may or may not pay off. If you’re considering using such a creative, alternative naming scheme, keep in mind that there are few success stories that utilize it.

Why Invest In Premium Domain Names?

If you want to invest in new assets, then premium domain names are an excellent choice. While they don’t generate any sort of dividends, they  have extremely low maintenance costs. Compared to other alternative investments such as art or collectibles, they’re easier to care for and there’s effectively no risk of your investment being damaged and losing its value. There’s a good chance you can buy a premium domain name you had in mind.

As long as you make good choices of domain names to invest in, there are few drawbacks to domain name investing and you have excellent chances of profiting. Additionally, the value of domain names is fairly subjective and the process of selling revolves heavily around negotiations. If you view yourself as a strong negotiator, then premium domain names are a great area to put your skills to use. Buy a premium domain name now to make your brand grow!

Should I Buy The .net Of A Premium Domain?

Many people get the idea of buying a .net, .biz or other altered TLD on their ideal domain. Whether you are an investor or a user there are better suited options. Using a low value extension can  reflect poorly on your domain, website and business. There is a good chance you can buy a premium domain name for your brand. You are better off either paying for the .com of the domain or looking for a different premium domain altogether.

Should I Buy An Altered Version Of A Premium Domain Name?

Many new entrants to the market find that purchasing a premium domain name is a wise investment because of the importance of domain names to their success. In some cases purchasing a slightly modified version of such a domain might be beneficial as well both financially and logistically.

To make the most of this one-of-a-kind opportunity prospective purchasers should investigate the range of possible adjustments and think about how those adjustments can influence their preferred sphere of interest. Doing these steps can increase the likelihood of a fruitful internet presence being established.

How To Buy Premium Domain Names: The Options

Premium Domain Names are some of the most sought after web addresses due to their ability to increase website visibility and create a more professional look.

There are several options available for anyone wanting to purchase Premium Domain Names, such as public auctions where buyers compete with each other for the right to own the domain; Premium Domain Name services that search a network of registrars and brokers to find good domain names; and private sales negotiated directly between sellers and buyers.

No matter what option you choose, it’s important to understand the cost (including factors like payment plan options) so that you can make an informed decision when looking to buy a premium domain names.

Lease From A Domain Registrar

GoDaddy, Bluehost, and the rest of the registrar landscape make it easy to lease the domain name you want; all you have to do is visit their respective websites and make your selection. Once you’ve decided on a domain name, you’ll be taken to a new screen where you may choose from several optional extras. Certain ones are far more valuable than others, such as security certificates and personalization settings. But maybe you can’t; what if someone else already owns it? The next step is to locate the owner. It’s possible to acquire the premium domain name you’ve been dreaming about.

Find The Owner And Buy

When someone already owns the domain that you have your eyes on, there are three fundamental possibilities. One possibility is that they intend to sell it and have made it easy and clear to see this. Sometimes, they’ll even use the domain names they own but don’t use to redirect to the websites where they sell the domains they’ve purchased.

If they don’t have such a helpful clue, that’s still not a sign you should give up. You can use the Whois registry to find contact information on domain name owners and contact them via email, or look for other leads on who the owner is. If you can’t find them yourself, then hiring a premium domain brokerage to look for your domain name’s owner might be the next step. If the domain appears to have fallen off the face of the earth, though; then it’s time to start looking elsewhere. There’s a good chance you can buy a premium domain name for your brand.

Worst-Case Scenario

The worst-case scenario is being unable to find the owner of your ideal domain name. However, the second-worst case scenario is putting the domain name onto the internet and finding that it’s already in use. The more content on the website, the more effort put into it, and other signs of work on part of the owner signal you’ll have a hard time buying it. Not only will you have to meet its market price, but you’ll also have to consider the amount of time and emotion the prior owner has put into it. While they can switch domains, they will suffer tangible losses in SEO and domain traffic.

It takes a lot to buy a premium domain name that’s actively in use. You might be able to do so, but the price might also prove too high for you in the end. Furthermore, many people simply cannot be bought out when their time and sentimental value are on the line. If they use the domain for an active business, then purchasing it will prove even more difficult. In any case, be prepared to look elsewhere for a different domain name that meets your purposes.

Wait For Expiration

Any interested party may check the expiration date of a domain name at most registrars. You may typically configure a website such that it automatically acquires the leasing rights to desirable domain names if the existing owner loses them to a competitor.

But if the present owner loses interest in the domain name you may be able to snag it. Conversely they may have lost interest in or forgotten about the domain. You get all the perks of having a brand-new domain in your portfolio but with a far less investment. Of course not all domain registrars will resell a domain for pennies on the dollar.

Head To Auctions

Auctions are suitable for subjectively-valued goods, such as domain names. Since the value of a domain name is a rough estimate until you see what people are willing to pay for it, the auction pricing model is often ideal for buyers and sellers. If you’ve ever participated in an auction before, you know how it goes: people place successive, increasing bids until one buyer places a bid higher than the others are willing to challenge. There’s a good chance you can buy a premium domain name in an auction. 

There are many types of domain name auctions; some take place online, but it’s not unheard of for live, physical auctions to sell domain names. Either way, domain auctions are always a promising opportunity to buy a premium domain name below its market price with a little bit of luck.

VPN.com Premium Domain Brokers

When you need help buying the perfect domain name, look no further. The team here at VPN.com consists of some of the foremost experts in the industry. We have cumulative decades of experience and many successful transactions to our credit, including the premium domain that we proudly host our website on. Our industry connections give us access to thousands of premium domain names on the aftermarket, and we’re certain to find great domain names for your business or your investment portfolio. Get in touch to learn more about how our premium domain brokerage services can help you.