How to buy a Domain Name:

I own north of 2,000 domain names. Some good, some not so good. Being a serial entrepreneur, I buy domains for businesses I might be interested in in the future. Dozens of times people have approached me with ideas for domains for their new or concept business idea. More so today than ever, your domain name is the starting point of your branding. Below are my thoughts...

1. Start with your idea: You want one or two words that can be tied to your business without mental stress. Even though climber.com is not a climbing website, within a split second people see how it is tied to a person's career. They may also think it's clever. You only have to ways to go with this; Be creative or be clever.
   
2. Spend the Dollars on the Domain: Domains are an asset, like real estate. They appreciate in value. So if your business fails you may still be able to get money out of the domain. Don't be afraid to spend thousands of dollars for a great domain.
3. Where to look first: Directly navigate to your list of url's. If there is a search/link farm or dead page there go to netsol.com whois and type in the url. This will give you the email address/phone number of the domain owner. Call and write them asking if it is for sale. This is the best way to buy. A lot of times you wont have to pay retail.
   
4. Where to look second: buydomains.com, greatdomains.com, tdnam.com, afternic.com. Negotiate with these people! You may pay 1/4 of what they are asking.
   
5. Don't get caught in the .net: Unless you are a marketing genius only buy .com!
   
6. Avoid the dashes------- need-I-say-more.com
7. Avoid the number confusion: cars4sale.com, carsfoursale.com, carsforsale.com
8. Multiple is ok: Buy a few and point them to the same address.

Ok: So there it is a play by play on getting the right domain name. Spend some time on step three it will pay off big in the long run!

Cheers,
Mike