Domain Name Tools And Services
Domain names were originally registered for a stipulated period of 1 to 2 years. Many registrars now offer the option of registering a domain name for a period of 1 to 10 years, some with automatic renewal and some without. While it is still possible to watch for availability and then manually register lucrative domain names the moment they become available, the success rate will be relatively low today – as the number of people interested in grabbing the domains has gone up, technology has followed, and the professional resellers are running highly automated programs now. The competition surrounding the most sought-after name can be intense and manual methods alone are unlikely to succeed. The good news is that the automated methods are not very complicated nor are they terribly expensive.
One of the biggest and well known resources is snapnames.com. The website charges a fee of $69 per name. The entire process is automated. Once you specify an expiring domain name for purchase, the website, using its tool ‘Snapback’ attempts to purchase it on your behalf the very second it is made available for re-registration. The website has several tie-ups with other registrars which makes them successful at this repurchase program.
Using Snapback, the chances of getting an expired domain are very good. Remember though any tool only increases the chances of domain acquisition and does not guarantee you’ll get it. ‘Snapbacks’ can be placed for a period of one year. The tool assists for grabbing one domain name every time it is used. This means if you wish to purchase multiple domains you will need an equal number of ‘Snapbacks’ – one each, with the fees to match. This can add up, so think through which names you really want.
We mentioned namewinner.com for free research earlier. You can also set up “grabbing” tools here. The functionality is similar to snapnames.com, however the key difference is that you do not get charged if the domain acquisition proves to be unsuccessful. However, the bidding is restricted to already-expired domains.
Expirefish.com has a different method of pricing and service. You are required to pay in advance for all the domain names you chase. You set up a linked account called registryfly which operates sort of like an escrow account, guaranteeing funds for each domain you may actually win. Because domains expire at different times, you can bid on more domains than your account is funded to cover if you’re careful (set up 10 bids, have 5 domains prepaid, and then add funds as you win the first few). There are several restrictions in how expirefish lets you monitor domains, and in spite of the added complexity their results do not equal either namewinner or snapnames.