If you have a bit of a technical understanding, this can be an extremely lucrative side hustle. People have been reselling domain names for profit since the World Wide Web was made. Because of that, many of the most coveted domains are already taken. Just because a domain isn’t available doesn’t mean it’s being used by a business.
Sometimes people buy catchy domain names and sit on them for years, waiting for a good offer. And good offers will come. For example, in 2012, the domain name PrivateJet.com was owned by Don’t Look Media Group. They sold the domain that year to Nations Luxury Transportation LLC for a whopping $30.18 million. Now that’s some crazy money. About 3 million per letter, in fact. Trading domain names at that level obviously requires years of expertise (and funds), but you can get started with a modest budget and some good research skills—which is why it’s on our Side Hustle Master List.
Concept | |
category | Online Businesses |
Takeaways | Requires creativity, heavy research, and patience |
complexity lowhigh  | Capital Required lowhigh |
skill required lowhigh | time required lowhigh |
return potential lowhigh |
 | learn more |
Keyword Research
Start by narrowing down certain niches or aspects of the market that you are familiar with. Do you know photography? Education? Banking? Start with a niche and then try to find popular keywords.
One of the first skills on your list should be keyword research. It isn’t really that hard. There are some free tools that are helpful including the Keywords Everywhere extension for Google Chrome. This tool will show you the volume of monthly searches for a particular keyword. You want to find words that have a search volume of 1000 or higher. Once you have a word or two, try to come up with logical website names based on them. Make sure they aren’t too long or too hard to spell.
Now search for those names in a domain registrar like 1and1 or Godaddy, and if it’s available, get it! The next step is to decide how much you want to sell it for and list it on a domain reselling site like Flippa or Sedo. Domain flipping is a complicated process, so be sure to take a look at the links below to learn more:
Useful Resources:
- How to Sell a Domain Name
- Where to List You Domain Names so Buyers Find Them
- Domain Flipping: Buying and Selling Domains
- Flip Domains: 4 Steps to Selling Your First Domain
- How to Start Domain Flipping