I am always researching new or innovative ways of finding domain names. The problem is that finding decent domains is becoming harder and harder. All the ‘low hanging fruit’ is disappearing fast. This means we have to work a little smarter.
A while ago I found an interesting post here on Scott Jones Self Made Minds blog about finding domains. In brief Scott suggests tracking down domains by searching the internet for businesses that are going out of business and are closing down. The methods he advocates are
Google keyphrases such as “we are now closed” “ceased trading “closing down sale” etc Set up Google news alerts for stories in particular niche interests, for example “furniture store liquidation” you can get these alerts emailed to your inbox from Google news everyday and would only be limited by your imagination
I have not heard these before and I think that would be well worth trying for two reasons. Firstly, as pointed out in the article the traffic for this type of domain may be considerable, especially if it has been advertised widely. Secondly, I would guess that many business owners may be unfamiliar with current domain name values allowing domains to be purchased at reasonable prices.
This is a very interesting blog in general, and the domain name section is certainly worth reading, especially if you are looking for some UK domain name related content. If you have had any success (or not) with these strategies, why not share your experiences in the comments section below.
I have never tried this approach. For brand name type sites though, especially those promoted heavily through advertising, I would be concerned about a rapid fall off in traffic once the business is gone. Without continued advertising, traffic will probably take a nose dive especially as other brands continue their advertising.
If you are building a website and there are good incoming links, the only concern I would have is the reputation the previous company had assuming you are going to continue in their business area. It might be worth it for the “aging” and the incoming links though.
Thanks Barry,
You are absolutely right.
My thoughts are that this is definitely something you need to take into account when putting a value on the domain. You really don’t know what sort of traffic you are going to end up with once the other business’s online marketing activities have come to an end. While links from other websites may still remain and in many cases you will continue to get traffic weeks, months and years afterwards, the actual volume and quality of traffic generated by these links is difficult to predict, so yes, it is a bit of a gamble.