Guides

What makes a domain "premium" — and what you are actually paying for

A plain explanation of what actually makes a domain premium, how those prices get set, and when the asking price is worth paying.

How to buy a premium domain without overpaying

A practical method for setting a defensible price on a premium domain, negotiating it down, and knowing when to walk away.

Exact-match domains: when the keyword is worth it and when it is not

How to tell whether a keyword domain earns its price tag, what it actually buys you in 2024, and when a brandable name is the smarter purchase.

One-word .com domains: why they cost what they cost

What actually sets the price of a single-word .com, how sellers arrive at their number, and how to judge whether the one you want is worth it.

Category-killer domains and what owning one really does

What a category-killer domain actually buys you, what it doesn't, how the price is set, and when a brandable name is the smarter purchase.

.com versus the new TLDs, honestly compared

A practical comparison of .com against newer extensions, covering when an alternative TLD genuinely works, what it costs you, and how to decide without guessing.

Buying a domain that is not for sale: the owner-direct approach

How to find the owner of a domain that isn't listed, open a cold approach that gets answered, and negotiate without blowing up the price.

Domain escrow: how the money and the name change hands safely

A step-by-step account of how domain escrow actually works, what each stage costs, how long it takes, and where deals go wrong.

Leasing a domain instead of buying it: the full mechanics

How domain leasing actually works — monthly costs, DNS control, contract terms, purchase options, and when leasing beats buying outright or financing.

Lease-to-own domains: how the path to ownership actually works

A plain walkthrough of how domain lease-to-own works: who holds the name, what you control during the term, what happens if you miss a payment, and what it costs.

Financing a domain purchase over time

How instalment plans and lease-to-own deals for domains actually work, what they cost, who holds the name while you pay, and when paying upfront is smarter.

Is leasing a domain worth it? The maths, run properly

A working framework for deciding between leasing, financing and buying a domain outright, including the break-even maths and the risks that rarely get mentioned.

How premium domains are actually valued

A practical breakdown of what actually sets a premium domain's price — comparable sales, buyer profile, extension, length and liquidity — and how to sanity-check a number before you pay it.

Getting a domain appraised, and what an appraisal is worth

What a domain appraisal actually measures, when automated valuations mislead, what a paid human appraisal costs, and how to work out a number you can defend in a negotiation.

What is my domain worth? A method you can apply yourself

A repeatable four-step process for pricing a domain: comparable sales, adjustment factors, the buyer's business case, and a defensible range with a walk-away floor.

Reading comparable sales without fooling yourself

How to use comparable domain sales as evidence rather than decoration, and how to spot the biases that make every comp look like it supports your number.

What a domain broker does, and when you need one

What a domain broker actually does day to day, what it costs, and the specific situations where hiring one earns its fee — plus when it plainly does not.

Acquiring a domain someone else owns: the process end to end

A step-by-step walkthrough of buying a domain that is already registered: finding the owner, opening contact, pricing, negotiating, and closing safely through escrow.

Buying a domain anonymously, and why it changes the price

How to keep your identity out of a domain negotiation, what that actually costs, and when staying anonymous is worth less than moving fast.

Negotiating a domain purchase: what moves the number

What actually shifts a domain seller's price, what never does, and how to run a negotiation that ends in a deal rather than a dead thread.

How to name a company: a process that survives contact with reality

A working sequence for naming a company — from constraints to shortlist to the domain and trademark checks that kill most favourites before launch.

Brandable domain names: what separates the good from the forgettable

A practical breakdown of what makes an invented name stick — sound, length, spelling, meaning — and how to test yours before you spend real money.

Why every good .com looks taken — and how to find one that is not

A practical explanation of why the good .coms feel gone, plus the naming patterns and search tactics that still turn up registrable names.

The naming mistakes founders make, and what they cost later

The seven naming errors that show up years later as legal bills, lost traffic and rebrand costs, plus how to catch each one before you commit.

Coined names versus real words: choosing between them

A practical comparison of invented brand names and real-word domains — what each costs, what each demands of your marketing budget, and how to decide which fits your business.

Checking a name is genuinely free: domain, trademark and handles

A practical, five-check clearance routine you can run yourself in under an hour — registry, trademark, handles — and the point where free checking stops being enough.

Renaming a company without losing what you have built

A practical sequence for changing your company name: what to secure first, how to migrate a domain without losing search traffic, and what to keep unchanged.

A startup name checklist worth actually running through

A practical, ordered checklist for testing a startup name — from disqualifiers and trademark checks to what the .com will actually cost you.

Selling a premium domain: pricing, listing and closing

How to price a premium domain you own, list it so buyers can find it, and close the sale through escrow without giving away leverage.

How to price a domain you own

A practical method for putting a number on a domain you already own, from finding real comparables to choosing between a fixed price, a make-offer listing and a lease.

Where to sell a domain, and what each venue costs you

A venue-by-venue breakdown of commissions, listing fees and hidden costs when selling a domain, and how to match the right channel to your price band.

Handling lowball offers without killing the deal

A practical script for responding to offers far below your price, without insulting the buyer or anchoring yourself into a bad number.

Domain marketplaces compared: fees, reach and who pays them

A plain breakdown of how domain marketplace commissions, escrow and reach actually work — and how the cost lands on you whether you're buying or selling.

Transferring a domain between registrars, step by step

A practical walkthrough of moving a domain between registrars: unlock, auth code, DNS prep, timings, common blockers, and how to avoid downtime.

Keeping a valuable domain from being stolen

How domains actually get stolen, and the specific account, email and registrar settings that stop it before it happens.

Expired and dropped domains: the real odds

What actually happens when a domain expires, why the good ones almost never reach the public drop, and how to judge whether a caught name is worth anything.

Short domains: length, memorability and price

How domain length actually affects price, recall and typing accuracy — and when paying a premium for fewer characters is worth it.

Do keyword domains still help SEO?

A straight answer on exact-match domains: what Google actually does with keywords in a domain, where the real gains still come from, and when to skip it.

Building a domain portfolio without losing money

The maths that decides whether a domain portfolio pays for itself: renewal drag, sell-through rates, acquisition discipline, pricing and knowing when to cut.

Choosing the first domain for a new business

A practical process for picking your first business domain: what to check, what extension to take, what to pay, and how to buy a name someone already owns.