Here’s a great idea for getting a great domain name. If you keep an eye on domains that have just expired, you might manage to get your hands on one that the owner has forgotten to renew. You’d be surprised how many domain names like this end up back in the pool for other people to register. The problem, as always, is grabbing them before anybody else does; and unless you know they’re available, you’re not going to try and get them.
This is where Network Solution’s new tool comes in. They have a domain name RSS Feed that lets you filter domain names and only show expired domains. So, for example, if you wanted a domain name with “SEO” in it; you can set up a search for that expression and subscribe to it. That way, when a new one comes up, you’ll know about it straight away.
The other great thing about newly expired domains is that some people believe they carry Page Rank with them. So it’s a great way to start a new site. Just jump onto an older one. Personally, I don’t have any empirical evidence to back this up, but hey, it can’t hurt to try, can it?
Stef on April 17th, 2008
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Given Network Solutions appalling behaviour in the past, it wouldn’t surprise me if they decided to hold any domains you clicked on in your search feed, forcing you to purchase through them:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080110-network-solutions-defends-frontrunningto-stop-frontrunners.html
They also recently started advertising on unassigned subdomains their hosted customers, which is reprehensible.
Sorry, but I don’t trust them at all.
As for how to catch an expiring domain, this article sums it up nicely:
http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2005/03/how-to-snatch-an-expiring-domain
(Mike used what he learnt to snag Newsvine.com)
Picking up a domain that carries over a decent PageRank used to be practically impossible, given the prevalence of “domain tasting” (where a registrant would use the free 5 day grace period to test a domain’s profitability), but ICANN removed this grace period in January so it may be easier now?