The Secret of Expired Domain Names

Now that over 25 million com, net and org domain names have been registered, it is becoming harder and harder to find a good domain name. Yet it is essential for effective website promotion. When a customer selects a website to visit, it is frequently the one with the most credible domain name that wins. A relevant domain name tells the customer that the site is one of the main players in the market, and if it is memorable then half the battle is won.

It is still occasionally possible to find a good unregistered domain name, but it takes hours and hours of searching and an awful lot of luck. However, there is one source of good domain names that is actually getting better all the time, and that source is the thousands of domain names that expire each week. Expired domain names are domain names that were previously registered, but have been allowed to lapse by the original registrant. These domain names are then repossessed by the registrar and made available again for anyone to register.

Many of the domain names that are being allowed to expire now were registered two years ago when it was easy to find a good name. There are many reasons why the owner allows registration to lapse, but often it is simply that they have never got around to using the name and have lost interest in it. The quality of expired domain names has improved dramatically over the last year or so, and these domain names now quite simply offer some of the best opportunities on the Web today.

As an example of the sort of names that are available, the following expired domain names were all recently available to register:

• AcePresents.com
• AirFaresNet.com
• ClickForFriends.com
• DomainAlliance.com
• MortgageMegastore.com
• OnlineTicketShop.com
• SportsGoodsStore.com
• XmasToyShop.com

There are a number of expired domain lists available by email subscription, some of which can be purchased and some of which are free. They typically break down into two categories. Firstly there are weekly lists of all the new expired domain names added to the provider's database. These lists are usually very long, but have the disadvantage of containing meaningless names and other people's misspellings that were registered by mistake. Lists in the second category provide currently available expired domain names that contain selected keywords or that have been compiled manually. These lists usually contain much better quality names, but you have to wait for the provider to research the words you are interested in.

Expired domain name lists are available from the following providers:

• DailyExpiredDomains.com- A one-time only charge of $59.95
• DomainsByMail.com - One off lists, $3.99 for 100 names
• DomainMailings.com - Lists 2 or 3 times a month, Free
• DomainRepo.com - Weekly lists, Free
• DnsXpress.com - Weekly lists, $49 for one year's subscription
• DNSresearch.com - Weekly lists, $49.99 for one year's subscription.
• RedHotDomainNames.com - Weekly lists, Free
• UnclaimedDomains.com - Weekly lists, $49 for one year's subscription.
• WebExplode.com - Twice weekly lists, $35 for 6 months subscription, £50 for one year's subscription.

Once you have subscribed to some of the available lists, the important thing is to be quick off the mark when it comes to registering a name, as the most popular names in the lists will go fast. However, with more lists available, and more domain names expiring, it is actually becoming easier to register an expired domain name. So why not give it a try, and see if you can revive your fortune with an expired domain name?