Need a great domain name? I would then suggest to look at dropped domains as a great alternative.
If you have tried to find a good domain name but haven’t come up with anything, you could try to find some of the domain names that have been dropped. There are companies that were registered a long time ago but have changed their domains or are simply not in business anymore. This means there are a wide variety of good domain names available to use.
As we mentioned before, not all domain names are renewed. When that happens, registrars make domain names available again to whoever is interested and can pay the registration fees. Therefore, the possibilities of finding a good domain name are endless.
However, how can you know which domain names have been dropped, and, how can you know if they are really worth paying for? The following are steps on how to do just that.
- First, you can sign up for a Dynadot account to register domains. You must remember there are millions of people looking for domain names, so once you find one you must act quickly. Dynadot has a system for registration that allows you to do it with one single click as long as you have a funded account. You must make sure this is your case before trying to confirm the purchase of a domain or you could lose it. Time is of essence when registering a quality domain.
- You could also try subscribing to Dropping.com or Dnmeter.com and know about specific drop times.
- Sign into your Dynadot account around 15 minutes before the domain is about to drop. Although Dynadot allows a faster purchase, you must always make sure you have enough time considering there is too much at risk.
- After you sign in, try to register the domain and keep doing it until you finally catch the domain, or until someone else has registered it. You can make periodic checks by making a whois search to see if the expiration date has changed, which would mean the registration for the domain was renewed or that another person is using the domain.
- If you are using Dropping.com, you can see the drop in real time and you can even set up alerts to know exactly when the domain is close to dropping.
You may ask yourself if this is a good method to use and you must know it is. It has been tested and used several times and it has never failed. There are people working on their own drop catchers so the process is likely to get easier.
However, that said, companies like SnapNames and NameJet have multiple direct connections with the domain name registrars and therefore it is nearly impossible to compete with them on drop catching. If the domain you are looking at is very valuable, your best bet is to place a back order with them. Go for manual catching when the domain name is either not going to have many interested parties or if you do not want to pay the drop catching fee.