Author Archives: Logen

How To Buy A Domain Name

July 1, 2008 1:16 am , Leave a Comment ,

Every domain name is registered through registrars. You create them, during registration and they have to be renewed yearly for a standard fee.

However, it isn’t necessary to acquire domains through registrars!

There are two basic means of acquirng domain names:

  • Directly from your good old domain registrar
  • From domain traders and investors

Registrars

www.godaddy.com

These are some reliable domain name registrars, which I have had some form of dealings with. Their prices are reasonably cheap.

The advantages with acquiring your domain with a registrar is with the initial cost. It is a standard low price. Lower than that of a domain trader’s price.

For example, GoDaddy.com charges $10.69 (before discount coupon) for a dot com registration. So that is the price you pay for the first year, and the years after.

Yet, if you buy from a domain trader, it will cost significantly more, depending on the domain name.

Domain Trading Avenues

The above two are markets where domain names can be bought. The pricing are known to be reasonable for the average domain name trader. Experienced domain traders will tell you that there are more than the two places I’ve listed to buy domains.

But as a starting point, I’d advise you to try trading in these places. You should begin above to get a feel of how the basic market works. Learn how to negotiate and network. And have a feel of how domain names are valued.

Domain names sold by domain traders and investors are likely to have relevant traffic. The domain may even have been used for a website before. This would mean very valuable traffic for you. However, the bad news is, for the traffic, the domain name is worth much more.

If you are confident in selling your acquired domain name at a higher price than you paid for, go for it. You may even be lucky to acquire a domain trader’s unwanted domain name at below registrar’s price.

Warnings on Domain Name Safety

I have mentioned that domain registrars are involved no matter how you acquire your domain name. Be sure to dig up news on your registrar. Thor, a recent commenter, reminded me on this. And I thank him for that.

There have been news of registrars who hijack their customer’s domain name. There are also accounts of registrars shutting down sites and imposing fines for uninvestigated abuse of policy.

Always research on your registrars. While some news on domain registrars are reliable, take the information with a pinch of salt. Here’s your homework; dig up news on the registrars I have listed above. Reason if the news you have found is reliable or biased. Remember, no registrar is perfect and are bound to have dirt on them.

Let me just tell you to stay away from NetworkSolution. Do not even search for domain names on their site. There are accounts of them registering searched domains, to prevent the person searching from registering the domain elsewhere.

Also, when dealing with domain traders, maintain reasonable skepticism over their reputation unless they have proven themselves otherwise. Check their trader’s reputation, Ebay reputation, Paypal reputation or anything that verifies that they are true to their word when they transact.

Logen Lanka

Posted in: Domain Name Basics , Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Demand And Supply of Domain Names

June 25, 2008 11:53 pm , 11 Comments ,

How To Choose A Domain Name

The primary purpose with your domain name should be to make it easy for visitors to find your website. You should therefore choose a domain name that is memorable and/or convenient to type.

For a domain to be memorable, it should reflect the nature or brand of your website. Choose a dot com above all. Most people by habbit type “.com”. Whereas convenient to type, talks about the length of your domain name and the proximity of the keys on the keyboard while typing it. The domain name should preferably be below 13 letters/characters. And avoid awkward names like 1-halqf-207d.com. Not only is it forgetable, but it requires the visitor to move his fingers on different end of the keyboard. Think about the disabled.

How To Buy and Sell Domain Names

You may have noticed I haven’t discussed on the domain trader’s and investor’s point of view. Well, it is prudent for beginning traders and investors to understand how the demand of domain names work. Do not start out like me by putting my money on one speculation.

Hereon,  we shall build on the foundation, which is what a regular person looks for when buying a domain name. On the whole, people prefer short and memorable domain names. After all, we have established that a domain name should be convenient for visitors and beneficial to the website’s brand name.

This is straightforward. Invest in domain names that are:

  • Brandable
  • One-word dictionary words (e.g. ardor.mobi, love.com)
  • Short (below 5 letters preferably)
  • Commercially valuable (can be effectively used to target a product/service market)*

      *must be combined with the other factors; it exists separtely

Here’s the not so straightforward part…

While each of the above point can survive on its own, brandabiliy is the weakest. You cannot sell a domain for much if you base it on brandability alone. Why not invest in the other stated points instead?

Well, many one-word dictionary word domain names have been taken. All short domain names that have less than 5 letters are taken.

That leaves us with one factor to bank on -brandability. What then can we do? On top of being brandable, make sure the domain name you choose has commercial value. Keep the domain name short (below 13 characters/letters). And perhaps, have a real word within the domain name.

The result are domains like:

  • iAgnostic.com
  • MrsBids.com (I sold this already)
  • DarkEmo.com (I sold this already)

Be creative, but consider your target market when you plan to buy a domain name for resale. What does the customer demand? Supply the customer with what he/she wants!

Logen Lanka

Posted in: Domain Name Basics , Tagged: , , , , , , ,

What Is A Domain Name

June 22, 2008 9:45 pm , 1 Comment ,

In more technical terms, a domain name identifies IP address(es). IP addresses identify the computer that stores the website you want to view. But due to the numerical nature of IP addresses, it is difficult to remember what to type. Imagine having to type 216.239.51.99 just to visit Google.com.

Hence, the purpose of domain names. Domain names are used to identify webpages. LogishEmpire.com represents the blog you are reading now. In other words, a domain name is an address of a website. As to how domain names and IP addresses connect, this is a topic that is out of scope.

There are many suffixes for a domain name (a.k.a. Top Level Domain). For example, .com, .net, .info, .mobi, .sg. The more common ones are .com, .net and .org. As a domain name trader, I prefer trading in .com’s because this is the first choice of the market. And therefore, the probability of selling my acquired domain name is higher.

Check back for how and where to acquire domain names. Cost-saving tips included.

Logen Lanka

Posted in: Domain Name Basics , Tagged: , , , ,

Adult Domain Name Dilemma

June 17, 2008 6:50 am , Leave a Comment ,

I must have been mad. And right now, I’m in a dilemma.

What am I to do with the adult domain name I recently acquired? Should I make a porn site! 

To be fair, I bought it because it was a one-word, dictionary-word domain name. And this could mean high profits if I sell it off.

Originally, I was going to submit it for a premium adult auction on SnapNames. However, I found out for the particular auction, they only accepted international domain names (a.k.a. .com, .net, .info, .biz, .mobi etc). Oh well, generic domains are still worth a lot. And there are other premium auctions.

picture by vancanjay of www.Sxc.hu

In the mean time, if I’m not selling the domain name yet, I have 2 options left: develop a site or put it for parking. I’m not sure how parking will do, but it will definitely yield a smaller income than site development. Yet, I’m not too keen on developing an adult / porn site for the domain name. Haha.

Logen Lanka

Posted in: My Domain Ventures , Tagged: , , ,

Logish Empire is now at LogishEmpire.com

June 16, 2008 6:02 pm , Leave a Comment ,

I’m sorry for Logish Empire being down. In my attempt to move Logish Empire with the lazy-man’s method (to logishempire.com), I caused the whole site to be down.

I apologise again.

That said, the Logish Empire blog is now at www.logishempire.com / logishempire.com.

Logen Lanka

Posted in: Site News , Tagged: , , ,

What Is Logish Empire

June 13, 2008 3:17 pm , 1 Comment ,

How It Started Out

Four years ago, when I was 14, I aspired to be a great businessman like Donald Trump. To be honest, I did watch The Apprentice at then. I realised that there were many business-oriented friends like me, and we formed a ‘corporation’ named Logish Empire.

During that year of 2004, we didn’t make any mark in the business world. A year later, I teamed up with a few friends to join a national business and trademark competition for the next two years. We were awarded third place in both years.

Trademark and Business Competition 2005, Team Xpressive - Third Place

[Team Xpressive, Trademark and Business Competition Year 2005, 3rd Place]

The Logish Empire has since been forgotten, having graduated and drifted from each other after secondary school. I’ve decided to revive the Logish Empire as a one-man show.

Origins of The Name ‘Logish Empire’

As you may have guessed, the Logish Empire was founded by me. My nickname is Logish, which was given to me by a teacher who called me ‘Logish’ by mistake.

But, what about Empire? Where did it come from? My aspirations then, was to be like the Donald. He had a business empire, which was built by him. Well, I too want an empire. Hence, Logish Empire.

What Is Logish Empire About

With the revival of Logish Empire, I had to determine what it should be about. With my resources, time and knowledge at hand, I wanted Logish Empire to be what I was passionate in. In answer to that, it was domain name investment.

The past 9 month, I had been experimenting with domain name investment. I did stupid things with the money I had. Being the stubborn and impatient mule I was, I did not read up on the how-to’s and advice of domain name investment. Nonetheless, I learnt things, though through the hard way of losing money. Of course I have become more receptive to the advice of those who are experienced in this industry.

Using my newly gained knowledge and experience, I’ve decided to expand my investments. I am catering to those who are interested in earning passive income from websites and specially designed domain parking pages. I also am targeting investors who are looking for brandable and/or niche domain names, with pagerank and traffic. That’s about it for now.

Do check back for latest products, services and valuable tips on the domain name industry.

Logen Lanka

Posted in: Logish Empire Info , Tagged: , , , , , ,

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