You’ll run across articles online telling you that marketing expired domain names is a quick way to a lot of money. You’ll also encounter people who are skeptical about whether the idea will work at all. Which theory is the correct one? The answer lies somewhere in the middle. It’s the way you pick your domain names and knowing how to value them correctly that’ll get you money. Let’s take a look at the factors that can raise or lower the value of an expired domain name.

Extension Type
The extension attached to your domain name will affect its value greatly. .Com domain extensions are worth the most, and have the best prospect of selling at a high price. .Net and .Org domain names are just worth a lot less. Unusual domain name extensions are usually worth even less, unless they’re being sold to a particular niche market.

Domain Name Length
The shorter the name is, the better. You’ve got a much better chance of selling a one or two word domain name than you do of selling a long or hard to read one. Which domain names do you visit the most often? It’s probably the ones that are the easiest to remember. A shorter name gives you the ability to bargain for a better price.

Readability
The easier to read and comprehend the domain name is, the better off you’ll be. That means that short, succinct words that are easy to recall are the most in demand. For instance, misspellings of words aren’t usually worth a lot.

Hyphenation
Strangely enough, hyphenation helps with understanding a domain name, but it actually lowers the value. Any special character in the expired domain name you have will lower its perceived market value.

Singular Vs. Plural
Singular terms increase your chances of getting a good price when you sell a domain name. The plural variation is worth comparatively less, and may not be much in demand at all. Prefixes and suffixes also hurt the demand for a domain name.

Once you have a set of domain names and know their best and worst features, it’s time to look into marketing them. There are a number of ways to do this, from just sitting there and hoping someone comes along (not very effective) to going out and marketing your expired domain names aggressively. Even fairly low investment campaigns involve setting up a simple site on the domain to let people who stop by know it’s for sale. Be sure to include your contact information and the names of and links to some related domain names.

Don’t be surprised if you need to do more in order to successfully market a domain name, however. Try setting up a fully functional site with a related product – that’ll show that the domain name can do. Use good quality content that visitors will actually want to read, and optimize your website well. Offer marketable products and services, plus links to affiliates. This increases your chances of selling the domain, it allows you to sell the domain and the site as a package, and gives you a way to make money from the domain until it sells.

You can also start advertising actively. Get in touch with expired domain brokers and ask them to help you sell your domains on commission. Send emails to people you think might be interested in buying the domain, such as businesses with a similar existing name, or auction off your domain name on a well known site. These methods take a lot more effort and time, but increase the chances of selling the domain name for a reasonably high price. You just need to decide if they’re worth the time you’ll spend. Analyze the domain name and check out the prices that similar names have sold for to come to this conclusion.