Website Flipping

Sometimes, all you need to look for in a website to make a profitable site flip is a good domain name.  This is especially useful when you’re starting a site from scratch with an intention to put it in the market after a small amount of development.  Even if you’re looking to buy a built site, though, the domain name will play a heavy factor as far as its future marketability is concerned.

These are the things you generally want to look for when choosing a domain name.

1. The shorter, the better

A shorter domain name will be easier to remember, faster to type and easier to brand.  As much as possible, stick to within three keywords or less.   If you can get away with it, do limit the character count to 19 or fewer as well.

2. Stick to the major TLDs

For purposes of flipping, keep the domain name to within the three major TLDs, namely .com, .org and .net.  If you’re considering purchase of a site with a different extension, see if you can buy a major TLD of the same before going through with the transaction.  Otherwise, you may just want to pass.  The majority of people default to .coms when they hear about a website, so as much as possible I grab a .com domain.

3. Cram your keywords into the domain

Having the main keyword in the domain automatically brings SEO value to the site, as well as slapping those vital words right on the brand.  This brings major points once you throw the site back on the market as keywords are among the first things buyers look at when looking for online properties to invest on.

4. Avoid trademark violations

Always check whether a domain violates any trademarks.  The last thing you want is to invest all that time and energy developing a site for flipping, only to have buyers refuse to even come near it for fear of infringing on other companies’ legal properties.

Stick to these few guidelines and you’ll be off to a good start in the website flipping proccess.