Value in unregged domains — Wiki.com proves

$2.86M for a domain registered this decade?

Many domainers that got in early like to scoff at people who register freely available domain names. “If it’s available, it can’t be worth anything,” they say.

Wiki.com is just once example of why that’s incorrect. The domain, first registered in 2001, sold for nearly $3M last month. When the first domain name gold rush occurred in the mid 90s, no one had even heard of a wiki. I don’t even think the term existed, much like the term blog didn’t exist.

Herein lies the opportunity to register fresh domains that will have value. But a couple key points:

1. You can’t think up random domains related to, say, “mortgage”, and expect to register good domains.
2. You have to sit on these highly speculative domains for them to pay.

It’s speculative, but the payoff can be huge.

If you want to register the next hot keyword you need to pay attention to the news. Not the mainstream news, but scientific and academic news. Read academic journals regarding the lastest discoveries. Read future-oriented publications like Wired. Whenever you see a fresh term, do a little research and then pay the $7/year to register the name.

Most of these domains will never be worth anything — but you might end up registering a wiki.com.