When buying one word .com domain names, I like to ensure there is either a great deal of usage for the keyword in brands or that I can envision the domain name being used as a new brand by a major company. One thing I try to prevent is buying a great domain name where there is only one prospective buyer.

I know some people in the business of domain investing target good domain names that match the brand of a hot startup. By way of a hypothetical example, they might see a company called AAAAAA (made up) that operates on an inferior domain name and purchase the exact match AAAAAA.com with the hopes of selling it to them in the future. The thinking is that if AAAAAA becomes super successful and either starts making serious revenue or gets significant funding, AAAAAA.com will be worth much more.

There is some risk to this strategy. If AAAAAA becomes a widely known brand, it may prevent other companies from using that brand name. If AAAAAA

The end of the year may be a good time to make deals happen if you can get them closed before people go on vacation or otherwise close their books for the year. Based on my own schedule and what I am seeing, I think the next 10 days is probably the best time of the year to make some domain name acquisitions.

As the year finishes up, there are people and companies looking to hit their numbers for the quarter or the year. There may not be a whole lot of opportunities to drive revenue as the year is winding down, and a nice offer on a domain name may help the business add easy revenue to get closer to their target. I am going to be going through my emails from the last year to see if there are deals worth pursuing. I am an opportunistic domain name buyer right now, and I am willing and able to move quickly to close on a deal. I think now is a great time for domain name purchases.

In my opinion, the next week to ten days is critical. For a deal to happen, especially one in which multiple sign-offs are needed, the purchase agreement needs to be signed and the domain name needs to be in escrow in the next ten days. Figuring

Here’s a relatively simple tip to see if a domain name is good: ask a third party that is not involved in the domain name business.

Several years ago before I was married, my wife and I spent quite a bit of time at her grandmother’s apartment. Her grandmother is very smart and as a former business / marketing professor, she understands domain names and their utility. She and I used to chat about domain names, including names I bought, names I was thinking about buying, and names she thought I should go after. When I mentioned a domain name that she didn’t like, it made me think twice about buying it.

It can be tough to ask colleagues in the domain space for their opinion about potential purchases. For one, everyone is competing on inventory. Sharing information about a domain name can offer more intel than a person would like to give up. In addition, domain investors might look at a domain name in a different way than someone who is out of the business. This is an attribute, but it can also be a detriment.

I have a number of friends