There are a few common terms for people who invest in domain names. The ones I hear most regularly are domainer, domain investor, and domain trader. Personally, I am not a big fan of the “domainer” term and never have really liked it. It just doesn’t sound professional to me. It also doesn’t seem all that descriptive either, so someone who would hear that I am a domainer wouldn’t know what that means. My preference for a descriptive term is domain investor.
What do you call yourself when people ask? Vote in the daily poll below and feel free to add to it in the comment section.
No “cybersquatter” option?
😉
Domain Name Speculator. I never traded a DN before. Only sold them so far. Likewise, maybe 20% of domain name speculators are truly investors.
Just an “investor” since many of us invest
in other things along with domains.
If anyone presses the subject, I tell them I
like investing in digital items like domain names and bitcoin.
If they press further, I walk away
(kidding)
software developer – acquired domains are for web apps
“Domainer” is more of an insider term – used by domainers among domainer. It’s human nature to prefer short terms for anything we refer to often. Hard corners and edges get chipped away though use. So do extra syllables. “Domain Investor” or “Domain Reseller” are too clunky.
But it would be useless to call oneself a “domainer” in front of a non-domainer, since they don’t know the word at all; and it’s hardly self-explanatory.
For a lay audience: Domain Investing, Search Engine Optimization, User Experience, Ballistic Missile Submarine
For practitioners: Domainer, SEO, UX, Boomer