Aside from my daily lists of upcoming domain name expiry auctions, I don’t spend a whole lot of time analyzing lists of keywords and phrases to find domain names to buy. Most often, I find domain names that would be of interest to me by doing ordinary things in life – reading the news, reading books to my kids, and just reading things in general.

Oftentimes, I will see a word or phrase while doing something and pay a quick visit to the website to see what is there. If the domain name is developed, I will quickly assess how important the domain name is to that business. This will help me determine whether or not to send an offer or inquiry email. For instance, I will be much more inclined to email a registrant if the domain name is simply used for forwarding as opposed to a website that clearly utilizes the domain name for its branding.

If the domain name looks like it could be available for the right offer, I do a quick Whois lookup on the spot. I typically either use the standard DomainTools Whois search or I use the GoDaddy Whois search. If I don’t have enough time to do a Whois lookup, I will either note the domain name in my head or send a brief email to myself so I can remember to do a Whois search later on when I have more time.

Once I have done a Whois search, I will check my records to see if I have emailed the registrant in the past. This will give me some idea about whether or not I should proceed with an inquiry or offer, and it will also tell me where I need to start if I made an offer in the past.

Previously, I spent a fair amount of my time doing keyword searches using dictionaries and thesaurus tools. These days, I have found more names to inquire about as I go about my daily activities.