For a relatively small industry, domain name investing is extremely diverse when you think about it. There are thousands of active investors, and probably hundreds of ways to make money through domain investing. Various niches offer different entry price points, different risk levels and differing rates of return on your initial investment.
So what are the top 7 domain investment niches? There are many opinions on this, but I wanted to share what I think are the top 7 niches right now, in no particular order. Do you have your own suggestions? As with all NamePros articles, we encourage you to voice your opinion in the comments section below.
1. Chinese Premiums
A section of the market that you cannot help but take notice of is the Chinese premium niche. Throughout 2015 in particular, many investors hopped on the bandwagon to try and make the most of China's buying spree. Although the market has dampened somewhat in 2016, there are still plenty of opportunities in short domain names.
2. Brandables
Another incredibly popular domain investing niche is the brandable market. There are plenty of investors who post consistent profits through brandable names. We published a guide to brandable domains with Michael Krell earlier this year for those interested in this niche.
3. New gTLDs
Can these be considered to be a niche? I am classing new gTLD investments as a niche. There is some debate as to whether there is any future in the new gTLD program, and whether any extensions can establish themselves globally alongside .COM.
4. Technology
Virtual reality, augmented reality and cloud computing are three popular technology categories that many investors have used as inspiration to acquire new names. A good tech name can have many end users taking interest, especially as more funding is applied to the technology.
5. Trends
There are plenty of investors who focus specifically on spotting future trends, and registering or acquiring associated domain names in advance. Trends such as marijuana, drones and even political domains can be profitable. DomainGang.com has been documenting Rick Schwartz's new political domain registrations.
6. Geo Domains
Geographical names have been popular for a long time. Domain investors including myself have made profitable flips by acquiring geo domains such as NewYorkHomes.com and selling them on to end users who can use them to improve their online image.
7. Keywords
Keyword domains have been extremely popular in the past, since the right keywords in a domain name could improve the search engine rankings for a website. As Google has changed their algorithm, the power of keyword domains has declined, but they are still proving to be fairly popular.
--
What are your top domain name niches?
So what are the top 7 domain investment niches? There are many opinions on this, but I wanted to share what I think are the top 7 niches right now, in no particular order. Do you have your own suggestions? As with all NamePros articles, we encourage you to voice your opinion in the comments section below.
A section of the market that you cannot help but take notice of is the Chinese premium niche. Throughout 2015 in particular, many investors hopped on the bandwagon to try and make the most of China's buying spree. Although the market has dampened somewhat in 2016, there are still plenty of opportunities in short domain names.
2. Brandables
Another incredibly popular domain investing niche is the brandable market. There are plenty of investors who post consistent profits through brandable names. We published a guide to brandable domains with Michael Krell earlier this year for those interested in this niche.
3. New gTLDs
Can these be considered to be a niche? I am classing new gTLD investments as a niche. There is some debate as to whether there is any future in the new gTLD program, and whether any extensions can establish themselves globally alongside .COM.
4. Technology
Virtual reality, augmented reality and cloud computing are three popular technology categories that many investors have used as inspiration to acquire new names. A good tech name can have many end users taking interest, especially as more funding is applied to the technology.
5. Trends
There are plenty of investors who focus specifically on spotting future trends, and registering or acquiring associated domain names in advance. Trends such as marijuana, drones and even political domains can be profitable. DomainGang.com has been documenting Rick Schwartz's new political domain registrations.
6. Geo Domains
Geographical names have been popular for a long time. Domain investors including myself have made profitable flips by acquiring geo domains such as NewYorkHomes.com and selling them on to end users who can use them to improve their online image.
7. Keywords
Keyword domains have been extremely popular in the past, since the right keywords in a domain name could improve the search engine rankings for a website. As Google has changed their algorithm, the power of keyword domains has declined, but they are still proving to be fairly popular.
--
What are your top domain name niches?