# Domain investing 101
Domain investing is the discipline of acquiring web addresses you believe the market will value more tomorrow than today. Done well, it looks less like speculation and more like real estate: you underwrite each name, you hold, and you sell when the right buyer appears.
## What makes a name investable
- **Brandability.** Short, pronounceable, easy to spell. If a founder can say it once and have it stick, it has pricing power.
- **Extension.** `.com` still commands the largest premium. Country-code TLDs (`.io`, `.ai`, `.co`) can be strong in their niches; most other new gTLDs trade at a discount.
- **Keyword strength.** Names that map to a category ("`payments`", "`clinic`", "`vault`") carry search and semantic value.
- **Length.** Under 10 characters is the sweet spot. Two-word `.com` names remain the workhorse of the market.
- **Comparable sales.** Check NameBio and DNJournal. If similar names have sold for four or five figures, you have a defensible floor.
## Building your first portfolio
1. **Set a budget you can lose.** Domains are illiquid. Only deploy capital you can leave parked for 12–36 months.
2. **Pick a lane.** Two-word brandables, geo + service ("`austinplumber`"), or a single vertical (fintech, health, AI). Focus beats scatter.
3. **Track your basis.** Every name has an acquisition cost, an annual renewal, and an implicit opportunity cost. Spreadsheet it from day one.
4. **Cull ruthlessly.** If a name has not received serious inquiry in 24 months, drop it at renewal. The best investors let losers die cheaply.
## The unlock: distribution
A great name that no one can find is worth nothing. List on a marketplace, add a professional "for sale" landing page, and make sure the WHOIS contact is reachable. Most premium sales start with a cold inbound email — make it easy for the buyer to send one.
> **Rule of thumb.** Price a name at 10–40x what you paid, discount 20% for a fast close, and never counter your own offer.
