Winning the Race to Acquire an Expiring Domain Name

Jesse Calus
When the owner of a website, whether it be .com, .net, or .org fails to pay their renewal fees at the end of their domain registration, the domain name goes through a multi-step process. Initially the original domain name owner can reclaim their domain name; however, after a period of time that domain enters a "pending delete" status where it is being prepared to expire. Lastly, the domain name expires and becomes available for anyone to register on a first-come first-served basis.

When a good domain name finally expires it is often in great demand. This is the not only because of the quality of the expiring domain name, but also the fact that the new owner may receive the incoming back links which have already been obtained for the domain name. The fact of the matter is that there can be a race to be the first to register a domain name as it expires and the people trying to register expiring domain names by manually waiting for it to expire and manually registering for it are unlikely to be winners in this race.

The best way to gain an edge against the others running this race is either to get software to help automatically register a domain name for you or use a back ordering service to chase a domain for you if you are really set on obtaining a particular expiring domain. It may even be worth trying the software approach and a few back ordering services all the same time.

If you're not familiar with back ordering services, they essentially own the software to help their customers win the race to register expiring domain names. The best back ordering services have fast networks, multiple computers, and good software to improve the odds of acquiring an expired domain name. You must be on top of the game to win the race to register a domain; however, your dedication can be well worth the time in most cases.

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