Step 1: Scour online articles reviewing top 10 locations or hot spots. In this instance, I stumbled across a recent article on Yahoo reviewing ‘The Worlds Most Beautiful Lakes‘
Step 2: (In this case) Check each lake names .com availability on InstantDomainSearch.com. If it shows as available, double check on GoDaddy (IDS sometimes throws false positives)
Step 3: Google the Lake names. Mainly to research. Me, I try to make sure there’s some sort of commercial component to the area. Real Estate, a landmark, tourist trap, etc. In this example, I was drawn to Peyto Lake (PeytoLake.com) in the Banff National Park in Canada. Per wikipedia :
During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park.
Me likie…
A photo for those wondering:
(Courtesy Travel Alberta)
Next, I dig and discover Banff National Park welcomes over 5 million visitors every year.
Me likie alot..
Tourism means nearby hotels. Tourism meals nearby restaurants. Tourism means camping. etc etc etc.
Step 4: $ Buy the domain $. Which I did : ) PeytoLake.com
Now, I realize I ain’t gonna retire on this domain. And it ain’t a domain I’m gonna flip and pay off my mortgage.
But it ain’t half bad imo. A $7.87 investment, all-in. Parked at Sedo.com for now.
I find a handful of domains like this every year. For every 5 I buy, I’ll sell one which’ll pay for all plus lots more.
And hell, it’s fun. My eternal treasure hunt.
If you like it as much as I do, dig through the remaining lake names on that list, cause there’s one still left to register : )
