Guide to Domain Backorders

There's nothing more frustrating than having the perfect business or personal domain name, only to discover it's already taken. After exhausting most options, including reaching out to the domain owner (often finding it too expensive) and discovering no alternatives, you might wonder if there's a better strategy. Domains are registered for a certain period, and when that expiration date arrives, the domain enters a state of expiration. This moment can create an opportunity to acquire the domain through a domain name backorder placement. While domain name backordering isn’t a guaranteed acquisition process, its potential benefits are significant, depending on your specific situation.

What is a Domain Backorder?

A domain name backorder is an alternative form of domain acquisition, allowing users to make a request on domains that are soon to complete the expiration process to attempt to automatically acquire them once they’re released for general public registration. Domain backorder systems attempt to ‘catch’ the domain immediately after it is available for registration after it completes its expiration. This is where the term ‘domain drop catching’ originated. Although it's an effective strategy to acquire desirable domains, success is not guaranteed and depends on multiple factors. Domain backorders give you the best opportunity to acquire a domain before anyone else. 

Why Should You Care About Domain Backorders?

Domain backorders are crucial for acquiring your desired domain and gaining a competitive edge in the digital space. Backorders provide a proactive strategy that creates opportunities to acquire domains that can either be used to build your digital presence or to further develop your domain portfolio. Domain backorders are also a fundamental part of many domain reselling strategies. Opportunities arise when premium or valuable domains expire and are overlooked for renewal, creating an ideal situation to capitalize on when reselling domains for a profit. Start identifying the domains you'd like to backorder now to invest in the future if they become available.

Process for Backordering a Domain:

1. Create a list of domains that you wish to acquire that are either in the expiration process or soon to be expiring.
2. Choose a reputable domain name backorder placement service. This is crucial, as acquiring a domain can be challenging if the domain backorder service is not dependable.
3. Sign up and carefully read the terms and conditions outlining the expectations of the domain backorder process. It may vary with other services, but at Dynadot, you only pay if we successfully catch the domain.
4. Use the domain backorder service to search for the availability of the domain.
5. Once you confirm that the domain is available for backorder, place your backorder request through the service.
6. The domain backorder service will continue to monitor the domain, and when it becomes available, it will automatically attempt to register the domain on your behalf.
7. It’s worth noting that backorder placements are not guaranteed and can be unsuccessful for various reasons. If the backordering is successful, you will be notified, and the registered domain will be under your ownership. In the case of multiple backorders being placed for a domain, it might go through more processes to determine the domain’s ownership.

What Happens When There Are Multiple Backorders?

When multiple backorders exist for a domain, the domain registration process changes. While rules and policies may vary, the most typical situations that could occur are an auction, a first-come, first-served basis or priority systems.

Auction or Lottery: The domain registrar or backorder service may create an auction for the domain if multiple backorder requests are received. The highest bidder typically will register the desired domain upon completion of the auction. This backorder auction process is what we utilize at Dynadot.

First-Come, First-served Basis: The domain could be registered to the individual that placed the first backorder.

Priority Systems: Domain registrars or backorder services could provide priority to clients who pay additional fees or have a higher domain payment level.

After acquiring a domain through a domain backorder, various rules and policies come into play, significantly impacting the process. It’s essential to be aware of these, especially in the competitive scenario when multiple backorders exist for a domain. Even though acquiring the domain is not guaranteed, understanding this process can be beneficial.

What Should You Do After a Successful Domain Backorder Acquisition

After you’ve successfully acquired the backordered domain, there are still a few crucial steps involved before you celebrate. 

• Initially, you should verify that the domain has indeed been successfully acquired and review the ownership details to ensure that the information documented is accurate. 
• Confirm the precision of the contact information on file, especially if there are new status details for the domain.
• Enhance the security of your account wherever the backorder took place by implementing additional 2-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access to your domain. 
• Renew the domain before the expiration date or set up automatic renewal so you don’t forget. 
• Update the DNS setting to point toward the correct hosting or server to lead users to your desired destination (such as domain parking, for-sale page, or to other desired destinations). 
• Assess the domain’s future purpose concerning your online objectives to take the appropriate steps towards your specific goals.

Conclusion

To wrap it up, think of domain back ordering as your secret tool to capture those perfect domain names. Take advantage by setting up the future of your domains early by proactively making backorder requests to get a headstart on grabbing your desired domains, help you supercharge your online brand or expand your portfolio for investment purposes. If you have more questions that need to be answered feel free to check out Dynadot’s Backorder FAQ section.