It isn't particularly difficult to make money buying and selling domain names. In fact, millions have been made in this way; though don't expect to hit the big time doing this straight off. Simply be content to learn how to make a profit that you can ramp up over time.

Some people search for great domains. They usually search in vain. The really good ones have long gone. Business.com or Computers.com and many others like them were snatched up by speculators who made their money back - and then some!

However, all is not lost by a long way. There is still plenty of money to be made buying and selling domain names. All you need to know are some of the basics, and you too can start cashing in on the goldmine that must be one of the easiest ways to make money online.

There are three basic things to look for when assessing the intrinsic value of a domain name:

• It's length - the shorter the better.
• It's obvious nature - it should make immediate and obvious sense.
• It's memorable nature - it should be easy to remember.

Any domain name that has these three characteristics is worth further consideration. For example, Help.com and Ask.com both have all three characteristics, while My-Domain-Name-For-My-Website.com definitely does not.

Every day hundreds of domain names are dropped that were once registered. Most of them are worthless, but many of them are worth a lot. Many of them still have traffic associated with them as they were once part of a fully fledged website.

The traffic and possibly even Google Page Rank that may be associated with a dropped domain makes it valuable. With that in place, you will definitely be able to buy the domain name and find a buyer prepared to pay a lot more than you may have been lucky enough to pick it up for.

When a domain name has traffic associated with it, it really doesn't matter what it is. Our earlier "bad" example of My-Domain-Name-For-My-Website.com becomes worth quite a lot if it still gets, for example, 400 visitors a day and it still has a Google Page Rank of 4. This kind of domain name is definitely worth looking out for.

Usually domain names like that are type-in domain names. For example, DogTraining.com. People will type in "dogtraining.com" to see if that domain name exists, and if you were lucky enough to own it, they would arrive at your site when they type those words, plus dot com, in.

There is a difference between domain flipping and domain parking for profit. Domain flipping is essentially the act of buying a domain at a low price and selling it for a higher price to make a profit.

Domain parking for profit involves buying domain names that have type-in value and keeping them to reap the income stream they generate. This is not, strictly speaking, the way to make money buying and selling domain names, but it works great just the same.

There are plenty of other ways to make money buying and selling domain names. Although the great names have all been bought up long ago, it doesn't mean that the market is dead. Far from it, it's getting stronger all the time and you can easily be a part of it if you want to be.