Help me become a Master of My Domains

October 3, 2007 9:12 AM

I need help/advice on registering approx. 500 domain names

I'm considering purchasing a large amount of domains (mostly .com or .us). While I have experience in setting up a few domains at a time, I would love some tips to help save time and effort.

Specifically, I'm looking for advice on the following:
1. How to safely bulk search for domain availability? I've had domains registered by others shortly after searching for them and I'd like to avoid that.

2. Cheapest way to register that many domains. I will also need my own domain registration re-seller account in a few months, so maybe I should just set that up and register through myself?

3. Tools that will help with setting up the DNS and administering the domains. I want to have the same index.php file for all the domains.

None of these are going to be used for any annoying spammy crap.

posted by dripdripdrop to computers & internet (6 comments total)

I'm really curious as to why you'd need to purchase that many domain names... could affect the answer.
posted by amtho at 10:27 AM on October 3, 2007

moniker.com has a bulk search feature that (afaik) does not release the search terms to the general public.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 10:34 AM on October 3, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Attainable.ws doesn't exactly let you search for 500 names, but you can do substring filters (like any available domain with "world" in it), and it has (mostly) up-to-date availability for all the TLDs, which is hard to find elsewhere. Note: only handles "dictionary domains", ie, words that would appear in a dictionary.
posted by lubujackson at 10:54 AM on October 3, 2007

The issue is that every request to see if a domain is available gets passed through to the registry (verisign and neustar, in your case). They report back to the querying party if the domain is or isn't available. The problem is that these connections are in no way encrypted and many times do get sniffed to yoink juicy-looking domains by the so-called domain tasters.

Your best bet? Compile your list now. Make it a wishlist. Write down every possible name you could want, then start hunting with your registrar. That way, you can do the lookups, populate the cart, and make the purchase all in one shot.

You can do a little pre-planning, figuring out what bulk rates your registrar might offer, figuring out what those bulk rate tiers are and where they cap out, and perhaps get someone lined up on the other side to make the process happen a little smoother. Also, figure out what their bulk rate caps out at if you're afraid of putting too much out there at once.

My registrar caps at 201 for their best rate, so if you request 250-300 at a time, you're likely to get those rates.
posted by phredgreen at 3:45 AM on October 4, 2007

There actually happens to be a cottage industry in just this sort of thing in Nigeria. I suggest checking your spam folder (these honest souls often get carelessly misidentified) to find someone to ask. It's quite possible that if you help them out a bit they can point you towrds someone that can help - and you or your employer can realize their financial dreams in a convenient manner.
posted by 31d1 at 9:42 PM on October 4, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

what 31d1 said.
posted by Jimbob at 6:07 AM on October 5, 2007