Many domain registrars offer domain auctions on expired domains which are now available to the public for purchase. GoDaddy has one of if not the best auctions associated with a registrar because they are the biggest domain registrar so consequently you get more sites and more variety of sites available for purchase more often than through any other domain registrar. Let’s talk about how to use GoDaddy’s domain auction.

How to Use GoDaddy’s Domain Auction

Just like any other online auction like Ebay, each website has a timer which counts down to the point of sale. Before that timer runs out, anyone interested can make bids to vie for a listed domain assuming its higher than the previous bid if there are existing bids, otherwise you can bid the initial asking price itself if you are the first one bidding. Once the timer runs out, if you are the highest bidder then you win that domain and after payment you can do with it as you like.

Many listed domains will actually let you purchase them without having to bid so long as you are willing to pay the owner’s exact top asking price. For example, a domain may allow you to start bidding at $500 with a week left until it will be sold while simultaneously giving you the chance to purchase it immediately for $1,000.

If you are sure that you want that particular domain but are afraid to get into a bidding war over it or worse that someone might purchase it before you, then you might go ahead and do the safe thing and purchase that domain early on for $1,000 (to keep with that example).

You’ll find thousands of domains for sale at any one time ranging from an infinite number of niches and with any number of domain extensions. A lot of their domain auction is self explanatory. Go to https://auctions.godaddy.com/ to get started.

First, use the search bar to search by keywords/domains related to your niche, otherwise you’ll just have a big pool of random domains which won’t have any use to you; remember that relevance is always key.

Next, note the right advanced search bar which gives you a chance to refine your search beyond just keywords.

You can search by predefined features such as:

Feature Domains

Most Active (in terms of bids)

Expiring (those which have expired recently)

Ending Soon (auctions which are ending soon)

Closeouts

The Bargain Bin

Alphabetically

Fixed Price (domains where there is no negotiation or bidding, just the asking price)

Number of Bids (more than, less than, or exactly the number you choose)

Number of Characters (while choosing the characters contained within)

Price (in terms of minimum or maximum)

Extension (.COM, .ORG, etc.)

Geography (you can search using a map for domains listed with cities/landmark names near you or a chosen location)

Traffic (gives you a monthly traffic estimate)

Domain Age

Ending In (choose how many days until the auction for these domains ends)

Attributes (search by domains which have certain attributes tied to them such as “buy now option”, an appraisal, etc.)

When searching by your keyword of your choice using the search bar at top, make sure to click the “keep advanced search filters” when you search so that you can combine the keyword with whatever parameters you want to search by.