The domains I've made the most money on came from paying attention to stuff I was already seeing. Reading things I was going to read anyway. Conversations I was already having. I'd love to tell you I subscribe to a secret domainer idea generation service that I could link to and make a few dollars as an affiliate, but I don't. That's not how it works. Here's where I find inspiration.
Mine your unfair advantage (work, hobbies, and network)
Your day job and your circles give you vocabulary most domainers never hear. If you work around freight, you know “cross-dock,” “drayage,” “last mile,” “backhaul.” If you coach youth sports, you hear “skills lab,” “prospect day,” “recruiting portal.” Pair those with clean structures. Keep a single running note on your phone. Every time a customer or coworker repeats a term, capture it. That list pays. I wrote an entire article at NamePros on getting your best domains from your day job.
Listen where buyers actually talk (support, sales calls, founder chats)
Founders leak intent when they’re frustrated. Yesterday a friend of mine told me, “We’re drowning in vendor onboarding.” I wrote down the phrase, VendorOnboard.com. It was already registered and even if it was available I would still have some homework to do. But it was an idea. Language came from the buyer, not a list. If you don’t have your own calls, lurk in public places: subreddit help threads, industry Facebook groups, product forums. You’re not chasing domainers; you’re eavesdropping on budgets.
Watch the money (ads and landing pages)
My first job out of school, my boss told me, "follow the money." I had no idea what the hell he was talking about. I never forgot that, and over time, I figured it out.
Companies don't run the same ad for six weeks unless it's working. When you see the same messaging pushed repeatedly, that's not brand awareness—that's a converting offer. The language they're using to sell is the language buyers respond to. Screenshot it.
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Harvest live catalogs (Shopify, Etsy, App Store, SaaS galleries)
Live storefronts are vocabulary factories. I scan “New & Updated” in the App Store and poke around new Shopify niches. I’m not copying brand names—I’m hunting descriptors and feature nouns buyers already use: Heatless Curls, Quiet Hours, Tap to Pay, Retention Playbook. A beauty trend like “heatless curls” becomes CurlYard.com. A fintech feature like “tap to pay” becomes TapPay.io or TapToPay.app. The catalog writes the list; you shape it. For the record, I just made up those names and I have no idea if they are for sale.
Strip conference agendas for tomorrow's language
Conference agendas are product roadmaps dressed as schedules. ShopTalk 2024 put "post-purchase experience" on multiple tracks. That's the kind of repetition you're hunting for—when a phrase shows up multiple times, it's transitioning from jargon to standard vocabulary.
I keep a tiny sheet: Event, Track, Session Title, Nouns/Verbs, Notes. When "first-party data" or "usage-based pricing" show up across vendors and talks, that repetition is your signal. Those are the terms worth building domain lists around.
Sponsor sessions and workshops are even better—they're closest to budgets. Companies don't sponsor tracks about theoretical concepts; they sponsor what they're selling right now.
Work a calendar (seasonal, regulatory, release cycles)
Timing beats clever. Every quarter has fresh crop: tax forms, new rules, platform changes, BFCM, shipping surcharges. I keep a plain text calendar with phrases to watch—1099-K spikes, privacy shifts, interchange headlines, return policy changes.
When these events hit, buyers start searching for solutions. Don't step on trademarks; use adjacent language buyers adopt. When interchange fees spike, terms like "checkout rates," "payment fees," and "transaction costs" start trending. When return policies tighten, "returns window," "refund policy," and "return management" become search terms. When attribution breaks, "signal loss," "tracking alternatives," and "attribution tools" get traction.
I've missed plenty by being late. Being one week early is better than three weeks late.
Expand and compress (synonyms, stems, ports)
When a noun feels right, I run it through three quick lenses:
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Synonyms: vendor → supplier, merchant, seller, partner, provider.
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Stem/shorten: compliance → Comply, Complyr, Complio (still readable).
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Portmanteau: durable + apparel → DurApparel, finance + instant → Finstant.
Blended words are dangerous—most land in mush. Keep them pronounceable, ideally two syllables, and do a radio test (say it once; can they type it?).
Geographic + vertical stacks (service + place)
Local businesses still buy a lot of domains. The pattern is ancient because it works: [geo] + [service] or [service] + [geo]. Go deeper than “roofing” and “plumbing.” Think spray foam, soft wash, paver sealing, metal roofing, EV charger install. Pair with real metros, not vague regions: NaplesSoftWash.com, FriscoPaverSealing.com, MesaMetalRoofing.com, AustinEVInstall.com. If the city is crowded, pick the suburb with its own identity. Clean language, clear buyer.
Read job posts (they reveal roadmaps)
Hiring posts quietly announce what’s next: “launching a partner marketplace,” “embedded lending,” “migrating to usage-based billing.” Turn those into nouns: PartnerMarketplace.com, EmbeddedLending.com, UsageBilling.com. Many are gone; some aren’t. Even when taken, they point you to neighbors: PartnerStack, LendEmbed, UsageCloud. You’ll also catch new acronyms before they hit domainer Twitter.
Walk expired/auction lists with a single lens, not hope
Expired lists aren’t slot machines. They’re where you test a thesis against the market. Pick a theme from the nine methods above and scan only with that lens. If this week is “vendor onboarding,” I favor onboard, procure, intake, KYC, supplier. If it’s local services, I filter for real geos + specialized trades.
A few rules I actually use
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Outcome over object. “Cold email” is an object; “more replies” is an outcome. Names closer to outcomes are closer to budgets. Example: ColdEmailTool → MoreReplies.com, ReplyBoost.com, InboxReplies.com
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Short isn’t a strategy. Short and bad is still bad.
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Say it / type it. If I say it once and you can’t type it, I pass. If I type it once and you can’t say it, I pass.
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Trademark sanity. If the core noun is famous or the combo confuses a specific company, I walk. Plenty of fish. Not worth what's about to hit you.
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Portfolio fit. Every name gets a buyer hypothesis and a rough price band before I spend a dollar.
The cadence that keeps ideas flowing
Cadence beats inspiration.
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Capture. One note. Every phrase, screenshot, agenda line goes there.
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Expand. Twice a week, 20–30 minutes expanding 5–10 captures with synonyms/structures.
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Score fast. 1–5 for commercial intent, 1–5 for clarity, 1–5 for breadth of buyers. Under 10 usually dies.
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Hunt with a theme. Availability checks and auctions happen inside a theme, not at random.
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Price on day one. Hand-reg brandable? List same day. Geo/service? Decide if it’s a fast flip or a hold.
One more thing
Don’t chase clever. Chase the words buyers are already saying—and clean them up.