Domain Authority As A Domain Valuation Factor
Domain Authority is a lot like PageRank in that it is a calculated metric for how well a domain is likely to rank in the search engines. It was developed by Moz and is based on a scale from 1 to 100 , and is in fact, maintained regularly unlike Googles PageRank.
It is made up of an aggregate of metrics like:
- MozRank: a link popularity score
- MozTrust: a link trust score
- Link profile: a number of varying factors related to types of links on and point to a site
A site with low Domain Authority is in that 1 to 20 range, moderate Domain Authority in the 20 to 40 range, and pretty high Domain Authority in the 40+ range. This is not factual data, just the opinion of an SEO and my experience with websites.
In the case of my clients prospective purchase, the site FitnessMentor.com has a Domain Authority of 27, which isnt amazing, but it is not too bad either. Comparing it to the PageRank of two, this seems about right and youll find that theyre tends to be some correlation there as in, if ones high, the other tends to be high too.
You can determine a domains Domain Authority quickly with the Moz Toolbar for Firefox or Chrome.
What If Someone Already Has The Domain Name I Want
This is a valid concern, given that over 1.7 billion websites are live on the Internet right now. Chances are a lot of great domain names are taken, and when this happens, the cheapest option by far is to brainstorm a different name. But if youre dead set on a domain thats taken, and dont want to compromise, you still have some options.
You can use resources like snapnames.com to see domains that have recently become available . Otherwise, youll have to pay much more for an aftermarket domain, usually by dealing with online auctions in which youd bid on an already-registered domain to be transferred to you.
Aftermarket domain prices are so expensive because the value that a short, relevant domain name can bring to a brand is, well, invaluable . For example, if you were looking for car insurance and werent sure where to start, you might head to CarInsurance.com a domain which sold for $49.7 million in 2010.
Of course, not all aftermarket domains will go for millions, but as a rule, any useful one will still be pretty expensive. Since most of us wont be dropping our lifes savings on a domain name, were going to have to come up with our own. So you might be wondering
Privacy And Protection Costs
Whenever someone registers a domain, the registrar is required to provide that users contact information to be added to the Whois database, which publicly lists the owners of every domain name online.
While its required that you provide your information, its not required that it be easily accessible to everyone. When you purchase a domain, each registrar provides varying degrees of privacy to ensure that your personal information isnt visible on the Whois database which ultimately protects you from things like spam phone calls.
Some registrars offer full privacy on the Whois database free for the first year. Others offer tiered solutions, with the bottom tier free for the first year, which will still mask most personal details in the Whois directory. Its rare to find a reputable registrar offering free Whois protection after the first year.
TopTip:
Also Check: How To Transfer A Domain From Squarespace
How Should I Choose My Domain Name
At first, you might think its annoying that the most relevant domain names for your site are probably taken. But now that the obvious names are out of the equation, were forced to think outside the box which can lead to some memorably creative results.
The most important point to keep in mind while you brainstorm is the radio test: in other words, could potential site visitors spell your domain name just by hearing it? By asking yourself this question, youll avoid common pitfalls like including numbers and words with multiple spellings .
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5. sedo.com
Sedo.com is the worlds biggest domain brokerage. Sedo provides an instant appraisal service once you become a member and log in.
There are many other sites onlinesome require payment and others are free. From my experience, the five best ones are listed above, but another site, URLAppraisal.net, provides an instant appraisal service that you may want to try out.
Also Check: Flippa Domain Appraisal
How To Instantly Check The Website Value
When you think of earning from placing ads on your site, you obviously want to know what its actually worth.You can set a price which is below your sites actual price, and lose money.Or, you can set the price that is simply inadequate for your sites parameters,and advertisers will decline your offer in favour of others, with a more realistic price range.
No wonder that every website owner always asks the question: How much is my website worth?. With this in mind,weve designed a tool that can estimate the true value and help you set the price range that will satisfy you and the advertisers.
Website value calculator by MageNet does just this, and even more.This free calculator helps website owners earn from ads placement on MageNet by assessing their website valuation.Everyone can check the website value within the space of a few minutes.
Well Cover Cost Hidden Fees The Best Domain Registrars And More
Your domain name functions as your websites address in Internet-land, so having one thats simple and relevant will make it much easier for people to find you. If youve ever misspelled a long location name on Google Maps and ended up in the middle of nowhere, then you can probably appreciate the beauty of straightforward place names.
Its easy to see why people are willing to break the bank to secure a snappy domain name it increases site traffic pretty much by design. Some of the most popular domains, like hotels.com or business.com, have literally sold for millions of dollars. But resist the urge to stock up on lottery tickets million-dollar domain names are not the norm. In fact, for most of our plebeian purposes, registration cost wont come to more than $20 annually, max.
Also Check: How Much For A Domain
Focusing On Meaningless Stats
Spicing up your listing with impressive statistics is a good way to attract potential buyers. However, be wary of including vanity metrics that dont actually mean much when it comes to business performance.
Be transparent and only offer real statistics, even if they are less impressive. Focus the listing on your business strengths, achievements, and most enticing data. Dont hide the negatives, but make the positives really stand out.
Where Can I Buy A Domain Name
There are plenty of domain name registrars out there, but only a few are worth your consideration:
- Domain.com offers a huge range of TLDs and ccTLDs
- HostGator is both a domain registrar and a hosting company, and allows you to purchase these services together as a bundle
- GoDaddy one of the best-known domain registrars around, plus its also a hosting provider
You can also buy a domain name through a website builder. Website builders are platforms that help beginners set up professional websites, without having to know any code. When you sign up with a website builder, the domain registration process is integrated as part of that sign up making it a perfect option for beginners!
Read Also: Godaddy To Squarespace
How To Sell A Domain Name At The Highest Price
Are you in domain flipping business and want to learn the art and techniques of selling a domain successfully and profitably?
Then this article is certainly going to help you.
Domains are like internet real estate and as a domain flipper, its crucial to learn the art of selling a domain name at the highest possible price.
There are domains that have been sold for millions of dollars.
Heres an Wikipedia article listing the most expensive domain names ever. Its true that people have paid that much to acquire just a domain name.
So you can imagine how much you could have earned if you were the owner of one of these domains. What could have happened if you registered such a domain on your name before it was sold.
You would have been a millionaire now.
But what made those simple domains sell for millions?
The fact is that the names may look pretty simple in your eyes. But the people who purchased the domains definitely saw something entirely different or they were made to see something different.
This is the art of selling a domain name at the highest price.
You need to learn the art of showing the highest possible value of your domain names in the eyes of buyers.
Thats what will make people buy your domain names.
A domain name is not just a name. But its so much more than this.
Every online business starts with a domain name. Its the first thing people would have to remember when they want to visit your site.
Ask Yourself: Is It Brandable
Some domains have very little value in terms of search traffic but have an immense amount of brand value. These domains tend to be short, easy to remember, easy to pronounce and highly desirable for startups and online companies.
One example of a brandable domain name with very little generic value is Mint.com a domain thats owned by personal finance tool Mint, which itself is owned by the giant finance and tax software company Intuit.
Based on its generic applicability and search volume, Mint.com is almost worthless. After all, who searches online for information about mints? But the name also has a clear brand value for its secondary meaning as a place where money is created.
Many short and simple domain names have similar value. A name like Facebook.com, for example, has no real meaning except as a brand. Domains like Google, which are obviously well known, are known specifically because of their brand value.
Valuing a domain name based on its brandability is extremely difficult and also very subjective. A domain may have very little brand value at one point in time, but have immense brand value in the future if its desired by a rapidly growing company.
The market for brandable domain names also differs significant from the market for generic domain names, since few people are actively looking for brandable domains on a constant, ongoing basis.
Still, there are several techniques that you can use to determine whether or not your brandable domain name has value:
Also Check: How Much Do Domain Names Cost
Set A Price For The Domain
After you have a good idea of what your domain name is worth, the next step in how to sell the domain name is setting a price for potential buyers. Many aftermarket domain sales fall in the $2,000 range. Some sell for more, but the majority sell for under $5,000.
However, if youre sitting on a premium domain, domain investors may be willing to pay a lot more, perhaps even five or six figures. If this is the case, we highly recommend setting a realistic buy-it-now price. Research from Sedo, todays top domain name marketplace, suggests buy-now domains are 300 percent more likely to sell than domains with a make offer listing.
That said, if your domain name is a good one and you dont mind a little negotiating, it may be worth going the make offer route instead. Doing so will allow you to receive multiple offers on the domain, perform a little due diligence on potential buyers, and see how much theyre willing and able to pay for it.
With a lot of potential money on the line, this is one of the most important and exciting steps in how to sell a domain.
Valuing Exact Match Domains
When it comes to value, the EMDs that will be typically worth the most are the ones that have a high search volume on search engines, and a high cost per click in AdWords.
Although anything that describes the exact service of a business, provided it is not too narrow in its scope will most likely be worth something.
If we take a look at the top domain sales of .co.uk domains, most of them are exact match domains in competitive or valuable niches such as gambling, travel and finance.
Biggest Reported UK Domain Sales Of All Time
1. Money.co.uk £1,200,000
- Boohoo.com
- Expedia.com
Although they can also be dictionary words , first names and surnames . They are essentially anything you would name a brand.
ProsAs brandable domains are often made up, they generally can be registered more easily, take for example our own brand name RiseAtSeven.com which was available to register because nobody else was using it.
ConsSometimes brandable domains can be difficult to remember, pronounce or communicate. Amazon was initially going to be called Cadabra, as in the magic word abracadabra. However, after Jeff Bezos lawyer misheard it as Cadaver over the phone Jeff decided to change it to Amazon.
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Negotiating The Price Of A Domain Name
If you do decide that you want to buy a domain name from a private owner or a brokerage, expect the typical make me an offer response. For some reason these people always want you to make the first move and for some reason they always seem to be insulted when you procure your bid.
Just make sure you try to understand how they valuate their domain and hope that they dont say with a domain calculator site. If you know a little about what they are using to justify their cost, you can break that info down and likely prove them wrong .
Now that you have read this post and know how to value a website properly, you can come at them with an army of facts that justify your bid. Just because someone is an ass for buying a domain that has no inherent value doesnt mean you are too.
However, if you find a domain that checks off a lot of general marketing valuation criteria as well as the SEO valuation criteria you may be prepared for a battle. Whenever possible, make it known that you know a lot about what really makes a domain valuable without letting them know how many of those things their domain has.
What are your experiences with trying to buy domains? Im sure there are some good horror stories as well as success stories. Did I miss anything that youd consider when buying a domain or that needs to be thrown into the mix?
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