Use An Ajax Domain Selection Tool
Ive heard stories from people where they say theyd use a domain name search tool from a company that sells domains, didnt buy it, then when they went back the price had either increased or was suddenly sold and was for sale for a ridiculous amount. Remember that you can search for domain names without doing it through a service with sites like Domjax.
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.
Rarity And Commercial Prospects
The fact that there are a limited amount of words and keywords in each extension that have value on their own is the most important aspect in deciding domain name cost.
The second aspect in domain name valuation is commercial viability, or the capacity to generate money with a domain name in an established market.
The value of a domain name that contains a common word that is used commercially is considerable. Cars.com, Loans.com, Books.com, Travel.com, and more websites are examples.
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Use An Appraisal Service
A domain appraisal service is exactly what it sounds like. Its a website that enables you to find information about your domain, helping you estimate its value and compare it to similar names.
This kind of service will do a lot of the hard work for you. It automatically compares your domain against similar names and collects information about what those other domains sold for. It will also measure your domains worth, based on many of the factors we outlined previously. If youre serious about putting an estimated price on your domain, this is one of the easiest methods for getting an educated answer.
While there are many appraisal sites you can use, were going to look specifically at one of the most well-known. Say hello to EstiBot.
EstiBot is the most widely used domain appraisal tool, with over two million appraisals performed on a daily basis. To try it for yourself, you can start by entering the domain you want to check in the field on the homepage and clicking Appraise.
At that point, you should be presented with a report on the specified domain.
At the top of the page, youll see the estimated value and some basic information about the domain. However, if you scroll down, youll find more details regarding how EstiBot arrived at this value. For instance, you can see the total amounts that similar domains sold for.
You can also view a huge amount of statistics and analytics for the domain, giving you an even clearer picture of its ultimate worth.
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:
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The Value Of A Domain From An Seo Perspective
If you have a terrible domain name that gets 100,000 visits to the associated website each month a lot of the above can be thrown out. At the end of the day Google ranks individual pages, not sites based on their domain name .
Lets take another one of my clients and a current domain purchasing opportunity that has recently come his way to help you understand how an SEO would go about valuating a domain from a search engine perspective. My clients site is FitnessMentors.com and he was recently approached with the potential sale of domain FitnessMentor.com . Where possible, Ill look at the purchase of this site in SEO terms based on the advice I gave my client with the examples below.
These are not necessarily listed in order of most importance although they can be loosely interpreted in order of value.
Invest In Domain Valuation Tools & Services
If you want the most accurate information about how much your domain name is worth, a valuation service is a great option for you. These sites take care of all the research for you. Theyll make comparisons to similar domains and consider every factor to come up with an estimate.
The great thing about using a valuation service is that the reports they produce are filled with hard data. Many tools will provide analytics for everything from page views to keyword values.
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How To Appraise A Domain Name With Online Valuation Tools
Jason Allen GoodlinApril 24, 2011 | Updated: December 9, 201575
If you want to know how much a house is worth, there are a number of online tools that you can reference. Similarly, there are a number of online tools for determining the valuation of Internet real estate domain names.
Online valuation tools can help you determine the price of your domain name. The three most commonly used domain name valuation tools are Estibot, Valuate, and Website Outlook.
While no tool or formula can provide an exact value for a house or a domain name, they can assist by providing a ballpark estimate. Estibot and Valuate use the same valuation algorithm, which is based primarily on keyword metrics including previous sales data and cost-per-click data, whereas Website Outlook provides a value based on website performance indicators such as Alexa traffic rank, backlinks, and Google Page Rank.
In order to demonstrate domain valuation tools in action, a domain name that I own VideoGameWriting.com will be put through each online tool.
What Is The Value Of Your Domain
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the many elements that contribute to the value of a domain name, as well as how to assess the worth of your own domain.
You should be able to assess how much you can sell your domain for quite precisely if you use the methods and resources mentioned in this post. You may also use the tips above to assist you to decide whether or not to buy new domains.
Buying and selling domains as a company might be difficult, but buying domains for personal projects that fulfill the requirements above can help you get a better sale price later on.
Knowing how much your domain is worth might help you determine whether its time to sell it for a fast profit or buy a fresh new domain youve just discovered.
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Domain Keyword Monthly Search Volume
If the domain you are looking at buying does in fact have keywords exact match or partial you are trying to rank for, it makes sense to determine the search volume of these keywords to see how much potential value they have.
Simply go to , sign in , and do the following:
Under Find new keywords select Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category:
You should see the following area where youll put in your keywords into the Your product or service section . Then click Get ideas:
Next, select the tab for Keyword ideas to see the search volume for the particular keyword:
This information will show you the average number of times people have searched for that exact keyword, the competition based on a simple criteria of Low, Medium or High, as well as the suggested bid. If youre not familiar with Google AdWords, the suggested bid amount may confuse you. These numbers could get pretty high, just check out this search for defense attorney and how much higher the suggested bid amount is than it is for fitness mentor:
The takeaway is that the higher the search volume, the more competition and the higher the suggested bid, the more valuable the domain if it does in fact contain these exact words or most of them.
An Introduction To Domain Valuation
Whether youre planning on selling a domain, or you just want to know how much one you own is worth, youll be looking to perform a process called domain valuation. This can also be referred to as domain appraisal, but the principle remains the same. Either way, this is a method for estimating the value of a specific domain name.
Before moving on, lets quickly recap some domain name basics. A domain name refers to the main part of a sites URL, which visitors use to access the main page of that site. For example, our domain name is dreamhost.com.
In turn, a domain name consists of two primary components:
- Second-Level Domain : This refers to the main part of the URL, which most commonly contains the name of the website or the business that owns it. In our example, this is dreamhost.
- Top-Level Domain : This is what comes at the end of the domain name, which in our case is .com. There are hundreds of TLDs available to use, but some of the most popular include .com, .net, .org, .gov, and .edu.
To add a domain name to your site, youll need to register one with a vendor known as a domain registrar. You can also buy domain names from several hosting companies. In fact, DreamHost specializes in domains by providing an easy interface to search for, purchase, and manage your assets. This can be particularly useful if you want to get your website hosting and domains from the same provider and keep the administration of your entire site under one roof.
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Find Valuable Domains At Hovercom
With over 400 TLDs and years of experience, Hover is the perfect place to find your next high-value domain name. Our massive list of options means were more likely to have one that will be valuable to you or whoever you sell it to. And thanks to added features like no-cost WHOIS privacy, affordable and flexible email options, and seamless integration with numerous services, domains registered through Hover have added value. Visit Hover.com to get started.
Make The Domain Unique
You dont want to get in the situation where you can confuse your domain name with that of another brand. The example Rand uses is Flickr.com and an existing site that, at the time of his post, was not owned by Flickr Flicker.com. It seems that Flickr heeded his advice and has since purchased Flicker.com which now 301 redirects back to the main site. Look out for situations like these or those that have plural, hyphenated or misspelled versions and, where possible, avoid these domains.
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Where To Sell Your Website
As with any sale, its incredibly important to make sure that you sell your website through a safe, secure, and reputable website broker to avoid issues.
Flippa
We looked at Flippas business valuation calculator above but Flippa is mainly a marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Once youve figured out what your business is worth, you might want to take the next step.
Describing itself as the #1 platform to buy and sell a business, Flippa has a handy directory of trusted business brokers, showing their location, specialties and the price range of the businesses that they represent. You can then list your business with your chosen broker through a Flippa account.
Empire Flippers
Again, Empire Flippers offer a great business value calculator and they can take care of the next step, allowing you to make more money than if you sold the site on your own.
When you list your business with Empire Flippers, it will be sent out to over 90,000 . This gets your site seen by more people and attracts more genuine interest. These connections allow Empire Flippers to target buyers that they know are looking for a particular type of site.
FE International
FE International is a professional website broker offering direct access to a global network of over 41,000 pre-qualified investors.
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Existing Site And Traffic
If youre selling a domain name and the site is already getting traffic, or has an existing backlink profile, then you can typically get much more for the domain.
An interested buyer could be purchasing the domain for the name and the SEO power alone. They could be interested in taking over your website. Or, they could be using it for the sheer SEO power alone and forwarding your domain to their existing site.
Older domains also tend to be more valuable than a brand new domain. So, if you have an old domain, even if you havent done anything with the domain, it can still be more valuable than a domain you registered a few months ago.
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Research Recent Domain Sales
The best way to get started in the world of domain name sales is to become familiar with it. Take a look at recent sales and see what types of domains are being purchased and for what amount.
DNJournal regularly updates this domain sales report to show how much domain names have recently sold for at different premium domain services. Keep your domain in mind and see how it compares to the listed sales. Pay close attention to length, similar keywords, and other related factors to narrow down a range that your domain would likely fit within.
An important note here is that only a small number of domain sales get reported, so this is by no means a comprehensive list of domain value. However, there are still a lot of domains to look at that will help you better understand how much various types of domain names have successfully been sold for.
Tips For Selling A Domain
If you’ve decided to sell your domain, you can do a few things to increase its value.
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How Brandable Is The Domain Name
Branding can mean different things depending on the potential buyers.
I make sure to avoid any names that are trademarked or copyrighted. But there are many names out there that could include names of states, regions, hobbies, or keywords that make it a good fit for bloggers.
For an outdoor blog, good examples might include kayakfreak.com, hikingeveryday.com, or paintballpioneers.com . These names could all be considered decent brands for niche websites.
They tend to be very specific in a niche, but they work for a business or a blog, have good keywords in a popular space, and are easy to remember.
This doesnt necessarily mean those domain names will be worth a lot but it makes it far more likely.
Another thing to look for in a brand is location. While I tend to shy away from getting a domain name that is too narrowly focused, if I found a great Chicago Keyword name that I couldnt believe was open, that could very well be worth a shot.