Domain Name Appraisals

The Role of Domain Names

• They generate traffic revenue: The perfect domain name can lead major search engines directly to your Web site. Traffic flow is absolutely essential for a profitable online business because it helps bring you new clients and repeat customers.

• They are potential investment opportunities: Purchasing a domain name that may one day be prized by a company or industry can be a strong investment.

• They can protect brand names: If you have the leading or one of the leading brand names in your industry, you do not want a competitor to use your name and take your customers. Owning domain names that incorporate your brand name ensures that your customers can find you and that your competitors can't easily steal your customers.

• They inform consumers: A good domain name can immediately inform the consumers of what you are offering. This efficient flow of information is incredibly valuable in online marketing for goods and services.

How to Get a Domain Name Appraisal

Factors Affecting a Domain Name Appraisal

• Abbreviations generally don’t rate very high in domain name appraisals. This is because the value of a domain name is heavily influenced by what most people type into their browser or search engines. However, there are some exceptions. For example, CD is better than compact disk because it is more commonly used.

• Clarity of the name will affect the value of a URL. Does the name describe the market or product? Does the domain name reflect the content and information available on the Web site? The more clarity a domain name has, the more valuable it will be.

• Hyphens make a domain name harder to type, are less likely to be used in a consumer search and, therefore, make domain names less valuable.

• Length will also devalue a domain value. Because shorter names are easier to type and remember, they are usually worth more than longer domain names.

• Marketability focuses on the market you are involved in and how much your name speaks to the entirety of that market. The more that a domain name incorporates an industry, the more valuable it will be. For example, carsales.com will be worth more than pintosforsale.com.

• Memorability refers to how well users can remember your domain name. Obviously, the easier a URL is to remember, the more valuable it will be.

• Numbers aren't natural for most users to type in and, therefore, tend to devalue domain names.

• Search frequency refers to how often the words and terms in your domain name are recognized by the most popular search engines. Search engines are the key to getting consumers to your Web site. Therefore, they greatly influence domain name appraisals.

• Substitutions, such as "8" for "ate," will devalue your domain name appraisal. Again, this goes back to how consumers use the search engines. Clever spellings reduce your domain name’s value because less people are likely to search terms with unconventional phrasing.