In website building, Domain Name is one of the first considerations when doing a purchase since this will be or should embody the identity of the branding you are promoting.
This means that Domain Name Value is an important deciding factor on buying and selling domain names. But, how do domains get an appraisal?
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Measuring the Value of A Domain Name
Tangible products have these brand names and you know that people tend to buy what they deem popular, a sort of a household name.
This means that a reputable brand that already is a household name gains a lot of sales and the branding itself adds value to the product. That’s how important brand names are.
In the context of website and SEO, the concept of branding also applies and that branding starts with your domain name.
Your domain name leaves the first impression of what your website is all about whether it’s your product or service brand, your niche, or anything it could be.
Now, in building a website, one of the first things to consider is the domain name that will become the URL or the address of your space online.
These domain names are purchased from name servers and the price of these becomes part of the equation especially for webmasters who are implementing SEO techniques particularly in building a PBN.
Also, domain trading like domain flipping and the domain buy & sell is a flourishing venture nowadays given the fact that it is sought after in the SEO field.
This makes us want to understand, how do domain names are appraised and given value which what we are to explore today.
Factors Affecting Domain Name Value
As we can see, Domain Name could be considered as a Virtual Asset. It is finite, has market demands, and more often than not, the value appraises.
Yes, domain value could also go down due to violations of search engine webmaster’s guidelines but today, we’ll focus on how domain name value appraises.
Of course, as you consider building your website, you start with naming it and there will be times that the desired address has already been taken.
This could be very costly especially if the name you want to purchase is exactly the one you want to buy.
Here are the key elements on how domain name value appraises.
Extensions
Extensions are the last part of your URL which also called as Top-level Domain or TLD.
TLDs have four official classifications according to IANA or the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority which are:
- Generic TLD
these are the most common extensions available such as .com,.net, .org, and such.
There are also a subcluster of gTLD which are the GeoTLD that pertains to specific geoposition such .tokyo, .manila, etc.
Since these extensions are generic, it doesn’t make the domain name price kick up compared to other TLDs.
- Sponsored TLD
These TLDs are commonly reserved for private organizations, government, and educational institutions.
Some examples are .mil used by US Military, .museum which are reserved for museums, and .asia which is reserved for that region.
Obtaining a domain name under these extensions could be a bit pricy as these are more specific compared to the generic plus the fact that it is reserved for the specific nature of websites.
- Country Code TLD
These are extensions like .us, .ca, .cn, which are country codes assigned for specific countries.
Another price kicker for domain names as it is very specific and a great differentiator.
- Infrastructure TLD
This is an extension only used by IANA and has .arpa as its extension.
Spelling
Domain Name typographic errors are price kickers especially when it is very close to an already established domain name like Google.com or Facebook.com.
The reason behind this is the number of chances people entering a topographically incorrect URL can bring in organic traffic to your site. Big SEO help.
Character Length
The shorter your URL is, the easy it is to remember. This means high demand for shorter domain names and equates to higher prices. The basic economic law of supply and demand.
Domain Name History
Many overlook this part as some domain names have already been pre-purchased.
When a domain name has already been used before and became available to the market, its history in the search engine index still remains.
Prices kick up for those URLs that have good DA/PA scores, valuable backlink data, and if it is not penalized due to various violations.
Market Trend
SEO and Digital Marketing deals a lot with market trends and this could be a price kicker for the domain name you’re planning to purchase or to sell.
When a niche or even a single word is gaining traction online and the trend is up, prices would more likely to shoot up.
For example, in the wake of the protest for “Black Lives Matter“, domain names having “BLM”, or a combination of these words have an impact on prices.
How to Appraise a Domain
Knowing the appraising factors on your domain name helps you in deciding whether to buy or sell a domain name and also helps you understand how it is appraised.
Today, there are easier ways to have your domain name appraised and get a close estimate on how much prices should be. Here are some ways to do the appraisal.
Appraisal Tools
You may go to web-based appraisal tools available online. These tools are programmed based on the factors specified above. Those tools are:
- EstiBot
- DomainIndex
- Sedo
Third-Party Service
If you find it very time-consuming, there third-party service providers who can do the domain name appraisal for you saving your time for some bucks.
You may check out Sedo,NameCorp, or SEO.com.
Comparative Analysis
If you are knowledgeable enough, you can save money by doing your own comparative analysis based on the data you can obtain based on the factor aforementioned.
Another benefit of this is you get the information first-hand so you have control over how you decide on prices.
Better to Know
Having this knowledge will help you a lot in major decision-making on your website building and SEO campaigns.
Get your domain name appraised and see how your virtual assets have grown!
