5 Exterior Factors I Consider When Valuing a Domain Name

I buy and sell all types of domain names related to various trades and industries. One day I might be negotiating to buy a real estate domain name and the next day I might be trying to sell a domain name related to cosmetic surgery.

There are certain standard domain name factors I generally consider when I am trying to place a value on domain names, and I think other domain investors look at these as well. I use the Keyword Planner tool to see search numbers, and I find the Adwords CPC to see how much advertisers are paying for clicks. I also look at the age of the domain name and number of extensions registered (and by whom). Comparable sales and prices for similar domain names are also standard factors.

There are other general domain name factors I also consider, but for the sake of this post, I’d like to discuss five of the exterior factors I consider to place a value on a domain name I am trying to acquire or sell. I welcome your feedback, and I invite you to share some other considerations you make when placing a value on a domain name.

Cost of product or service – I look at how much people are paying for the product or service that the domain name covers. For higher end products and services where trust is important, I believe exact match keyword domain names may be critical in attaining that trust. If it’s a high end business, the value of the domain name may reflect that.

Commission or margin on product or service – If I am looking to buy or sell a domain name related to an industry where the commission or profit margin is high and one closed deal can pay for the domain name, the value I place on it will reflect this. Having higher profit margins means that an excellent lead producing domain name should be worth more.

Types of domain names other companies use – If companies who operate in the space use variations of a domain name I own or am trying to buy, I would likely value it higher as a result. To give you an example, when I bought LakeWinnipesaukee.com, I saw that a number of local businesses use variations of this as well as different extensions, so I valued it higher. I think it’s the best domain name of those in use, and when I build it, I believe there will be a higher level or trust.

Size of market – The more businesses involved in the market, the more valuable a domain name should be. For a category defining domain name, I have found at least one company wants to have the prestige of owning that domain name or to prevent a competitor from getting it. If the market is small, the value would probably be less.

Size of companies involved – The actual value depends on the companies, but the size of the companies is a consideration. If it’s going to be tough or impossible to contact a decision maker or the domain name probably wouldn’t be of interest to any companies in the space, the value would be lower.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

16 COMMENTS

  1. I think the 2nd paragraph of this article is pretty much what a modern domainer should do in a nutshell. Of course, there is also the “gut” feeling that is involved with brandables but that is subjective and only those with a lack of humility can say their opinion is superior.

  2. I learn a lot on your blog and enjoy it.
    I would differ on one point though…
    “LakeWinnipesaukee.com” should be devalued substantially
    because not one person in a hundred could spell it, pronounce it, and type
    it into a browser.Just my opinion. It’s a very small niche.

    • Thanks much for the compliment, but I disagree with your assessment for a few reasons:

      1) The search numbers (27,100 monthly searches as of now in the offseason) don’t jibe with what you’re saying, so I assume people familiar with Lake Winnipesaukee know how to spell it.

      2) Google Autocorrect will help people as they try and spell it, and if they spell it wrong, Google will help them again.

      3) Right now, in the winter offseason, the undeveloped / never developed domain name is seeing a bit of type in traffic. It isn’t a lot, but it shows there is some interest without ever having been a website.

      I also believe that if I build out a nice looking website that has information about the Lake, hotels, real estate companies, home rental owners, and activity managers will want to be featured on it to promote their businesses.

      Of course I could be wrong, but ultimately, I believe people will figure out the spelling.

  3. “I saw that a number of local businesses use variations of this as well as different extensions, so I valued it higher. ”

    This by far is the number 1 thing to look at in my opinion. You have a much more likely chance of selling a domain for a substantial profit when there are people using those words in their domains.

    For instance if you had teethwhitening.com and researched to find out that almost 1500 dot com domains end with the words teeth whitening than your chances of selling it for good money go up tremendously.

    • “For instance if you had teethwhitening.com and researched to find out that almost 1500 dot com domains end with the words teeth whitening”

      Curious as to how you do that?

    • It is important, although the downside is that a local business might not know enough about domain name values, might not have the capital to pay, and it might not have the desire to go from local to worldwide.

    • I don’t think I’ve “invested” in a domain name other than .com. I’ve speculated on several but haven’t paid much in the aftermarket, nor have I sold many non .com domain names.

    • I’m big on dot com as well, but I still have about 5% in my portfolio consisting of other TLD’s, mostly .net and .org, and I’ve good success in selling when a inquiry comes along, but sometimes I feel I left money on the table, Thought you may of had a formula for the lessor TLD’s… Thanks anyway

  4. If one “mines” the drops or below the radar keywords in long-existing extensions where one regularly sees aftermarket sales, there is really no need to pursue the new TLDs. It will take years before a meaningful aftermarket develops for these new domains meaning they are illiquid investments at best and very possibly a total waste of money.

  5. Do you ever factor into the equation the total number of search page results from Google or Yahoo that have paid ad placements on the right, top, or bottom of the page for that particular keyword in the domain?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recent Posts

Handoff to Dan on Imported Leads Can be Confusing

0
I've been using the lead import option at Dan.com more regularly. Although the 5% commission is not ideal, transactions tend to move more quickly...

ArtificialIntelligence.com Goes Up for Sale

8
I tried to buy the ArtificialIntelligence.com domain name multiple times over the last 10 years. The emails I sent to the registrant went unanswered,...

EU Gives More IP Protection to Food & Drink Producers

0
Did you know that some well-known food and drink varieties are protected intellectual property regulations? Popular types of drinks and foods that are protected...

Price Testing

1
In 2022, my wife and I decided our kids were ready for some big mountain skiing and we planned a trip to the Rocky...

GoDaddy Making You Sign in to See What You Renewed (Updated)

3
This morning, I noticed something different in a domain name renewal email from GoDaddy. Instead of telling me exactly what domain names I renewed...