I came across a pretty solid one word .com domain name for sale. While contemplating the acquisition, I used NameBio to do some research, and I thought I would share how I found it helpful to me.
The domain name I was researching is a one word .com domain name. It is a well known term in its particular field, but it is relatively uncommon in normal speech. This made it a bit complicated to analyze because it wasn’t a standard term I could value based on my gut alone.
The Google Adwords keyword tool can be helpful to see how many people are searching for the keyword. For my needs, it was not as helpful because I don’t really care about that. Even without doing any keyword research, I am quite positive there aren’t many people searching for this term. It doesn’t matter though because it is a well-known term in its field, and the domain name could either be used as a brand or be used by a company that specializes in the term.
Most importantly for this domain name, I wanted to see if other domain names with this keyword have been bought, and if so, what prices they achieved in the aftermarket. This would tell me if others value the keyword as much as I think they do, and if so, what they were willing to pay for them. If other domain names with this unique keyword sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars, it would give me more confidence to pay the high asking price for the exact match .com.
NameBio archives public sales from many public marketplaces and sales venues. If domain names with a particular keyword have sold publicly, NameBio probably has them recorded. I can search a particular keyword and see what domain names sold, in what extensions, the date, and the purchase price.
The data provided by NameBio in this particular search is invaluable, and I regularly use NameBio when doing pre-acquisition research. I opted not to buy this particular domain name, and the decision was made primarily as a result of the information obtained by searching NameBio.
Namebio is good to check, as well as the Google Keyword Planner. I would, though, also check:
SimilarWeb
SEMrush
Majestic
Archive.org
WHOIS history
Google search for the domain (to see if it’s banned)
email blacklist check
I have over 100 different additional “checks” on my list that you should do besides sales history.
What if the Namebio doesn’t have any prior sales history for the domain? You would need to do those additional checks to see how the domain was used in the past, as well as identify opportunities for domain usage in the future.
Hi Bill, Can you list the 100 additional checks. This could be invaluable for myself and others. Thanks so much!
100 check – Thats a lot of checking….
Todd, I don’t generally give out the list of 100 additional checks, because it’s part of a service that I provide. However, I did mention a lot of the checks when I was interviewed by Mr. Cyger for Domain Sherpa: https://www.domainsherpa.com/bill-hartzer-verified-domains/
That seems quite excessive.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s excessive at all. Different sites tend to show different data in some cases, and 100 or more checks of different data about a domain can paint a picture about how the domain was used in the past.
If I see a good domain name at a good price and the provenance checks out, I don’t really care about anything else.
I will check it out. Thanks Bill
I wouldn’t turn down a good blacklisted domain name. You can bring it back into good standing by building a basic site and showing the spamcops that you are the new owner.
Ordinarily, I would agree but I have had prospective buyers raise that issue before.
Prospective buyers, if they do their due diligence, will challenge prices if they find something negative about a domain. After all, if I was buying a house and my home inspector found termites, I would bring that up to the seller. Sure, it’s fixable (get rid of the termites and fix the damage), but that definitely is going to have an effect on the price of the home.
@elliot
@bill
The blacklist removal process is straightforward and has been around a long time. I would like to suggest that you guys teach this to your clients (readers) versus giving up good domain names because of it.
In my own words: Put up a 5 page site. Don’t hide the whois. Contact info on the site. Enable SPF with -all flags. Use a few DNS testing tools to help identify quick fixes.
You are not replacing wood because of termite damage (which costs money). All you are doing is something that should be done anyways when you start a website.
Blacklist Removal Process
https://www.dnsbl.info/blacklist-removal.php
Self-Service Removal
Some blacklists have a self-service removal feature. These generally allow for near immediate removal from the blacklist. Be sure that you’ve resolved the issue before doing this. When an IP address gets listed again after removal the process can become more difficult.
Time Based Removal
Most blacklists do not offer self-service or manual removal. They have a process that runs that will automatically remove low-level listings within a week or two. If the IP address has been involved in sending spam multiple times or in high volumes this process may take longer.
John, that’s definitely helpful info. The problem is that many buyers and end users don’t even know that those blacklists even exist. But for some, if they knew how to get off of the blacklists they wouldn’t ask about it.
Isn’t that one of our jobs as domain investors? Buy, fix, marketing, develop, wait as years go by, consult, sell. The end user will never know the difference. By the time they get it months or years later the domain is no longer blacklisted. Thanks to your value added service of blacklist fixing, good as new.
I also like to use Google Trends to see if the term is trending upward or downward. https://trends.google.com/trends/