premium buys
What makes a domain name a premium buy?
A combination of factors and the good fortune of timeliness. There are no hard and fast rules and indeed no guarantees whatsoever that it can fetch what you expect it to.
More than one expert have recounted times when they bought high or sold short only to realise that they have just done it again. The upside is there are a lot of domains out there and new dots (TLDs) in the horizon for all of us to stay in the game and with some luck, generate income.
Do your research. You need to know what the buzz is to keep a finger on the pulse. Catch market rumblings, look into past sales and check current market listings. Build a dotworth perspective in your mind to better assess what domains to go for.
For starters, here are some pointers you may wish to bear in mind when deciding to buy or register a domain or for that matter how to price one if you are minded to sell:
1. a name that's not a mouthful.
Try saying, "supercali-fragilistic-expialidocious.com" and you can see why there's something to be said about how a domain sounds when pronounced. It's a fact that the most valuable domains on the planet thus far are of the generic sort and usually no more than three syllables.
2. a useful name
Generic is good so you won't have a problem with "rights" and monosyllable is excellent! "Guy.com" sold for $1,000,000. It also helps if your generic word has crowd-affinity potential or user-pull (say a phrase like "MySpace") or it represents something of use to a vast majority in a demograph (possibly a "Facebook" type).
3. favourable metrics
Factors like search frequency, keyword incidence, phrase popularity, market relevance, dot-type, previous known sales and current market listings submit themselves to qualitative analysis. Most domain appraisers make use of this information to come up with an estimated value.
Our own dotmetrics report offers both a median value as well as a "prospective" price which is a comprehensive dotworth estimate. [read more]
4. king amongst men
To the world at large, to an industry, to your community, to a user group, to an invention - drill down or up to where you think your target domain's most relevant. How does it stack up against competing names? Does it warrant the kind of interest you think it deserves? Will it attract buyers with relatively deep pockets?
5. does it add worth to your portfolio?
See how it fits into the array of domains in your portfolio when it comes to hedging your investment - which ones are for sale, rent, trade or auction. Again, staying current with domain news can help you make that informed decision.
Our online newsletter has updates on the domain scene and reported sales prices across the globe, - to subscribe, click here.
6. will it be parked or active?
If it's going to be an active domain with a live website, all of the above applies but you have the added option of enhancing its value through product or service branding - which means it need not be generic.
Bottomline, it's a learning process. Do contact us if you need any help.
For more information and updates on the dotworth scene, subscribe to The dotChariot, our weekly newsletter!
What makes a domain name a premium buy?
A combination of factors and the good fortune of timeliness. There are no hard and fast rules and indeed no guarantees whatsoever that it can fetch what you expect it to.
More than one expert have recounted times when they bought high or sold short only to realise that they have just done it again. The upside is there are a lot of domains out there and new dots (TLDs) in the horizon for all of us to stay in the game and with some luck, generate income.
Do your research. You need to know what the buzz is to keep a finger on the pulse. Catch market rumblings, look into past sales and check current market listings. Build a dotworth perspective in your mind to better assess what domains to go for.
For starters, here are some pointers you may wish to bear in mind when deciding to buy or register a domain or for that matter how to price one if you are minded to sell:
1. a name that's not a mouthful.
Try saying, "supercali-fragilistic-expialidocious.com" and you can see why there's something to be said about how a domain sounds when pronounced. It's a fact that the most valuable domains on the planet thus far are of the generic sort and usually no more than three syllables.
2. a useful name
Generic is good so you won't have a problem with "rights" and monosyllable is excellent! "Guy.com" sold for $1,000,000. It also helps if your generic word has crowd-affinity potential or user-pull (say a phrase like "MySpace") or it represents something of use to a vast majority in a demograph (possibly a "Facebook" type).
3. favourable metrics
Factors like search frequency, keyword incidence, phrase popularity, market relevance, dot-type, previous known sales and current market listings submit themselves to qualitative analysis. Most domain appraisers make use of this information to come up with an estimated value.
Our own dotmetrics report offers both a median value as well as a "prospective" price which is a comprehensive dotworth estimate. [read more]
4. king amongst men
To the world at large, to an industry, to your community, to a user group, to an invention - drill down or up to where you think your target domain's most relevant. How does it stack up against competing names? Does it warrant the kind of interest you think it deserves? Will it attract buyers with relatively deep pockets?
5. does it add worth to your portfolio?
See how it fits into the array of domains in your portfolio when it comes to hedging your investment - which ones are for sale, rent, trade or auction. Again, staying current with domain news can help you make that informed decision.
Our online newsletter has updates on the domain scene and reported sales prices across the globe, - to subscribe, click here.
6. will it be parked or active?
If it's going to be an active domain with a live website, all of the above applies but you have the added option of enhancing its value through product or service branding - which means it need not be generic.
Bottomline, it's a learning process. Do contact us if you need any help.
For more information and updates on the dotworth scene, subscribe to The dotChariot, our weekly newsletter!
