When considered in detail, there are many parameters to think about to get yourself a really valuable domain name. In order to determine what exactly makes a domain name valuable some analysis is required. Here are 10 of the main features to look for in a valuable domain name.
1. The domain name is inherently searchable. If a commonly typed search phrase exactly matches the domain name, it will be of higher value.
2. The market type. Depending on the current PPC rating, the niche or the mass market, a particular domain name may have a higher value. Free tools are available to determine the PPC rating, for example through Google.
3. The history of the domain name in terms of revenues and how long has it been registered. Old domains have this advantage over newer ones in that the search engines rank websites based on the keywords and when they find similar ones, the older ones get the preference as they are supposed to be more trusted. If the site was registered for a long time, tools are available to find out what it contained initially. If its contents were related to the domain name, this is always an advantage.
4. The domain name is a common word and is easily pronounced.
5. The domain name can be exploited to create brand recognition – although you must always be careful not to infringe copyright.
6. The domain name is easily memorable.
7. The domain name is short. The best names are are usually the shortest ones, particularly the two and three letter domains. These are getting harder to get, but if you concentrate on expired domains, there are still opportunities.
8. For already registered domains, if there is current revenue from Affiliates/Parking etc, this will make them valuable. The higher the revenue they generate, the higher the value.
9. Is the domain name registered with popular search engines? It is possible to find out a website’s current indexed position with a particular domain name.
10. The number of backlinks, i.e. links pointing to the website from other sources. This is an important factor used by the main search engines to rank websites. Finding out how many back links that the domain has currently and checking if they add to the value to it from the viewpoint of the search engine gives a further insight into the usefulness of the domain.
In some ways, there are no fixed rules that say this domain is better than that one. As they say, one man’s drink is another man’s poison. Having said that, if you follow the 10 rules above, you can take the guesswork out of choosing the right domain name.