advice Difference in metrics between good/bad domains and finding a buyer?

[labinnah1]

Hi,

I am a beginner in domain investing but I do know the basics.

I am wondering what metrics do I need to look at to get a domain that has high chances of being sold quickly.

My first thought is if I get a domain that has many other registered extensions so I can outbound them to the other owners.

However I do not know much about SEO/Traffic/Backlinks and I do see there are many filters available in expireddomains.net

Can somebody refer me a good guide on what I need to look for if I want to get a domain from auction that is easy to sell.

One-word domains, two-word domains brand ability and stuff like that is already clear to me but if there is a guide for traffic and stats Id be happy to know.

Also I heard about out bounding to companies that spent much on certain adwords.

For example if I own denverestate.com I should search by country who pays the most for these certain adwords.

Can somebody give me more information in regards to that?

Best,

 

[MTB]

Most domainers have a checklist. Here are some checks I do:

1. How many people search for the exact-match/broad-match term?
   
2. Is it a .com? (I buy 95% .com)
3. Are there any hyphens or numbers? (avoid them)
4. Have similar domains sold in the past? (and in the recent past?)
5. What has the domain been used for? (see the Wayback Machine)
6. How many other extensions are taken? (if not, and it's brandable I register the main ones, if lots of others are registered this is usually a good sign)
   
7. What are the annual costs to renew? (including privacy / and SSL)
   
8. Is it easy to spell, say, hear, understand and write?
9. This is purely bonus but do the letters stay above the line? (avoiding g, j, p, q, y)
   
10. Does the domain look good as a brand name? (i.e. CapShop/com)
11. Is the name trademarked? (see WIPO brand database)
12. Is the name generic enough not to cause legal problems?
13. Does the domain have a history of spam or fraud?
14. Are the words universally recognisable? (taxi, hotel, holiday, cash, art, etc)
15. Is the word in general use?
    
16. Domain age (anything pre-2000 is a bonus)
17. Are the social media handles available? (I have a list of 20 but the main ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube)
18. Is the Gmail account registered?
19. Can you list 10 potential buyers?
20. Is there an opportunity to develop an automated website and sell together?

 

[labinnah1]

Hi MTB,

I appreciate your detailed answer.

Could you please elaborate on some of the points a bit?

5. What do you look at if there's been a site in the past?
13. What are your sources that you use for checking that?
17/18. I guess if the accounts are taken the value is higher?
19. Do you mean by potential buyers, people who have other extensions/variations of the domain or is there another way to find potential buyers?

Looking at Namejet there are certainly domains that have good metrics but then again many people are bidding on them.

Is there a fixed budget that you usually spend on a domain and if the bidding goes above you just drop it?

Thanks,

Most domainers have a checklist. Here are some checks I do:

1. How many people search for the exact-match/broad-match term?
   
2. Is it a .com? (I buy 95% .com)
3. Are there any hyphens or numbers? (avoid them)
4. Have similar domains sold in the past? (and in the recent past?)
5. What has the domain been used for? (see the Wayback Machine)
6. How many other extensions are taken? (if not, and it's brandable I register the main ones, if lots of others are registered this is usually a good sign)
   
7. What are the annual costs to renew? (including privacy / and SSL)
   
8. Is it easy to spell, say, hear, understand and write?
9. This is purely bonus but do the letters stay above the line? (avoiding g, j, p, q, y)
   
10. Does the domain look good as a brand name? (i.e. CapShop/com)
11. Is the name trademarked? (see WIPO brand database)
12. Is the name generic enough not to cause legal problems?
13. Does the domain have a history of spam or fraud?
14. Are the words universally recognisable? (taxi, hotel, holiday, cash, art, etc)
15. Is the word in general use?
    
16. Domain age (anything pre-2000 is a bonus)
17. Are the social media handles available? (I have a list of 20 but the main ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube)
18. Is the Gmail account registered?
19. Can you list 10 potential buyers?
20. Is there an opportunity to develop an automated website and sell together?

 

[MTB]

5/13. Using the Wayback Machine you can often see a domain's past presnce on the web at various points throughout its' history since first registraion. I look for any usage of porn, spam, drugs, politics, etc. You can find sales information from NameBio amongst others. Also you can do a speech-marks search on the domain in several ways, for example Cool-Sounding-Domain.com, "Cool-Sounding-Domain.com", "Cool-Sounding-Domain", "Cool" + "Sounding" + "Domain", etc..^

17/18. In my opinion the domain has more value if the social media handles (Gmail is a bonus) are not registered, or if you can legally acquire them (?). Although social media accounts can be created that look very similar so this isn't a must-have, but rather a welcomed bonus.

19. There are a lot of groups of potential buyers - but don't rule out developing a website (see: Flippa amongst others) and either generating revenue through advertising/affiliate marketing/drop-shipping etc, or selling the domain with a developed website and traffic stats. This usually, but not always, will result in a higher sale price.

I have different budgets for different types of domains, but I never spend what I can't afford to lose. One domain I spent several thousand dollars on, maxed out my account, and had to work overtime not to p*ss off my bank manager. This was a very hard lesson but a mistake I will never repeat. On the flipside it turned out to be a very good purchase but getting into debt in domain trading is something you want to avoid. So, in answer to your question I would definitely have an auction budget and stick to it.

You can still register very good .com's for $10 every day (see ExpiredDomains) because people are constantly dropping domains (they change email account, they get bored, they forget their password, they don't have enough money - or too much, or they die). As the industries and human behaviour changes and different trends and products emerge (see GoogleTrends) you can snap up incredible bargains - but be fast as the sharks are always lurking in these murky waters...

Some of my favourites among globally-emerging products are e-bikes, e-scooters, underwater products, water purification devices, new tattoo methods, new job titles, and sports/fitness gear.

 

[ken.colvin]

Thanks guys, I really enjoyed the read. Great questions, great answers!

 

[BrandAptly.com]

Most domainers have a checklist. Here are some checks I do:

1. How many people search for the exact-match/broad-match term?
   
2. Is it a .com? (I buy 95% .com)
3. Are there any hyphens or numbers? (avoid them)
4. Have similar domains sold in the past? (and in the recent past?)
5. What has the domain been used for? (see the Wayback Machine)
6. How many other extensions are taken? (if not, and it's brandable I register the main ones, if lots of others are registered this is usually a good sign)
   
7. What are the annual costs to renew? (including privacy / and SSL)
   
8. Is it easy to spell, say, hear, understand and write?
9. This is purely bonus but do the letters stay above the line? (avoiding g, j, p, q, y)
   
10. Does the domain look good as a brand name? (i.e. CapShop/com)
11. Is the name trademarked? (see WIPO brand database)
12. Is the name generic enough not to cause legal problems?
13. Does the domain have a history of spam or fraud?
14. Are the words universally recognisable? (taxi, hotel, holiday, cash, art, etc)
15. Is the word in general use?
    
16. Domain age (anything pre-2000 is a bonus)
17. Are the social media handles available? (I have a list of 20 but the main ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube)
18. Is the Gmail account registered?
19. Can you list 10 potential buyers?
20. Is there an opportunity to develop an automated website and sell together?

This is probably the most extensive checklist I have come across.

Do you normally secure the respective social media accounts as well as the gmail accounts for your domains before listing them for sale?

 

[Martin Andrews]

Most domainers have a checklist. Here are some checks I do:

1. How many people search for the exact-match/broad-match term?
   
2. Is it a .com? (I buy 95% .com)
3. Are there any hyphens or numbers? (avoid them)
4. Have similar domains sold in the past? (and in the recent past?)
5. What has the domain been used for? (see the Wayback Machine)
6. How many other extensions are taken? (if not, and it's brandable I register the main ones, if lots of others are registered this is usually a good sign)
   
7. What are the annual costs to renew? (including privacy / and SSL)
   
8. Is it easy to spell, say, hear, understand and write?
9. This is purely bonus but do the letters stay above the line? (avoiding g, j, p, q, y)
   
10. Does the domain look good as a brand name? (i.e. CapShop/com)
11. Is the name trademarked? (see WIPO brand database)
12. Is the name generic enough not to cause legal problems?
13. Does the domain have a history of spam or fraud?
14. Are the words universally recognisable? (taxi, hotel, holiday, cash, art, etc)
15. Is the word in general use?
    
16. Domain age (anything pre-2000 is a bonus)
17. Are the social media handles available? (I have a list of 20 but the main ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube)
18. Is the Gmail account registered?
19. Can you list 10 potential buyers?
20. Is there an opportunity to develop an automated website and sell together?

Thanks for this list, very helpful.

 

[ken.colvin]

This is probably the most extensive checklist I have come across.

Do you normally secure the respective social media accounts as well as the gmail accounts for your domains before listing them for sale?

I know you're asking MTB but just a quick response. I absolutely secure the social media and gmail accounts if I'm developing a website for an ultimate domain sale. The content I create may or may not be salable but the social media handles and gmail are a huge plus for an interested buyer. If I'm just parking an investment domain I don't do this. But as I mentioned on another thread, my biggest hurdle is getting a steady flow of potential buyers for the parked domains.