Need some advice on domain before I buy

[davelobby]

I am new to the concept of buying and selling a domain. But not new to SEO, development, buying domains, WPO, etc. I have been working on the internet since the early 90s. With that being said, I am interested in getting into domaineering and have a specific question(s) about strategy.

Let's say I find a recently expired/deleted domain name "wordpdf.com" and think right away it has value because it's short, .com, and people want to convert word files to pdf format. I check google PR and its 1 (does this even matter, once i get the domain and change the content I assume there is a big possibility that the PR will probably get refreshed?).

I go to google and search for "word to pdf" and see "About 1,760,000,000 results" (Not really sure what this indicates, I guess my future competition so maybe I want this number to be low, right???)

Ok, I go to adwords toolbar and see that "word to pdf" has 5,000,000 monthly searches and medium competition. So, to me that is a lot of people interested in converting word docs to pdf and medium competition refers to ppc competition.

Ok, I go to godaddy and buy the domain for 10 bucks, I first write an article on converting word docs to pdf and do some SEO work and wait a while for Google to index me and give me some ranking. I put some ads and wait for traffic. (How long do you think I would be waiting? Is the domain/website more valuable at this point and by how much?)

A different strategy could be spending a day or two writing a word to pdf converter web app and making this new domain, wordpdf.com, a neat word doc to pdf converter online tool for the world. Now, how much do you think this domain/website is worth?

I am looking for estimates and general advice, really appreciate anyone who can just give me their opinion.

 

[alien51]

I check google PR and its 1 (does this even matter,

Exact search term domains propel you to the top of Google in no time. And website owners want their domains to be seen immediately.

So i would say, exact search term domains would be like "fast moving inventory" items.

Because most domainers think alike, they will seek out these kind of domains as well. You will end up reselling to fellow domainers.

Brandable exotic names (e.g. mashable, twitter) can be powerful names, but you need to sell them to visionary entrepreneurs (not domainers).

And because domainers outnumber end-users by a ratio of 10 billion-to-1, your exotic "brandable" name can get stuck in your portfolio for quite some time.

I have picked up "brandable" exotic names in the past that were dropped like 5 times based on whois record. But i was able to turn it into a successful e-commerce website. This shows that if you own exotic names but have no time developing them, most people in the domaining industry won't have time developing them either. An end-user is like a needle in the haystack.

once i get the domain and change the content I assume there is a big possibility that the PR will probably get refreshed?).

If you have an exact search term domain, more or less you are already anchored at the top (based from my experience).

Sure, Google can penalize you for lousy content, but i found that exact search term domains often fight back to the top in no time, as soon as you improve your material and correct your content deficiencies.

Is the domain/website more valuable at this point and by how much?)

Technically, yes.

Once you own a domain, it becomes more valuable in the sense that you're not inclined to sell it at reg fee. That's the basic value presumption.

So you pick up a drop name for 8 bucks, and you resell it for 50 bucks, the domain becomes more valuable, more than 6 times its dropped value.

Of course, many "domain value" in the domaining industry is based on speculation. I once purchased a dropped domain for 7 dollars, that once had a display price of 15,000 dollars at Sedo.

A different strategy could be spending a day or two writing a word to pdf converter web app and making this new domain, wordpdf.com, a neat word doc to pdf converter online tool for the world. Now, how much do you think this domain/website is worth?

I think there are a lot of FREE word to pdf converters out there already. So i would assume your main revenue would be advertising.

Maybe it's safe to value your domain by calculating how much profit you earn in a month, multiplied by say 3 years. Meaning you lost 3 years worth of income if you sell your domain. Then add additional compensation demand for the trouble you put writing your app.

If you want to go domainer pricing, you can check out the ballpark figures of domain sales on sites like DN Forum, then price your domain anywhere within those reasonable price ranges.

I think a buyer would value your domain for the traffic you are getting, not exactly the app you made. Unless of course, you are selling your app on your site (e.g. subscription), so in effect, selling your domain would mean selling your "business".

It's just my opinion.

 

[davelobby]

thanks, i appreciate the response. I had the opportunity to buy wordhtml.com for 10 bucks and build a word to html converter. Domain was purchased by someone else today, but it seems like, from what you said, my strategy was not all that great.

 

[alien51]

I had the opportunity to buy wordhtml.com for 10 bucks and build a word to html converter.

In Microsoft Word, you can click "Save As" and select "save as HTML file", and you're good to go.

So how much did you sell the domain?

 

[banners]

I would be careful, as the way that I am reading all of this you might be talking about a TRADEMARK DOMAIN. Which runs a lot of risk, I would recommend that you avoid such names. As far as I know Microsoft likes to protect its trademarks.

 

[davelobby]

alien51, I did not sell it. I just saw that this domain was deleted, still hade pagerank of 1, and wayback machine showed that no one really did anything with it. I am reading and trying to educate myself on domaineering so this is why I asked about strategy. I was going to buy it for 10 bucks, develop it since I could develop such a tool really quickly, and then resell it. I know that microsoft word offers this functionality but a lot of people still seem to search for it (at least thats what i see from google adwords tool). Anyways, i did not buy it, someone else did, and parked it.

usa666, thanks for the reply. I get your point but I don't see how this could ever be a TRADEMARK domain, its wordhtml, it could be anything...

 

[alien51]

I am reading and trying to educate myself on domaineering so this is why I asked about strategy. I was going to buy it for 10 bucks, develop it since I could develop such a tool really quickly, and then resell it.

Domaining involves a ton of speculation. So one tactic you could do is to never pay 10 bucks for speculation.

You can hang around the coupon code section of Namepros and get the price down to about 7 bucks. If you get lucky, you can even get it down to 5 or 6 bucks. Buy the domain, and have an entire 1 year to think about it. Experiment anything with it.

If it's not working out the way you speculated it would be, put the domain on a closeout sale of 10 bucks, you would have even profited 5 bucks more at the most. And breakeven at the least. If no takers, it's not going to be painful. In fact, Adsense for 1 year can probably pay off what you paid for the domain.