What gives a name value?

[kubativity]

over the past few years, domain names have been sold for millions of dollars and many onlookers are left to wonder how a name could pull in that kind of money. A look at dnjournal's weelky sales report shows huge value domains being sold on a regular basis. So where does all this money come from? and who is buying these high profile names?

From my experience, I got into domaining after running a business selling websites several years back. I found that almost every client had a roadblock at the beginning of a project in finding a good available domain name. I realized that domains have a market value and started investing. After domaining for a few years now, I have to say that there is still so much to learn in this industry and there seems to be no quick and easy way to make money.

Although I can easily see in hindsight some of the mistakes i've made along the way, I would like to proceed with caution in the years to come. For this reason, i would like to propose a simple question... what gives a domain name value?

here are some metrics criteria that are considered. Which is the most important?

1. extension is well established (.com being 1)
2. generic
3. short
4. relevant to a profitable online market
5. has natrual type in traffic
6. has an existing website that is indexed in SE's
7. has SE history
8. has high SERP for strong keywords
9. has high paying adsense/ads terms
10. is inambiguous and easy to remember (radio test)
11. has other extensions of the name been registered/used as a real site (not parked)
12. no TM issues
13. is relevant to the ext


what else?

 

[gazzip]

I really enjoyed this article in DnJournal - take a peek

I think brandability and mindshare play a really big part.

http://www.dnjournal.com/articles/aftermarket/warner-valuation-factors.htm


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[Fewski]

The first 3 you have listed all contribute a lot to a domain's value. But remember - A domain is only worth what someone is willing to pay. A domain that doesn't make any since could be bought for millions - if someone is willing to pay that amount.

 

[onewordonly]

Value can also change based on world events or the current hot topics like Climate Change etc. So been able to predict or keep up with current events and what everyone is going to be interested in or talking about soon can also be another area to profit.

 

[Peter]

you forgot 1 of the most important things.

Buyers. Even the best domain is worthless if you do not attract the right buyers. And of course the more potential buyers you attract the better as this will drive the price up.

 

[abcproductions]

your number 3. short is becoming less important. as you go through the dnjournal sales i'm sure you see a majority of the high dollar sales are seven letter and longer (some much longer) names. personally i'm still a believer that shorter is better but i certainly don't let length get in my way of acquiring an attractive name like i did years ago.

 

[DnEbook]

In the high priced domains for sale section of namepros , a 2 letter dot com sold for over $200k !!! (bf.com) but that could mean many things ?????? i would rather own businessfinance.com instead of bf.com , because businessfinance.com tells me exactly what the site is about .
I also believe like many others in the dot tv discussion, that internet and tv are comming together quite quickly , and that the dot .tv extension will perhaps be a top level domain extension as time goes by ?? so keeping that in mind i have regged some names that include the words 'show' 'channel' most are in the dot tv extension but some i have in dot com , i even regged 3dtvs.tv because they may only be a couple of years away ........ and when they come , the demand will be huge !!!!!! 3d is making a comeback . I just regged 3dshoppingchannel.com for example.
I also have holographickaraoke.com ....... imagine what that will be like ????
With so many advances in medicine and technology there are still plenty of opportunities out there , i think if you can look outside the circle there can be success ???
one more example is that i regged worldne.ws (a domain hack name) but easy to remember ...... many here dont like hacks ...... but i believe that del.icou.us has changed that ??? i guess many different views on all this , they are just a few of mine , good luck

 

[sashas]

In the high priced domains for sale section of namepros , a 2 letter dot com sold for over $200k !!! (bf.com) but that could mean many things ?????? i would rather own businessfinance.com instead of bf.com , because businessfinance.com tells me exactly what the site is about .

To me, one big reason why a large company would buy a LL.com for 500k is this: bragging rights.
Now Barnes And Noble own BN.com. Its short, it protects their brand, and it tells a random visitor who DOESN'T know about Barnes and Noble: this company has the financial strength to buy such an amazing name. They must be trustworthy and good at whatever they're doing.

And one big reason we don't see short.com sales at DnJournal is because short .com names are becoming increasingly pricier, hence the lower sales.

 

[lzy]

i would rather own businessfinance.com instead of bf.com , because businessfinance.com tells me exactly what the site is about .

I'll take BF.com over BusinessFinance.com anyday. :hehe:

 

[DnEbook]

good if you have the money !!!!!! for bf.com , i stand by what i said bf.com does not tell me what they do , depends if want investment or recognition of site i think

 

[Kate]

One word: usability