debate What is the difference between a good domain name and a bad name?

[xynames]

I'm not referring to the stellar, obviously good ones, like x.com sex.com beer.com aaaa.com etc. that may be considered money in the bank, that people will fight over to buy at any given moment. The stellar ones might be different things at different times, for example btc.com ethereum.com today, versus years ago. But I'm not talking about these types of instant cash domains.


I just mean "good" versus "bad."

I think that a good domain, if held on to long enough, will sell for a decent price, when the right buyer who needs it comes along,

while a bad domain, no matter how long held, will rarely sell for much of anything. (Unless it is lucky enough to come into fashion as some new trend, such as for example, a new cryptocurrency etc.)

That's the key difference. That time, and the right buyer, equal a cha-ching! of a good sale.

By implication, even a good domain doesn't necessarily translate to instant money in the bank. It takes the time and patience to wait for the right buyer.

But your crappy names, no matter how long you wait, the chances of someone wanting them enough to pay much of anything for them, are slim.


See also:
Which kind of domainer are you?
https://www.namepros.com/threads/which-kind-of-domainer-are-you.1053017/

 

[MapleDots]

I think a good domain name nowadays is something that can be trademarked and is a bit different from the norm. Catchy made up words are coming into fashion now that most common words are in use.

I read an article a while back which said entire companies are named on the availability of a domain name. I remember an insurance company called clarica was formed when two companies merged. They made up the word based on the fact that the .com was available. This company has been absorbed again but is just an example.

A classic example is a new bank that was formed in Canada called simplii financial. They could have used simply but they probably figured the trademark was easier for simplii.

I predict we will see a lot more of this type of domain come to the foreground, in fact I am betting on it.

 

[xynames]

Disagree. And the proof is how many domainers are currently dumping their multi thousand portfolios.

If you have a couple thousand names and can't bring in at least in the neighborhood of $75,000. net per year, then your eyes need a new set of glasses.

 

[Dave]

A good name is one that has memorability, easy to spell and has or highly likely to have more than one end user available to buy the domain name.

A bad domain name is one that has no memorability, fails the radio test or spelling test and has no clear end user now or in the foreseeable future and/or has no commercial viability.

There are also what I call middle of the road domain names. Ones that look good, read well and are memorable but have only one or no available end user anywhere in the world but there is a high chance they will some day. Think trending technologies or appealing brandables.Things we take an educated guess on that will have a buyer someday but none exist yet. (Take ElectricCars.com, Bitcoin.com as examples. Once upon a time these domains were almost worthless but someone had the foresight to register).

 

[Ategy]

There are times when I simply do not understand end users who buy/use domains as a whole. Seriously .. just take a look at the expiring auctions. Most of the names are just flat out unusable .. horrible beyond comprehension ... and yet some of these names were bought and renewed for a decade or more!

Worse yet .. some even get sold again at expired auctions.

Anyhow .. while I completely agree with your general statement .. I don't really see the point of this debate .. you've framed it way too abstractly ... as I'd think a large number of domainers wouldn't even agree on the same set of parameters needed for both the green and red parts of your statement:

.. will sell for a decent price, when the right buyer who needs it comes along,
while a bad domain, no matter how long held, will rarely sell for much of anything.

The whole entire point of investing in domains (or anything else) is to sell domains at a profit .. obviously everyone who wants to be a domainer buys domains they think will sell. So theoretically every single domain ever purchased by a domainer is a "good domain" by your very subjective definition .. lol

When you ask a question like "What is the difference between a good domain name and a bad name?" .. the helpful answers people are looking for is more actual domain characteristics .. like length .. radio test .. singular/plural .. age .. cpc .. whatever .. etc etc ...

Obviously each of those characteristics might or might not make the domain good (or bad) .. as you could easily have domains that are technically good .. but in reality are just bad for one of a very large number of possible reasons.

The real actual tangible answer is very long and complicated .. it involves a lot of science, a lot of art, a lot of outside knowledge and sometimes even dumb luck (particularly for domains you can get cheap because a couple of people slept in or couldn't participate in the expiring auctions that day .. because purchase price is 100% aligned with quality of name when judging if your domain was a good buy or not) .. and while not part of the a particular domain quality assessment .. if you're evaluating the success of an overall portfolio then add in work/time (going through lists .. making sure all your domains are listed everywhere .. etc etc).

 

[Fancy.domains]

I consider good domain to be:

A) A .com / .org / .net or a popular ccTLD (such as .de / .co.uk / .io / .co / .se / .in etc), with keyword(s) taken in almost all ”worse” extensions. Example: Golfclub (dot) com.

B) A new gTLD in which the keyword and extension forms a phrase which is taken in most other extensions. Example: Golf (dot) club. Here, renewal fees etc are also a main factor!

C) A good hack. Example: Cl (dot) ub. Also here, renewal fees etc might be an important factor!

 

[karmaco]

It’s completely subjective, but the short answer is any name that sells is good for you.

Deciding if the name is good or not doesn’t guarantee a sale. Any name is an educated gamble you are taking that this name will be wanted. You could be wrong or right.

Case in point, name I sold recently was rejected at two brandable sites by the gurus. It sold on my landing page two weeks later for nice amount.

The only real decision is how much do you believe in a name to buy it or renew it. No matter what anyone says this thing we do is (hopefully educated) gambling on words.

 

[Brands.International]

good domains are (at least for me) those, which get offers and get traffic

bad domains are those without offers, and without traffic

if domain does not get a single offer within a year or two, and there is no traffic too -> drop

that's it

 

[Dave]

Thanks Rich! I'm far from a great domainer yet, but I'm working on it verrrry slowly.

Glad you like the site. Big shout out to Efty for a great platform!

If you've only been doing this since 2016, you've done very well indeed. Keep up the good work.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I've enjoyed reading the comments from all those who have posted. I would just like to add two bits.

(1) While agreeing with the characteristics of a good name mentioned, I think we also need to take into account the type of end user we hope the domain name will appeal to. A name that might appeal to a one-person 'company' is different from a domain name a major company would value. Price (both acquisition and renewal) is more important to someone starting a part-time business or consultancy, and they are probably more likely to consider something catchy. They in a way also need a more memorable name, since they won't be able to spend a lot branding a name. Also a NGO will want something different (beyond the extension) as well. A marketing company looking for a domain phrase also has different considerations.

(2) Ultimately success is defined (I would argue) in providing names that someone will want, and making a profit over your costs. As such, a very low resale value can be successful, if your acquisition costs were also low. If you sell a name for $20 that you hand registered for $2 and the person is happy with the name, I would argue it is a good name, just as someone who pays $2000 and sells for $3000. As such the only names I would say are bad are those that appeal to no one at a price you need to at least have some profit.

Bob

ps of course who am I to know, it totally beats me that MTSupermobile.com sold for $12k and lead the daily repot today. I would never pick that as a valuable name, nor does the evaluation bots like GoValue that say it is worth a few hundred. Can someone explain why it got such a great price? And congrats if it was someone on Namepros!
https://namebio.com/blog/category/daily-market-report/

 

[namelancer]

The reason people are selling their portfolios is not necessarily limited to or is a reflection of the quality of domains held by them.

 

[Amzymayor]

Names that sell are good domains while domains still pending sales are bad domains. Simple and case closed!

 

[xynames]

Those of us with portfolios that move we learned what we learned over time, and also common sense, by seeing what sells and what does not sell.

These threads where newbies ask what is selling hot, won't result in their learning anything anyway, so the point is to get to the heart of the matter, which is that if what you have isn't moving over time, it is bad!

This thread also points out that to get the good price for even a good domain takes time, or at least, may take time.

 

[Ategy]

These threads where newbies ask what is selling hot, won't result in their learning anything anyway, so the point is to get to the heart of the matter, which is that if what you have isn't moving over time, it is bad

Sorry .. lol .. but that isn't true at all .. there certainly are trends that are hotter than others in the industry .. however .. more to the point of this topic .. even much more important are the characteristics of domains that are describable and tangible .. specifically with regards to singular/plural .. alternate TLDs .. extra words .. character count .. language .. word order .. "deliberate" typos .. h-y-p-h-e-n-s .. the actual importance (if any) of stats like age, CPC, exact/broad searches.

How much weight and importance to give to which of the above category for the various different types of domains is part of the science.

Then another very important factor is market knowledge .. a domain can be technically great and even sound super cool .. but if there are no end users for it, then your only chance of a sale is via wholesale .. which markups and profits are still possible .. but you have to be extremely effective in buying great domains below even wholesale prices (definitely not a recommended route for domainer beginners).

Finally the art part is just finding creative but usable play on words .. alternate spelling that actually "work" (few and far between) .. alliteration and rhyming I guess falls into both science and art.


Despite what you might think .. many of these things above are teachable and learnable .. and even those who are good can always get better. Plus there are many tools available to help us get extra information we can use to access the probability of a domain selling and/or a general/broad expected selling price range.


All those tangible elements come together into what you call common sense. But while it might just be "common sense" to you because you've been doing this a long while .. that common sense can be broken down into clearly definable components .. all which combine to shine light on whether a domain has a chance of selling at a profit or not.

Because at the end of the day .. it's all about probabilities and estimated ranges ... because just plain luck is also involved .. the real skill of a domainer is in finding domains with increasing probability of selling with an increasing profit multiple from cost of acquisition.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

I think a good domain name nowadays is something that can be trademarked and is a bit different from the norm. Catchy made up words are coming into fashion now that most common words are in use.

I read an article a while back which said entire companies are named on the availability of a domain name. I remember an insurance company called clarica was formed when two companies merged. They made up the word based on the fact that the .com was available. This company has been absorbed again but is just an example.

A classic example is a new bank that was formed in Canada called simplii financial. They could have used simply but they probably figured the trademark was easier for simplii.

I predict we will see a lot more of this type of domain come to the foreground, in fact I am betting on it.

That pretty much says that you have to be on the cutting edge with regards to your domains. That said, you do have some knowledge of trademarks etc. Most folks don't realize that TM's are generally specific to one particular industry. In the case of Simplii Financial it's the financial services industry.

I have a portfolio of names that use the prefix simply, simpli, and simplii. While it's up to me to create the market or the fad, that's my talent

Others here with a whole lot more experience than me will say they're all bad/crap names like the ones I registered today....SimpliRelax.com, SimpliParadise.com and TopTenTweets.Today, the first Quad "T' tweet domain to ever be created. I feel like Rembrandt, but what do I know.

Bulloney

 

[Name Trader]

I feel like Rembrandt, but what do I know.

Bulloney

Rembrandt's dead. (A joke, in answer to your rhetorical question).

 

[Joe N]

Because at the end of the day .. it's all about probabilities and estimated ranges ... because just plain luck is also involved .. the real skill of a domainer is in finding domains with increasing probability of selling with an increasing profit multiple from cost of acquisition.

Boom! Mic drop.

 

[xynames]

Argh. Bulloney. Please don’t hijack another thread with talk of these -i domains.

 

[namelancer]

My answer gets at the effect. The effect of having a good name is that given enough time, it sells for a good price. This is irrefutable.

But the same could also be true for a 'bad' (bad here is a deference to your previous reference points ascribed to invented brandables, among others) name, in that given enough time it could sell for a hefty price. This too is irrefutable - just look at the sales stats from your average brandable marketplace to verify the hypothesis according to your vision of the world.. This, of course, doesn't speak to the essence of my conception of brandables,which, in my view, encompasses subjective and perceived values that translate into meaning a world to one and nothingness to the other.So, the definition of a good name (equated to saleability give or take some time) being stretched into the opposite directions to appease the conflicting extremes would not be sufficient.

 

[namelancer]

So? "Before branding...." --- "Made up names acquire distinctiveness...." --- etc.

do you think about what you post before posting it?

You wrote that before branding the made up names wont be worth much, YET, they are sold for good prices BEFORE any of the branding has taken place !

 

[Brands.International]

I consider good domain to be:

A) A .com / .org / .net or a popular ccTLD (such as .de / .co.uk / .io / .co / .se / .in etc), with keyword(s) taken in almost all ”worse” extensions. Example: Golfclub (dot) com.

B) A new gTLD in which the keyword and extension forms a phrase which is taken in most other extensions. Example: Golf (dot) club. Here, renewal fees etc are also a main factor!

C) A good hack. Example: Cl (dot) ub. Also here, renewal fees etc might be an important factor!

And of course exactly as written in above post.

 

[Ategy]

good domains are (at least for me) those, which get offers and get traffic
bad domains are those without offers, and without traffic

Yeah .. but like I said way above .. while that is most certainly very true .. the point of questions like this is how can you tell BEFORE buying the domain. What actual elements and characteristics tend to result in a domain that gets offers/traffic? (Note that that is a rhetorical question that I already answered above .. lol)

 

[Brands.International]

Yeah .. but like I said way above .. while that is most certainly very true .. the point of questions like this is how can you tell BEFORE buying the domain. What actual elements and characteristics tend to result in a domain that gets offers/traffic? (Note that that is a rhetorical question that I already answered above .. lol)

Well, imo, sometimes you can tell only AFTER you get them

What I mean, even with lot of research, domainer really can not tell/predict who the best possible end user can be for a specific name, and when this end user will need the name. Or we can predict, but we can be wrong, lol.

Because of that, I think one needs to test it - to check regularly number of offers and traffic for all names. Sometimes I think the name is great, but if I do not see a traffic and offers during a year, for me it is really an indication that I was probably wrong. And vice versa - there are some names I did not have any large expectations for, I bought them in bulk deals for example, etc, and suddenly - lot of traffic, few offers - and after I check then in more detail, I usually start to understand why.

So point is - do not be afraid to drop the names, if you tested them and you see weak indicators. And focus on names where you see offers and/or larger traffic - even low balls from other domainers can usually indicate something positive.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Argh. Bulloney. Please don’t hijack another thread with talk of these -i domains.

Sorry...you're so right....what a waste of time this thread. This just adds fuel to my claims that this is the most screwed up industry I've ever been associated with, and I've been directly or indirectly involved in a lot of businesses over the years. Sad

Bulloney

 

[Joe N]

Hey Joe...I just met your profile and your Namepros info page. How come all the great domainers are from Canada? I luv Canada and I luv your site BrandSail.com Happy New Year!

Bulloney

Thanks Rich! I'm far from a great domainer yet, but I'm working on it verrrry slowly.

Glad you like the site. Big shout out to Efty for a great platform!