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/

 

[namelancer]

There are more portfolios out there to be looked at than merely the portfolios sold on the forum.

 

[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!

 

[HotKey]

Recognition, popularity and ease of use. In that order.

 

[Amzymayor]

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

 

[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.

 

[xynames]

The real actual tangible answer is very long and complicated ...

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.

The cause is much debated and obviously given all the different domains that domainers seem willing to buy is by no means universal or mutually agreed upon.

It’s completely subjective.

Not subjective at all. Subjective is - opinions about what sorts of domains sell. Objective is - whether they sell or do not sell. The latter either happens given some time, or it does not.

 

[Ategy]

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.
The cause is much debated and obviously given all the different domains that domainers seem willing to buy is by no means universal or mutually agreed upon.
Not subjective at all. Subjective is - opinions about what sorts of domains sell. Objective is - whether they sell or do not sell. The latter either happens given some time, or it does not.

Yeah .. but what's the point of asking a question where you only talk about the end result? lol

The only and entire point of asking such questions as "What makes a good domain?" is to learn to pick better domains to increase your probability of sales. So to simply say "good domains are the ones that sell" is essentially saying "good domains are good domains" .. sure you are correct in this assessment .. I hope that is obvious to all .. lol .. but I'm thinking it was already pretty obvious to most that good domains are indeed good domains and indeed are the ones that sell!


I do understand what you're trying to say in that many domainers don't properly assess many of the factors and domain characteristics involved in judging the probabilities of a domain selling at an appropriate markup within an appropriate amount of time. That is 100% true based on the various portfolios and horrible domains expiring daily.

But any answer to this question should be the actual specific attributes and characteristics that signal a higher probability of sale and/or high multiple markup. So going back to my previous post .. exactly what I said ... the real answer is a complex array of science and art and market knowledge and .. and .. etc etc

 

[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

 

[ThatNameGuy]

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.

Ategy...thanks for responding to xynames because it got me to thinking about "moving" domains to which I immediately thought, I wonder if SimplyMoveIt.com is available for the "moving" industry? After all ,the moving industry is a 12 Billion dollar industry. According to xynames, he would consider this a bad name due to the e/i combination in the name so I tried "SimplyMoveMe",and it was taken, so I bought SimpliMoveMe.com, and just for Sh*ts and grins I bought MoveMe.Today for 1.99. I've spent a total of 18.97 for what many of you consider crap, but because a good friend of mine has been in the moving business for over 30 years (he use to be with Bekins) he may have some ideas about how I can best monetize these three names.

That's all this DomainDrunk has in the tank .today.

ahhhhh....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.

 

[xynames]

No, if a name sells for a good price, it is not a bad name. Your argument is fallacious.

 

[namelancer]

No, if a name sells for a good price, it is not a bad name. Your argument is fallacious.

The logic of my arguments rests on:

1. Your earlier statement of a brandable generally being a representation of a bad name on other threads.
2. It's a fact that brandables in the true sense (is invented.meaningless,non-keyword based, etc) do sell at high prices.

The inconsistency shown here is that your current definition a good name becomes a function of the effects it exerts and in its inherent ability to sell and becomes a testimony to its transactional potential while previously (on other threads) you checked out the boxes for objective criteria and things like metrics in assigning the objective value.

 

[PoliticalVII]

Don't over think it, its a good domain if you think it is.
It is a bad domain if you think it is.

Simply put your domain is a state of mind.

 

[frank-germany]

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/

so basically your definition of a "good name"
is:
"one day it sells"

so all domains that sold are good names?
no
recently I dropped a domain
that previously was sold for $5K USD
( that guy dropped it - I catched it - only to drop it again )