A person or business might own a domain name for any number of reasons. Maybe you have a personal blog site, or you might run a website for your business. Some people buy domains and then never use them.
If you do own a domain name, you might start to wonder if it has any value. You might want to build it up as an asset or consider selling it if the price is right. But how do you determine the value of your domain name?
According to the domain appraisal experts at Saw.com (saw.com/appraisals/), several factors can influence a domain’s value. With that said, there is no objective list price, and you can only measure the various factors and make an estimate.
What are the factors that affect the value of domain names? We will look at a few in this article.
Domain Extension
The domain extension or top-level domain (TLD) will greatly influence a domain’s value. The domain extension refers to the letters that come after the dot. Having a .com can be one of the most valuable domain names. With that said, there are others that hold value. Sites with .net extensions can also do well. Country-specific extensions can also perform well in their region. However, there are hundreds of top-level domains, and many of them have very little value.
Name Length
The length of a domain can be a significant factor as well. Long names take more time to type and add difficulty for people trying to visit the site. Most website visitors do not want to type a long string of words to get to a site. Longer names can also be harder to remember. For these reasons, shorter domain names tend to get higher valuations than longer ones.
Domain Age
How old is your domain name? If it has been around for a long time, it will have a higher value than a similar domain name that is newer. Age is just a sign of being more established. Search engines also tend to favor older domains when compared to newer ones. In general, the age starts to increase value when you look at domain names that are at least a few years old. It will start to have more influence if the domain is ten years old or older.
Simplicity
Short and simple is the way to go if you want a domain that will have value. Beyond avoiding long names, you want names that are easy to type. If you have words that are hard to spell or a bunch of hyphens or mixed characters, it will probably hurt the domain name’s value. The highest valuations tend to go to short, one-word domain names that have no special characters.
Keyword Domains
You probably already understand how keywords can be valuable if you own a domain. Domains that have popular or relevant keywords can be more valuable. The reason for this is that it can help a website with SEO. This can also be an exception to the rule of wanting shorter or one-word domains. For example, a combination of words like “car insurance quotes” would hold a lot of value for businesses in the relevant industry.
Memorable Domain Names
A good domain is easy to remember. You have a problem if people need to write it down to remember it. You want it to be something a person can say once and have others remember it later. This also plays into simplicity. Simpler domains tend to be easier to remember. If you have a string of words and then extra letters, numbers, and symbols, your domain name will be harder to remember.
Website Traffic
An older domain can have value, but existing traffic will do a lot for the appraisal price. It has real value if you have built up an audience or established a successful business with a domain. A business or person looking to buy the domain name should compensate the owner for traffic. That is why website owners should work to keep traffic coming to a site even if they plan to sell it. The more traffic you have, the higher your valuation will be.
Reputation
The reputation of a domain can also be a factor. If you have built up a name for yourself through a website, the associated domain could increase in value. The same is also true in reverse. If you have a bad reputation, it could hurt the value of the domain. That is one reason to update your site regularly and make sure it performs well. Any negative perception could affect your domain’s value.
A good domain name can be a legitimate asset, and it can be the foundation for building a successful business online. The owner could also work to increase its value and sell it for a profit. With that said, you need to understand the value of your domain. One of the best ways you can do that is with a professional appraisal.
