What do domain appraisers look at to determine the value of a domain?
Whether you are buying or selling domains, the price of the domain is a large factor in your purchasing or selling decision. Finding the right price for the domain you are interested in is essential to your domain purchase, making pricing the domain a crucial decision for the seller as well. While both parties want the best deal, resulting in different ideas of what the domain is worth, there are some determining factors that can help you reach a realistic value.
While you may choose to take advantage of a domain appraisal service, it is important to understand what the appraiser is valuing when estimating the domain’s value. Depending on the service, the domain could be appraised based upon any or all of the following features.
Does the domain have search potential?
The search popularity of a domain will rely heavily on the keyword or keywords within the domain. For example, if a consumer is searching for “knee replacement surgery” and your domain is KneeReplacementSurgery.com, your domain may rank in the top search results before any development is even done to your site. This is because a keyword-rich domain has very high search potential. On the other hand, a domain that is difficult to associate with a specific brand, business, or product, may not have high search potential, causing the domain value to be lower.
What’s the domain’s TLD?
While there are several different TLDs, there is no one extension in particular that is worth more than another. The appraisal will take into consideration the popularity of the extension in general. Since there are over 140 million .com domains in existence currently, making .com the most popular gTLD, .com domains may be valued higher then say .net or .org domains.
When was the domain created?
Domain age is particularly essential when it comes to acquiring domain authority. A domain that has been established for numerous years has already gained history, having greater search potential than a domain that has never been registered before. So the older the domain, the more an appraisal service will weight its value.
How many words is the domain?
The length of the domain plays a huge role in the value determination. Short, one word domains are highly desirable and therefore worth more money, making them more of an investment for the buyer. One word domains are normally short, easy to spell, memorable, and can be associated with the business or product.
Choosing a reputable domain appraisal service can help you price your domain best, but having an idea of your domain’s value before even getting an appraisal can better prepare you for the results. Understanding the factors that go into a domain appraisal will facilitate the pricing process, should you choose to use your own research and background to price your domain.
