Your domain name can have a huge impact on the success of your web presence. A domain that is easy to remember, enter, and search for can increase the amount of traffic to your website. Although you still need to have valuable and relevant content when a visitor is directed to your site, the domain name you purchase is a vital piece of your web strategy. You can think of your domain name as your property, and just like buying a traditional property, you need to take steps to make sure you’re not paying too much.
Chances are high that someone else has already picked up your first domain name ideas. There’s also a good chance that a domain name you really like is for sale. When searching on one of the major domain sales websites, such as GoDaddy.com, the site will only tell you that that particular domain name is already in use. It won’t tell you if the domain is actually for sale.
Don’t give up just yet – there’s still a chance you could get the domain name you really want, and there are tools you can take advantage of. First, enter the desired domain into the address field of your web browser and see what appears. You’ll either get an existing website (and thus know someone is already using the domain) or you’ll get a parked site. A parked site is a lot like a search engine results page. Owners of domains that are not currently being used, or may be for sale, will often park their domains in an attempt to make money from them. If the domain name is parked, there is a high probability that the domain is actually for sale.
Next, check to see if the domain name you want is for sale by entering it into the search field on a reseller site, such as Sedo.com. Sedo.com specializes in domain reselling and auctioning. Registration is free, which you will need to do to see the selling price of the desired domain name. As a registered user, you have the option to buy the domain at the asking price or submit an offer of your own. Now is when you will need to do your homework in order to determine what a fair selling price is for your desired domain. As in the process of buying real estate, you will need an appraisal. The domain appraisal will provide you with important information about the history of the domain as well as the dollar value of the domain name.
The good news is that there are several resources available that provide a domain evaluation report, and the reports are instant. Even better news is that several of these resources are free.
Some of the websites that provide free domain evaluations are Estibot.com and Smartpagerank.com. The Estibot.com site only allows you to perform up to 50 searches per day at the free account level.
The domain evaluation report will provide you with valuable information about the domain, such as the age of the domain (when it was first registered), traffic history, whether the site is registered in any directories, the number of links and pages indexed by the major search engines and the estimated value in dollars.
Now that you have appraisal reports, you can determine if the current asking price is reasonable, a bargain, or too high (most likely starting too high). Domain reselling sites and services allow you to make an offer, and then you’ll go back and forth with the current owner of the domain until you reach an agreed-upon sale price or decide to walk away and look for a different domain name.
Following these few steps can help ensure that you are paying a reasonable price for your domain.
1. Search for the availability of your desired domain name.
2. If your desired domain is listed as unavailable, enter it into your web browser or enter it on a reseller site like Sedo.com
3. If the domain you want is for sale, determine the sale price.
4. Obtain at least two domain appraisals.
5. Using the appraisal report, determine the price you are comfortable with and make an offer.
