Over at the SEM 2.0 discussion group run by Andrew Goodman, there’s a thread about buying domain names that has been offering some excellent suggestions.
One post from Dan Perry, offers a good fundamental list of recommendations. And yes, I asked Dan for permission to post.
Dan says he likes to use Snap Names for domain name purchases.
First, find the PR of the domain. This can be found at any PR checker. It lets you put in 20 at a time. The value of PR is in the fact that there is some.
Second, Alexa Rating. Obviously, the lower the better. Less than a million = $??, 1-2 million = $??, and so on.
Third, the incoming links. I use MarketLeap’s tool and value the Google links at about 4-5x any other links. Be sure to check for link spam here. Some domains with a PR of 5 or 6 will have a huge Google number. It’s worth digging to see if they are related, valid links, or just spam. If the latter, pass on the domain.
Fourth, the age of the domain, and what it was previously used for (if anything) via the Wayback Machine. Obviously, the older the better, and it’s always valuable to see what was on the site before, what the navigation sections were, etc.
Other resources (I know there are many more) for buying domain names include:
What other suggestions do you have for evaluating domain names?
Lee Odden is President and Founder of
TopRank Online Marketing, specializing in organic SEO, blog
marketing and online public relations. He’s been cited as a search
marketing expert by publications including U.S. News & World Report and
The Economist and has implemented successful search marketing programs
with top BtoB companies of all sizes. Odden shares his marketing
expertise at Online Marketing Blog offering
daily news, interviews and best practices.
