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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 comes to your site, the domain name they 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 don’t pay too much.
Chances are, someone else has already taken your first domain name ideas. There is also a good chance that a domain name that you really like is available for resale. When you search one of the top domain-selling websites, such as GoDaddy.com, the site will only tell you that that particular domain name is already in use. It will not tell you if the domain is actually for sale.
Don’t give up just yet, there is still a chance that you can get the domain name you really want, and there are tools you can take advantage of. First, enter the desired domain in the address field of your web browser and see what appears. You will either get an existing website (so you know someone is already using the domain) or you will get a parked site. A parked site looks a lot like a search engine results page. Owners of domains that are not currently in use, or may be for sale, 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 your desired domain name is for sale by entering it into the search field on a reselling 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 sale price of the desired domain name. As a registered user, you have the option of buying the domain at the sale price or submitting your own offer. Now is the time to do your homework in order to determine what is a fair selling price for your desired domain. As in the process of buying a property, 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 the appraisal report for a domain and the reports are instantaneous. Even better news is that several of these resources are free.
Some of the websites that offer free domain appraisals 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), the traffic history, if the site is registered in any directory, 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 sales price is reasonable, a bargain, or too high (they will most likely start too high). Domain reselling sites and services allow you to make an offer, and then you will go back and forth with the current domain owner until you reach an agreed 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. Look for the availability of your desired domain name.
2. If your desired domain is listed as unavailable, enter it in your web browser or enter it on a reselling site such as Sedo.com
3. If your desired domain is for sale, determine the sale price.
4. Obtain at least two domain appraisals.
5. Take advantage of the appraisal report, determine the price you are comfortable with, and make an offer.