Hello to all at of the DN Kitchen readers…

First of all, I wanted to thank Patrick for having me here at this “stew pot” of the domaining industry. I am usually uncomfortable in the kitchen, but I think I will feel a little bit more at home in this one. I will be writing articles regarding many aspects of domaining, including my expertise, domain sales and investing. Hope you enjoy my articles and if you have any questions, comments or would just like to chat with me, feel free to contact me at Jordan@DNKitchen.com. I will get back with you as quickly as I can. Also, you can check the “Who’s Cooking” section to read my bio.

What Makes A “Premium” Domain Name?

After visiting several domainer forums, more specifically the appraisal threads, I have noticed many members posting domains for appraisal that should have been avoided, dumped or never registered in the first place. This led me to believe that many domainers both new and old alike, need to be reminded of what it takes to have a quality “premium” domain name. I have compiled the following list of things to keep in mind when preparing to buy or register a domain name, all of which I will explore in more depth below.  This list is in no particular order.

Age:
The older the domain the better it is believed to be for search engine results (SEO).

Brandability:
Names like Google, Digg, Squidoo etc. had little to no meaning when originally registered, but one thing these domains did have is potential brandability. I am sure Google could have registered searchengine.com but Google is much more “brandable” and will not get lost with the other search-engine.com, enginesearch.com, and searchengines.com type domains.

One thing to remember when selecting brandable web 2.0 style domain names is the cost involved for marketing. You will have to spend a lot more time and money to get your name out there compared to a generic keyword rich type of domain. Having said the cost that you really have to figure what is the best fit for you.  Either way you go make sure it is pronounceable and memorable.

End Users:
When you type the “domain phrase” in the search engines, do any sponsored listings display on the top and right side of the search results? If so, how many? The sponsored results indicate that other businesses or companies are paying for search results from this phrase. This tells us that there is a possibility for many end users interested in this domain name. You can also research the projected pay per click (PPC) bid and income from the domain key phrase using Google AdWords.

Extension:
As we all know .com is the most valuable extension followed by (debatable) .net and .org. With the release of new extensions coming all the time I believe it will be more important to concentrate on the proven extensions. Although trying a new extension can be a good thing every now and then, try to keep a lot of your “eggs” in the main 3′s basket (.com .net .org). The further the key phrase goes down the extension ladder, the less valuable it becomes. Try to keep with the basics.

Length:
While there is a maximum of 63 characters that can make up a domain name, it is best to concentrate on short, keyword oriented names. You will definitely want to make sure you have development potential and/or an end user in mind. It is recommended to have names that are 3 words or less. Having too many words in your domain will make it hard for your users to remember and come back to your site. Ask yourself, “Is this something I would search for or does this have little chance for searches and type-ins?”

Past Development:
Has the domain been developed or branded in the past? A good way to check this is to visit Archive.org this will show if and when the domain name was developed or has been on-line in the past.

Page Rank:
Does the domain name have an existing page rank? The page rank can help indicate better potential values and resale prices. Higher the page rank the more valuable your domain name.

Search Engine Results (Google, Yahoo, MSN):
Try typing in the domain phrase “in quotes” into the major search engines and see how many search results are displayed. For example, if you owned the domain name safebusiness.org you would visit a search engine and type in “safe business”. There are many standards that people will look when finding search results, but generally anything with 1,000,000 search results or more would be a plus.

Anchor Text Results:
How many times is the domain phrase listed in the anchor text of existing links online?

Backlinks:
Does the domain already have any incoming links? If so, are they from good quality sites, or from link farms and overpopulated sites? Obviously the higher the quality of the source the better.

Title Results:
How many times is the domain phrase listed in the title of other websites?

Type In Results:
Does the domain word or phrase have any type-in results? If so, how many? There are several tools to research this including Overture and WordTracker. These help to indicate how many people are likely to type in the search phrase per month and can help indicate domain name value.

URL Results:
How many times is the domain phrase listed in existing websites?

Traffic:
Check Alexa.com and other traffic rankings of the domain to determine if there is any existing traffic which can help increase its value.

This may seem like a long list, but this is really only a glance of some of the factors that can be taken into account when evaluating a domain name. Before you register or buy that next domain name, be sure to go through this list to help ensure that your domain will be valuable and you will be able to find an end-user when it comes time to sell. Selling to a reseller can bring in revenue, but it is the end user domain sales that bring in the big bucks.

Oh and lastly please make sure the domain you are purchasing is not trademarked.  The last thing you want is to pay top dollar for a domain that can just be taken by the trademarked company.  Visit USPTO.gov to check the trademark status.

Please, your opinion is valued, let me know if anything should be added, changed or deleted.

Jordan Brown
DomainApple.com