You hear about domain names selling for hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars, but how can you find out what your domain names are worth? Great news! GoDaddy has a domain valuation tool to help you determine the value of your domains.
Related: All you need to know about registering domains in Australia
GoDaddy domain valuation tool
In the past, finding out the value of your domain would mean contacting an expert and trusting their expertise to give you a calculation. This could be inconvenient — especially if you have a lot of domains or if you are concerned the trust may be misplaced.
Now you have a tool at the touch of your fingertips from GoDaddy.
You can quickly get a valuation of your domains from a trusted leader in the industry.
Ready to learn more? Here’s what we’re going to cover in this post:
- Why a domain’s value is important.
- How the domain value is calculated
- How to use the free GoDaddy domain name value tool
- How to use the valuation results to your benefit
Let’s get started.
Related:How much does a domain name cost and why
Why a domain’s value is important
All domain names havesome kind of value. While themillion-dollar headlinersaren’t as common, the domain name in your pocket could be worth more than you think.
A domain is an asset with intrinsic value. Just like all the other things you own, your domain is worth something.
Think of a domain name like online real estate.
A beachfront condo in Miami is going to be more expensive than a condo in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A storefront in New York or Paris is going to cost you a lot more than one in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska.
Zillow has made it easier to get a ballpark idea of your home’s value or the value of that condo in Miami. But until recently, domain names have been harder to value in an automated fashion.
Know the value of what you own
We all know why understanding the value of your home is important. If you’re planning on moving to another city or daydreaming of a house on the beach, checking the home’s value on an automated tool is really helpful.
Even if you don’t have a domain name worth millions, it’s a good idea to understand the value of the domains registered to you. You might find out that a domain you own is worth more than you initially thought.
When it comes to domain names, the uses might be less obvious, but there are some cool things you can use the freetool for.
How domain name value is calculated
One of the biggest reasons people want to know the value of their domain names is so they can sell them for a fair price.
GoDaddy’s domain valuation tool’s algorithm uses proprietary machine learning and real market sales data to estimate domain values. It pulls up comparable domain name sales so you can price your domains with confidence.
The tool also looks at similar domain names based on the TLD (Top-level domain) and SLD (Second-level domain) — the words to the right and left of the dot respectively. For example, in the case of Cars.com, cars is the SLD and .com is the TLD.
Each domain name is different and the domain valuation tool factors uniqueness into the equation, too.
The length of the domain name is also examined. A domain with less than 15 characters has a greater value.
Basically, the shorter a domain, the higher the value
This is especially true with the limited number of domains still available using just the 26 letters of the English alphabet (excluding numbers, dashes and International Domain Names).
In 2013, WHOAPI.com confirmed that all thefour-letter .com domains are registered.
Most domains less than four characters long are valued in the thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars — depending on their TLD and SLD.
Related: The top 20 most expensive domain names
How to use the domain valuation tool
First, you want to visit theGoDaddy Domain Valuation & Appraisalpage. In the provided box, type in the name of the domain for valuation.
Once the name is submitted, the tool will provide you the valuation results, along with an explanation of its value based on:
- Selling prices of similar domain names
- The value of the keywords
- The popularity of the keywords
- The TLD being used —.guide in the below example
At a high level, it operates in a similar fashion as appraisal tools in other industries do. These tools look for similar goods that have previously sold somewhere and then figure out how alike or different your object is.
For instance, Zillow considers, among other things, the prices of nearby homes that have a similar amount of space and amenities to determine an approximate value for your home.
The GoDaddy Domain Value & Appraisal tool does the same thing, but with domain names.
GoDaddy’s free toolhelps you figure out the value of the domain names you own — or one you might have your eye on.
The tool also allows you to download and print the report for later reference. If you are shopping for a domain, it will tell you if the domain name is available and the price.
If the domain is being sold by an individual, it will give you their asking price and instructions on purchasing it.If the domain isn’t registered, there will be a link to buy iton GoDaddy.com/en-au for the standard retail price.
Related: 5 tried-and-true-tips for selling domain names for profit
How to use the valuation results to your benefit
Now that you know the value of the domain, are you going to keep it, sell it, use it or buy it?
1. You might want to keep your domain
Knowing your domain’s worth might come in handy when you’re looking to prioritize the renewals in your domains portfolio.
Seeing the value of a domain you already own could make you rethink deleting it or allowing it to expire.
You will want to make sure it is set toauto-renewso you don’t risk losing it if it expires by mistake.
If you are keeping your domain, you will want to treat it with all the importance of physical property and keep it safe. Adding in extra protection to a domain name you own, like privacy withprotected registrationand added account security, liketwo-step verification, will help further protect your valuable domains.
2. You might want to sell your domain
Seeing the actual value of a domain might even point you in the direction of selling.
The valuation gives you insight into how much you can sell it for at auction or privately.
If you wish to sell it at auction, choosing a site with a lot of affiliates such asAfternic puts your domain name in front of a large audience.
If you have a good domain name, at some point you’re likely to get an unsolicited offer to purchase the domain privately. If you’ve used GoDaddy Domain Name Value & Appraisal ahead of time, you’ll have a good idea of the value it holds and whether or not the offer is on point.
3. You might want to use it
Using a domain for customized productivity —say, a credibility-boosting professional emailaddress — or for a website is common. In either case, the shorter and easier-to-remember, the better.
Pro tip:Since the value of a domain is based on keywords, among other things, you will want to use the domain with the highest keyword value to connect to yourwebsite for better SEO.
If you’re not using your domain for a website, you can actually make money on it by usingGoDaddy’s CashParkingservice.
All you do is sign up for the service — when someone visits your parked page, they will see ads that are relevant to them. When they click on these ads, you’ll make a percentage of the revenue generated.
Related: 5 remote work tools to use wherever whenever
4. You may want to buy the domain
Of course, the domain valuation tool can also be used when making the decision to purchase a domain. If you are looking at a new registration, it will give you insight into its potential future value.
If you are looking to purchase a domain at auction or from an individual, the free domain name value tool will give you the market value — but that’s not to say that the owner can’t list it for whatever amount they desire.
Check the value of your domain now
GoDaddy’s domain valuation tool will give you insight quickly and efficiently on the domains you already own or domains you want to buy.
While it’s still prudent to do your own analysis before determining the value of any domains, having this automated, efficient and free domain valuation tool at your disposal is a great place to start.
Go ahead, see what yourdomain name is worth.
This article includes content originally published on the GoDaddy blog byJoe Styler.
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