Have Your Domain Name Appraised

As more domain names are registered, sold, and transacted, it is domain name broker or its transacting parties have a point of reference when putting a value on an Internet property.

This is why domain name appraisals are an important part of the domain evaluation and sales process. Just like in real estate and other valuable objects like jewelry, domain names are assets that require a professional evaluation. However, doing so would cost you a lot.

But you can evaluate your own domain by yourself using this self-appraisal. Here are the following metrics that you should check.

Marketability - Break down your domain into parts, which is classified as a word, hyphen, a letter or a number. For instance, "Celebrity.com" has only 1 part (celebrity), while "GoingToTheMarket.com" has 4 parts (going, to, the, and market), and "A-1-Autoparts.com" has 5 parts (a, two hyphens, 1, and autoparts). If your domain has 1 part, award 100 points; 2-part domain has 10 points; award 3-part domains with 2 points; and put 1 point on a 4-part domain. There are 0 points if your domain has 5 or more parts.

Writing test - Try giving out the domain name by writing it. Does the domain use a hyphen or a number? Is the number spelled out instead of using a numeral (two instead of 2)? Does the domain use any misspelling? If the answer to all these questions is "NO" then multiply the current score by 5. If the any of the answer is "YES" then divide the current score by 2.

Name length - Remove the "www" or any ending extensions in your domain such as ".com" or ".biz". Then count the number of parts and the total number of characters. After which, multiply your score according to the following rules:

• One-part domain with 8 or less characters - Multiply current score by 6.

• One-part domain with 9 to 15 characters - Multiply current score by 3.

• One-part domain with 16 or more characters - Multiply current score by 2.

• Two-part domain with 10 or less characters - Multiply current score by 4.

• Two-part domain with 11 to 16 characters - Multiply current score by 3.

• Two-part domain with 17 or more characters - Multiply current score by 2.

• Three-part domain with 12 or less characters - Multiply current score by 2.

• Others - Multiply current score by 1.

Brand recognition - Do people know what the site does even before they even enter the site because they are familiar with the brand through advertisement or simply by your domain's meaning? If the name has brand recognition, multiply the current score by 3.

Development value - How much work has been put into developing the site. If your site is just a Splash page, multiply current score by 2. If it's more than a Splash page, multiply current score by 3.

Visitors - If the domain hosts a website that receives more than 1000 visitors a day, multiply current score by 25.

Dot value - If your domain name ends with ".com", multiply current score by 3. If it ends with a ".net", ".org", or country extension like ".uk" or ".au", multiply current score by 2. Any generic extension has no bonuses (like ".tv", ".cc", ".ws")

Natural traffic - Check your domain's natural type-ins using a site traffic meter. If there are 10 to 39 natural type-ins in a day, multiply current score by 4. If you have 40 to 100 type-ins, multiply score by 8. A domain with 100 or more natural type-ins has its current score multiplied by 25.

Site traffic  - Check how your domain is reached using a site traffic meter. If there are 10 to 39 unique IP addresses in a month, multiply current score by 2. If you find 40 to 500 unique Ips, multiply current score by 3. A domain with 500 or more unique Ips has its current score multiplied by 4.

Industry strength and positioning - Does the domain have a recognizable name call? If it has a targeted industry, how crowded is that market? Does it accurately and generically describe what it was registered to do? If your domain describes generically in the industry (such as "TravelCheap.com"), multiply current score by 7. If it specifically describes something in the industry (such as "FlyCheap.com"), multiply current score by 3.

Search engine popularity - How do the terms in the domain name rank in search engines? Try typing your domain name in separate parts and see how your domain appears in the search results. If it appears on the first three pages, then multiply current score by 7. If it appears on the fourth to tenth pages, multiply current score by 2.

Grammatical value - Does your domain sound correct? Is it uttered normally especially in a conversation? "PapersClip.com" sounds weird, but "PaperClips.com" sound correct. If your own domain sounds correct, multiply current score by 2.

Revenue - Multiply yearly income by 2.5. Add this dollar value to your final piece.