Domains - Six Elements of a Great Generic Domain Name

Why does one name sell for six figures, while another languishes on an auction site with a $100 reserve for months, unable to get even a smidgen of interest? Sometimes the two domains are similar, with only a one or two character difference. Beds.com and Bedsx.com come to mind, the former being worth hundreds, even thousands of times more than the latter.

There are six primary elements that make a keyword domain name great and valuable and worthy, and you'll want to evaluate these factors before you buy. They apply to names you register fresh, names you purchase privately, and names you bid on at auction. A little research upfront can save a lot of grief down the road when it comes time to sell or develop.

1. Keyword volume: Keyword research is step one for finding a good potential domain name. Popular keywords get traffic so check out your domain words on WordTracker or Google Adwords, so you can see just how popular your keywords are. There are several tools you can use; which may give differing results, but you will soon get the idea and you will feel confident in choosing the keywords that will result in good traffic.

2. Commonality: A common view is that domain names are valued for their uniqueness but I say that any domain name falls into one category. I like names with words that are commonly used in day to day life, you know - words that stick. Words need to be chose on a certain order and you need to value pluralization too. Let's just explain that with these factors - market, marketing, markets. SportCars.com is not as valuable as SportsCars.com, and is a loser domain name put up against RunningShoes.com. If you run a few checks on Google you will see that ShoesRunning.com is nowhere to be seen.

3. True type-in traffic: Most people always rush into domain investing and are not able to get this type of information to guide them first. Type-in traffic is the key to success and we need long term traffic, so don't pay any attention to search engine or link traffic as this won't last.

4. Length: A further important consideration is the domain length. Short domain names will get better results because they are a lot easier to remember and spell and would convert into loads more traffic. Branding domains with takinf these important factors into account will increase drastically the domain name value which is great news if later sell your domain.

5. Prior use: When you buy a name from a drop service or from an expired list it may appear to be perfect but you but you never now what dark history it may have. A domain under first impressions may even look good on Google ranking or PR, but that may not carry on to be so once you have taken it over. It could be about to or even already on the Google banned list and if that is the case you won't even get the best domain name back up to the top again. You will end up having to register a new domain name like carsblog.com and start from scratch again.

6. End user development potential: Domain names have a certain flexibility that will develop them into major money winning sites and after having read this guide, it is down to you to make the decision on whether the domain words will help you hit the jackpot. Read more to find out more domain investing tips that will put you just way ahead of the rest.

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Discover Domain Name Investments Dedicated to telling the truth about domain investing, site flipping, reselling, monetizing Web sites and domain valuation plus regular Domain Valuation