Proven ways to choose a domain that maximizes profits

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With over 60 million domains currently registered, it can be daunting
to try to find the right domain — one that will drive quality traffic to your
Website or parked domain. But how can you ensure you”re making the right decision when you purchase
registered and expired domains? Do your research and you’ll feel confident in
your purchase. In this article, I’ll explain the tools and techniques domain pros use to
determine — or at least reasonably guesstimate — how much, and what type, of
traffic a domain receives. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to predict
approximately how much money a given domain will make, and thus gain a better
understanding of the domain’s true value. We’ll discuss three methods for
evaluating the traffic a domain receives:

In this article, I’ll explain the tools and techniques domain pros use to
determine — or at least reasonably guesstimate — how much, and what type, of
traffic a domain receives. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to predict
approximately how much money a given domain will make, and thus gain a better
understanding of the domain’s true value. We’ll discuss three methods for
evaluating the traffic trhat a domain receives:

*Trackers/Direct Methods
*Predictors/Indirect Methods
*Traffic Source

.Developed Website.
Traffic counting scripts are one of the simplest and most reliable methods
for determining traffic to a developed Website. Many free professional
statistics programs are available. These can be integrated easily into site
html codes to give buyers the additional reassurance of a 3rd party verified system.
Most trackers will provide sellers with even more info, such as top referrers,
the geographic and chronological breakdown of visitors, and much more.

Trackers/Direct Methods
Ideally, you could skip all of the guesswork and find out how much traffic a
domain receives directly from the domain owner. The easiest way to do this is
simply to ask the sellers about it. However, the seller may make mistakes (or simply be
dishonest), so it’s always a good idea to double-check the numbers using one or
more of the following methods.

Developed Website
Traffic counting scripts are one of the simplest and most reliable methods
for determining traffic to an already developed Website. Many free professional
statistics programs are available. These can be integrated fairly easily into any Website
code to give buyers the additional reassurance of a 3rd-party-verified system.
Most trackers will provide sellers even more information, such as top referrers,
the geographic and chronological breakdown of visitors, and more.

Parked Domains…If a domain name is parked, the
parking program may make traffic statistics available automatically through the
domain’s sales listing page. For example, at the time this article was written,
the traffic attracted by the parked domain, and a
uk website
could be viewed on the domain’s sale page.

It’s worth noting that the visitor count can be manipulated by malevolent
sellers, but in general, parked domain visitor stats serve as a very helpful
guideline for potential buyers.

Alexa.com…Alexa ranks web sites based on the
number of visitors they receive. For example, at the time this article was
written, Yahoo.com ranked first, while blue.com ranked at 212,093 and camera.com
at 717,298. These rankings are based on data derived from Alexa’s toolbar users.
Translating these numbers into unique views, Camera.com received over 10,000
unique views in the month of September while Blue.com received over 70,000
uniques. (Statistics from Sedo.com).

Many high-traffic domain names will receive an Alexa ranking just from their
type-in traffic. In general, an Alexa ranking under 1,000,000 for an undeveloped
site is a good indicator that the domain receives decent traffic (e.g. several
thousand monthly uniques). Rankings over a million are less reliable, but
usually any sort of Alexa ranking means the domain receives at least some
traffic. As with all of these methods, Alexa should be used as a guideline only:
sometimes even domains for which Alexa returns “No Data” (too low to rank) will
still receive traffic. Ranking.com offers a tool that’s similar to Alexa’s.

Alexa.com…Alexa ranks web sites based on the
number of visitors they receive. For example, at the time this article was
written, Yahoo.com ranked first, while tisstiss.com ranked at 212,093 and folkk.com
at 717,298. These rankings are based on data derived from Alexa toolbar users.
Translating these numbers into unique views, allready.biz received over 10,000
unique views in the month of September while pummle.com received over 70,000
uniques. (Statistics from Sedo.com).

Many high-traffic domain names will receive an Alexa ranking just from their
type-in traffic. In general, an Alexa ranking under 1,000,000 for an undeveloped
site is a good indicator that the domain receives decent traffic (e.g. several
thousand monthly uniques). Rankings over a million are less reliable, but
usually any sort of Alexa ranking means the domain receives at least some
traffic. As with all of these methods, Alexa should be used as a guideline only:
sometimes even domains for which Alexa returns ‘No Data’ (too low to rank) will
still receive traffic. Ranking.com offers a tool that’s similar to Alexa’s.

Research has shown that Overture searches do sometimes have a rough
correlation with traffic (especially type-in traffic), but as with other
methods, there are many exceptions to the rule.

Traffic Source…If you are trying to better understand something, go to the
source. This aphorism applies to domain traffic just as well as it does to other
information. Thus, in addition to using the above methods to guess-timate the
quantity of traffic a given domain receives, you may want to use these
techniques to try to determine the source of that traffic.

Traffic source will affect the longevity and conversion of the traffic. In
simpler terms, it will have huge impactts on how much money the domain will
make.

Link Popularity…A web site or formerly-developed
domain name may receive traffic from old incoming links and directory listings.
There are many online tools for checking link popularity; Marketleap.com offers
one of the best tools.

The important thing to look for here is not the quantity of links, but their
quality. A single link from a major web site may be worth thousands of links
from smaller sites. The longevity of link traffic varies widely: a link from a
news article may generate a storm of steady traffic that lasts only a week, while a
directory listing may continue to generate steady traffic for years. Another
similar tool worth checking out is URLtrends.com.

.Search Engine Listings…Search engine listings are
a major source of traffic count for many sites. You can guesstimate how much search
engine-engine-derived traffic a web site receives by looking at its “search engine
saturation”. This is an indicator of how often the domain appears in the various
search engine indexes. Again, Marketleap offers an excellent tool for
evaluating search engine saturation.

Just keep in mind that it’s also very important to look at how high the site is
listed and how often the keyword in the domain is searched. And don’t forget that search
engine listings change frequently, so if this is the primary source of traffic,
expect fluctuations!

Paid Fluctuations…Some traffic may be coming from
PPC advertisements, exit popups or banner ads that the seller has bought. This
is the shortest-lived traffic, because as soon as you buy the domain, the seller
stops paying for the ads! The best way to determine traffic origin is to ask the
seller about traffic sources and view the traffic logs. To ensure the logs are
not modified, ask for access to the logs instead of screenshot of the
statistics.

Without access to the logs, it can be difficult to determine if a domain is
receiving paid traffic, but a smart domain buyer will look for a few key pieces
of evidence: do the domain statistics align with the Alexa ranking and the
number of incoming links? For example, a domain that receives a couple hundred
views a day, and has no Alexa ranking and very few incoming links from
low-traffic sites may likely receive paid traffic. But don’t discount such
domains out of hand: they may be receiving typo-traffic, or may even be a seasonal domain (such as one related to the World
Series).

.Expired Traffic…If a domain was formerly
developed, some users may continue to visit because of old links and reference pages,
or simply because they remember the actual name of the domain. This traffic may continue for
years, but as with any site, it decreases over time.

If it’s not possible to speak with the current owner about the past
development of the site, a few simple searches can help. In particular, use the
hints above to examine the types of sites that are linking to that domain. With this
information, you may be able to get some idea of the type of traffic that’s
visiting the domain in search of old content. After the content is removed, many
of the links will be updated or removed and this traffic will eventually dwindle
or expire.

Typos -n- Variations…Don’t ignore traffic that’s
diverted to the domain name as a result of typos from other high traffic sites.
Check out the traffic that flows to similar or mistyped domains using the tools
above. Also consider traffic generated from variations of names, such as an
abbreviated form of your domain name, or an acronym. If these domains experience
high volumes of visitors, there is a possibility that this will translate to
high traffic levels for similar sites.

Alexa can be useful tool for doing this — it offers a feature that lists
other web sites that visitors of a given domain also visit. For example, an
Alexa search on: social bookmarking
shows that many visitors to these types of domains also visit other
social
networking websites.

Find the Right Domain…Traffic is crucial for any revenue generating
business on the Web. Finding the right domain with targeted traffic can take
your business — and profits — to new heights. If you haven’t quite had the
time to build that web site, simply park your domains, let your parking company
place relevant advertisements on the domains’ pages, and sit back and monetize
the traffic. Use the tools listed above to determine domain traffic and never
make a wrong buying decision again.

Finding high traffic and high PR domains

Thanks for visiting our WorldVentures site.

With over 60 million domains currently registered, it can be daunting
to try to find the right domain — one that will drive quality traffic to your
Website or parked domain. But how can you ensure you”re making the right decision when you purchase
registered and expired domains? Do your research and you’ll feel confident in
your purchase. In this article, I’ll explain the tools and techniques domain pros use to
determine, or at least reasonably guesstimate how much, and what type, of
traffic a domain receives. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to predict
approximately how much money a given domain will make, and thus gain a better
understanding of the domain’s true value. We’ll discuss three methods for
evaluating the traffic a domain receives:

*Trackers/Direct Methods
*Predictors/Indirect Methods
*Traffic Source
The educated buyer always comes out ahead so read the following to unlock the mysteries
of domain traffic and learn how to determine scientifically if a domain is
really worth the price.

.Trackers/Direct Methods…
Ideally, you could skip all of the guesswork and find out how much traffic a
domain receives directly from the domain owner. The easiest way to do this is
simply to ask the seller. However, the seller may make a mistake (or simply be
dishonest), so it’s always a good idea to double-check the numbers using one or
more of the following methods.

Developed Website…
Traffic counting scripts are one of the simplest and most reliable methods
for determining traffic to a developed Website. Many free professional
statistics programs are available. These can be integrated easily into Website
code to give buyers the additional reassurance of a third-party-verified system.
Most trackers will provide sellers even more information, such as top referrers,
the geographic and chronological breakdown of visitors, and more.

.Parked Domains…If a domain name is parked, the
parking program may make traffic statistics available automatically through the
domain’s sales listing page. For example, if at the time this article was written,
the traffic attracted by the parked domain, and a site about
uk/united kingdom/leeds/yorkshire
could also be viewed on the domain’s sale page.

It’s worth noting that visitor numbers can be manipulated by malevolent
sellers, but in general, parked domain visitor stats serve as a very helpful
guideline for potential buyers.

Predictors/Indirect Methods…What should you do if a domain is not parked
and the seller is unable to provide you with visitor statistics? Fortunately, a
few handy tricks can be used to help you get a rough indication of whether or
not a domain receives any traffic.

I wouldn’t recommend relying solely on any of these tricks as a
bullet-proof way to guesstimate traffic. However, taken as a whole (and with a
hefty spoonful of salt), they can shine a bit of light on the question of
whether or not a domain will receive valuable traffic.

Predictors/Indirect Methods…What should you do if a domain is not parked
and the seller is unable or unwilling to provide you with visitor statistics? Fortunately, a
few handy tricks can be used to help you get a rough indication of whether or
not a domain receives any traffic.

Many high-traffic domain names will receive an Alexa ranking just from their
type-in traffic. In general, an Alexa ranking under 1,000,000 for an undeveloped
site is a good indicator that the domain receives decent traffic (e.g. several
thousand monthly uniques). Rankings over a million are less reliable, but
usually any sort of Alexa ranking means the domain receives at least some
traffic. As with all of these methods, Alexa should be used as a guideline only:
sometimes even domains for which Alexa returns “No Data” (too low to rank) will
still receive traffic. Ranking.com offers a tool that’s similar to Alexa’s.

Overture Searches…Yahoo! Search Marketing’s
Keyword Selector Tool (known to most as formerly Overture) tells you how often a
given keyword was searched on the Yahoo! network. For example, “Yahoo” was
searched 17,858,229 times in September 2005, while “Blue” was searched 178,124
times.

So of course, a domain name that contains a highly-searched keyword is more likely to
receive traffic. However, the Overture Tool’s usefulness goes beyond that: if
you use the exact domain name (with extension) as the keyword, Overture results
can be used as a predictor for whether or not a domain name receives traffic.
For example, “Yahoo.com” was searched over 11 million times in September,
according to Overture. Our comparison sites fared as follows: “Blue.com” was
searched 794 times, while “Camera.com” was searched 258 times.

Research has shown that Overture searches do sometimes have a rough
correlation with traffic (especially type-in traffic), but as with other
methods, there are many exceptions to the rule.

Traffic Source…If you are wanting to better understand something, go to the
source. This aphorism applies to domain traffic just as well as it does to other
information. Thus, in addition to using the above methods to guesstimate the
quantity of traffic a given domain receives, you may want to use these
techniques to try to determine the source of that traffic.

Traffic source will affect the longevity and conversion of the traffic. In
simpler terms, it will have huge impacts on how much money the particular domain will
make.

Link Popularity…A web site or formerly-developed
domain name may receive traffic from old incoming links and directory listings.
There are many online tools for checking link popularity; Marketleap.com offers
one of the best tools.

The important thing to look for here is not the quantity of links, but their
quality. A single link from a major web site may be worth thousands of links
from smaller sites. The longevity of link traffic varies widely: a link from a
news article may generate a flurry of traffic that lasts only a week, while a
directory listing may continue to generate steady traffic for years. Another
similar tool worth checking out is URLtrends.com.

Search Engine Listings…Search engine listings are
a major source of traffic for many sites. You can guesstimate how much search
engine-derived traffic a web site receives by looking at its “search engine
saturation”. This is an indicator of how often the domain appears in the various
search engine indexes. Again, Marketleap.com offers an excellent tool for
evaluating search engine saturation.

Just keep in mind that it’s also important to look at how high the site is
listed and how often the keyword is searched. And don’t forget that search
engine listings change frequently, so if this is the primary source of traffic,
expect fluctuations!

.Paid Fluctuations…Some traffic may be coming from
PPC advertisements, exit popups or banner ads that the seller has bought. This
is short-lived when it comes to traffic, because as soon as you buy the domain, the seller
will of course stop paying for the ads! The best way to determine traffic origin is to ask the
seller about traffic sources and view a traffic log. To ensure the logs are
not modified, ask for access to the logs instead of screenshot of the
statistics.

Without access to the logs, it can be difficult to determine if a domain is
receiving paid traffic, but a savvy domain buyer will look for a few key pieces
of evidence: do the domain statistics align with the Alexa ranking and the
number of incoming links? For example, a domain that receives a couple hundred
views a day, and has no Alexa ranking and very few incoming links from
low-traffic sites may likely receive paid traffic. But don’t discount such
domains out of hand: they may be receiving typo traffic (see below for more
information) or may be a seasonal domain (such as one related to the World
Series).

Expired Traffic…If a domain was formerly
developed, some users may continue to visit because of old links and references,
or simply because they remember the actual name of the domain. This traffic may continue for
years, but naturally, it decreases over time.

If it’s not possible to speak with the current owner about the past
development of the site, a few simple searches can help. In particular, use the
hints above to examine the types of sites that are linking to the domain. With that
information, you may be able to get some idea of the type of traffic that’s
visiting the domain in search of old content. After the content is removed, many
of the links will be updated or removed and this traffic will eventually dwindle
or expire.

.Typos -n- Variations…Don’t ignore traffic that’s
diverted to the domain name as a result of typos from other high traffic sites.
Check out the traffic that flows to similar or mistyped domains using the tools
above. Also consider traffic generated from variations of names, such as an
abbreviated form of your domain name, or an acronym. If these domains experience
high volumes of visitors, there is just as much of a possibility that this will translate to
high traffic levels for similar sites.

Alexa can be useful tool for doing this — it offers a feature that lists
other web sites that visitors of a given domain also visit. For example, an
Alexa search on: social bookmarking
shows that many visitors to these types of domains also visit other
social
networking websites.

.Find the Right Domain…Traffic is crucial for any revenue generating
business on the Web. Finding and choosing the right domain with targeted traffic can take
your business and -profits- to new heights. If you haven’t quite had the
time to build that web site, simply park your domains, let your parking company
place targeted advertisements on the domain’s index page, and sit back and monetize
the traffic. You can do this at sedo by taking advantage of their optimize keyword
tool. Also, use the tools listed above to determine domain traffic and never
make a wrong buying decision again.

Domain Names - Six Golden Rules for Generic Domain Names

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How come that certain domain names sell for over a million dollars while others get no interest what so ever. Two domain names may appear to be almost the same and might even have a couple of different characters, like Beds.com and Bedsx.com, but you’ve got it - The first one is a winner and the second a no hoper.

If you have already made the decision that you want to buy a domain then you will just have to read these 6 golden rules if you want your domain investment to reap benefits. There are a variety of ways to buy domains but with a bit of investigation you could end up with a big buck winning domain name when you decide to sell.

1. Keyword volume: This is an estimate of how many searches the word or phrase has, which is an indication of it?s popularity. For example, according to Google, the phrase “Hawaii Singles” has 2400 searches a month. If you were bidding on HawaiiSingles.com, you would also want to check Keyword Discovery and/or WordTracker for additional data. You’ll never get more than an indication since each tool measures differently. However, it’s a safe bet if people are searching for a phrase there will be some natural traffic and SEO potential, and if there’s no volume, there will be little or none.

2. Commonality: A lot of people say domains are valued on their scarcity, but if you think about it, all domains, both good and bad, are one of a kind. What I like to look for is the commonality of the phrase the name represents within our society and existing lexicon. Usage, word order, and pluralization are huge factors in valuation. For example, “Discount” is not the same as “Discounted” which is not the same as “Discounts.” SportCars.com is valued less than SportsCars.com, and ShoesRunning.com is practically worthless when pitted against RunningShoes.com. Search for the phrase in quotes on Google to see if people are even using it, much less searching for it.

3. True type-in traffic: You would normally have great difficulty in viewing this type of information before investing in a domain name. The principal concern is just how much type-in traffic the name receives, but this should not include visitors who get referred from search engines and links and these are not long term factors.

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: If the domain has a past life, and was acquired through a drop service or from an expired list, you want to know about it. Forget perceived positives like search engine ranking and PR since those will likely disappear after the name is in your hands. Instead, delve into the name’s dark side. Was it ever used for spamming? Is it banned from Google’s index? Did it previously contain questionable content? Overcoming these negatives can be more work than you bargained for, even with an otherwise great name.

6. End user development potential: The one thing pretty much everyone in this business agrees on is a domain needs to be developable. In other words, you must always ask yourself this: Would I or anyone else be willing to spend money to put up a Web site on this name? If the answer is no, it will never truly be considered great.

Site Flipping - Investments That Pay Dividends (Part 2)

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Obviously, you know what they are looking for based on the keyword they are typing: Cell Phones and cell phone information. And listen up bucko, those visitors will type in CellPhones.com day in and day out, whether you advertise the site or not, just so long as you pay the $10/year registration fee.

Quality has not effect on your site’s traffic. Banners and pop ups have no negative effect on traffic. A high price range product will not deter traffic. The quality of the site content won’t even stop traffic coming. The reason is that the actual domain name is that powerful that it alone will send your site traffic. I would highly recommend that you would do the opposite though to get better conversions.

I know it sounds amazing people would type in a keyword string and add a dot com, but they do. In fact, it’s estimated that 50% of all Internet traffic is type-in, also known as direct navigation. And when you take out the obvious destinations people type-in like Yahoo, Google, and MSN, the number is still almost 20%. I didn’t believe it myself, but worked with a search engine client a few years back and discovered two very interesting facts about online users that if you understand, will make you money:

More facts - 1) Address bar searches account for 31% of total searches. 2) The search bar accounts for 28% of the total of address lookups. Domainers actually earn quite a lot of their income due to the alarming fact that most people just don’t know how to use the internet. So I suppose this would be why “yahoo.com” topped the list of searched terms.

So what’s CellPhones.com worth anyway? About 125,000 hot responsive visitors a month! And what are they worth, pray tell? Well, if you park the page and get paid on click revenue, it might be worth $15,000 - $30,000 a month… just based on type-in traffic. If you were offsetting the cost of advertising for an affiliate promotion, a click for a term like “cell phones” might go for buck or so, so you’d come out ahead by over six figures per month.

If you added to the power of this domain name to a high street business that sells cell phones, then you would probably be able to increase sales up to 3 million dollars per month. What power domain names can have on a business like cellphones.com which is worth a seven figure number. We can now see how important it is for domain names to be part of a perfectly structured business plan. Investment-grade keyword domains are responsible for this e-commerce powerhouse that can pay great dividends, gives you a monthly income and right up until you decide on selling your web site.

Domain Investing - Investments That Pay Dividends (Part 1)

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Domain names have never really been the most sought after investments and that goes for Marketers too. Domain investing has never really been properly understood and the outlying factor that seems to turn people away is the understanding that accidental traffic will be the only visits the site gets, meaning that you can’t really expect to make much in the way of profit.

Some still believe a domain name doesn’t matter, thinking JiggyPop.org is just as good as Hotels.com, provided the site’s content is the same. Listen, at one time I thought those things too, but those assumptions are dead wrong. Let me illustrate the real value of quality domain investments with a little quiz: Which domain name is most valuable on a strict valuation basis? a) Google.com or b) CellPhones.com

I expect most of you have answered Google.com as it does stand out just a bit, but incredibly it is not the correct answer and this is why. Google is as we know just the brand of a search engine and it is not very often used as a keyword. The important thing that comes out of this is that when you own a domain name, you have total power over your keyboard.

I have several domains like Google.com, all cute, super fun-to-say, and memorable, but with no real definition. None get more than a few visitors a month - accidental, random traffic, at best. And since “Google” doesn’t historically mean anything, there’s almost no way to monetize a name like that without millions and millions of dollars worth of branding, and years of reputation building. At best, a domain like Google.com - but with no existing name recognition - might earn a few dollars a year in click revenue and sell for a few thousand at auction.

After taking this into consideration you may just see how a domain name such as Flights.com could create a hell of a lot of casual visitors otherwise known as type-in traffic or direct navigation. If I had to calculate though my own results as well as established type-in click-through metrics for the domain industry, I would estimate an average of 5000 visitors a day for a domain name like Flights.com. This means that you would receive 125,000 visits a month just through type-in traffic. (Find out just how in part 2)…Published Soon.

A Guide To Choosing An SEO Effective Domain Name

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Would a novel work without a good cover? Similarly, a website without a good domain name is worthless. The power of a good domain has influence far beyond what you could imagine. But, don’t think if you put all your creativity into your domain name, you will get a great one. So what could be the key to finding good domain ante easily and without putting in too much effort? You have to check whether the domain name is good for the search engines, because they pick certain keywords to index the domain names, and hence the websites. Make your keyword sound compelling and make it oriented for the search engines too. Read this article to understand how both these can be achieved.

You will have to start by searching a keyword that is good for the search engines and also can be a part of your domain name. Use a keyword analyzer to get this done. Look for them on the search engines. Use a sample keyword into this tool that describes your site. The analyzer will now give you many different alternatives for the keyword you inserted. Choose those keywords from this list that describe more about what your website is about. If the domain keywords are specific, there are few chances that other webmasters will use them. So that’s better for search engine optimization. After this, you can begin looking for the domain name you will keep.

A lot of the domain name companies on the Internet will let you know if a particular name is available. If not obtainable, you will at least get some recommendations. Put in your keyword first; this will help you make better use of this tool. If at all the keyword is not available for use as the domain name, you will be given other suggestions. Think favorably about the domain names that have the keyword and end with .com. In case this is not present, think creatively. By putting in filler words in the domain name, you may be able to find an available option that still keeps your keyword.

Three interesting fillers you can use are ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. You get a good domain name, and you also get it indexed because the search engines will simply ignore such buffer words. Use numbers at the end of the phrase. Any number like 80 or anything else will do. Below we describe what you must do if you get all else but not the .com suffix.

You may opt for an extension other than .com, especially in the cause of very popular keywords. Other workable solutions are .biz, .net and .org. One more tactic is to use country or state specific extensions. This works if international or local marketing makes no difference to you. You can well understand that it is much wiser to be on the first page in the Indian Google than to be on the 86th page in the American Google! It is not complicated to have a domain name that serves well for your visitors as well as for the search engines.

Summary

Only 10% of the success of your domain name depends on your intelligence. The rest depends on the keyword analyzer tool. The last straw, when nothing else works, is to resort to the extensions.