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.
GoDaddy domain appraisals
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 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.
Why a domain’s value is important
All domain names have some kind of value. While the million-dollar headliners aren’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 could be worth a lot. Think of a domain name’s value like online real estate.
A beachfront condo in Dubai is going to be more expensive than a condo in Al-Giza, Egypt, and a storefront in downtown Jeddah or Abu-Dhabi is going to cost you a lot more than one in downtown Sanaa.
Zillow has made things easier to navigate when looking for a ballpark idea of your home’s value or the value of that condo in Dubai, but until recently, domain names have been harder to value in an automated fashion.
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 pertinent.
Maybe you’re sitting on one of those great names worth millions of dollars. Even if you don’t have a name worth millions, it’s a good idea to understand the value of your domains. 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 free GoDaddy Domain Name Value & Appraisal tool for.
Understanding the value of your domains might help you rethink deleting and point you in the direction of selling.
How do GoDaddy domain appraisals work?
At a high level, it operates in a similar fashion as appraisal tools in other industries do. These tools look for similarities in other 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 the nearby homes that have a similar amount of space and amenities to determine an approximate value for your home. GoDaddy Domain Appraisals does the same thing, but with domain names.
Our algorithm uses both machine-learning and real market sales data to estimate domain values, providing you with comparable domain name sales so you can price your domains with confidence.
We also look at similar domain names based on the TLD and SLD — the words to the right of and left of the dot respectively (e.g., in the case of Cars.com, cars is the SLD and .com is the TLD).
Each domain name is different, and we factor uniqueness (among other things) 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 amount of domains still available using just the 26 letters of the English alphabet (excluding numbers, dashes and IDNs).
In 2013, WHOAPI.com confirmed that all the four-letter domains are registered.
Coincidentally, 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.
How to use the domain valuation tool
First, you want to visit the GoDaddy Domain Valuation & Appraisal page. 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 similar domain name selling prices, the value of the keywords, the popularity of the keywords and the type of extension being used — .com in the below example.
This shows you why dubaisweetbakery.com is priced at $911.
- Dubai is a valuable keyword that domains that contain the word dubai have an average selling price of $2033.
- The word sweet is a widely used and easily remembered keyword.
- Lastly, .com extensions are the most popular and valuable extensions.
At a high level, it operates in a similar fashion as appraisal tools in other industries do. These tools look for similarities in other 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 domain valuation tool helps 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 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 it on the front of site for the standard retail price.
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?
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 domain’s portfolio.
Understanding the value of the domain you already own will help you rethink deleting it or allowing it to expire.
You will want to make sure it is set to auto-renew so 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 with protected registration and added account security, like two-step verification, will help further protect your valuable domains.
Related: Domain extension guide.
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 at auction or privately.
If you wish to sell it at auction, you can use the GoDaddy domain name auction to list your domain for sale.
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.
Related: Sell domains with GoDaddy in a 7-Day Public Auction
You might want to use it
Using a domain for customized productivity — professional email — or for a website is common. If you use one for an email address, the shorter and easy-to-remember, the better. If you need a domain for your website, find the one with the most market value to use for the address.
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 your website for better SEO.
If you’re not using your domain for a website, you can actually make money on it by using GoDaddy’s CashParking service. All you do is sign up for the service and when someone visits your parked site, they will see ads that are relevant to them. When they click on these ads, you’ll make a percentage of the revenue generated.
You may want to buy it
The domain valuation tool can 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 future value.
If you are looking to purchase a domain at auction or from an individual, the free domain name value tool will let you know the market value — but that’s not to say that someone can’t list it for whatever amount they desire.
Find the value of your domain
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 your domain name is worth.
This article includes content originally published on the GoDaddy blog by Joe Styler.
