In SEO we like to look into all aspects of online marketing and this includes domain names. Domains that have been registered for a while and never been dropped are called Aged Domains. An aged domain can usually sell for a higher price than a new one because they have been around for a while. Many people are looking for aged domains with a good, reputable history which can help them make a living online by making it appear as if they have had an online presence for longer than they may have done.
If you are interested in Aged domains they can be found on forums like DNForum.com where you enter what you are after into the search bar. You will find that many domain auctions are there purely for older domain names.
There is no strict way to do this by yourself, but you should keep in mind the following:
Development potential
Analyse the name of the URL for whether you will use the URL to represent a personal portfolio, community, directory or your main product name. It is important to keep a clear idea in your head of the purpose of each domain name so that you can keep the domain relevant, trusted and valuable for if you wish to sell your domain.
Length of a domain
While there are some disagreements as to what the ideal length of a domain should be, many agree that the shorter they are; the better. Officially, domains of up to 63 characters can be registered. However, in terms of usability, if the domain name is catchy and memorable then it shouldn’t matter too much and rather than focus on length you should focus more on relevancy.
Existing traffic
If you are considering buying expired domains or one with a good age you will want to determine whether there is existing traffic to the website or not, as it will help you to plan out your strategy for the site.
As we all know organic / natural traffic sent directly from search engines is the best kind of traffic to have. However, back links from other websites are also very important to potential buyers as if these link from good relevant sources they can help with your site rankings.
There are a number of ways and useful tools with which to check out the number of backlinks, page rank plus any other useful information that may be needed. For the backlinks, this can be done using the Yahoo Site Explorer and a good tool for useful information such as: http://www.checkpagerank.net.
Relevancy / popular keywords
If your domain name contains keywords that are popular and relevant to the targeted industries then it will hold considerably more value than others. Not only this, but Google seems to favour domains rich in keywords for rankings too. In fact, even Matt Cutts of Google has said that keywords in URLs actually help to some degree.
There are several ways of determining how popular or common a keyword is by using tools such as Google’s Keyword Tool and SEO Book.
Spelling
When buying a domain there are a few things to consider, such as if the name is unique and easy to remember. You also have to think about if it would be easy to brand it as this can play a big part in your site’s campaign.
A common problem many sites have is their domain name being misspelt which can lead you to losing potential customers. An example of this is often found in domain names with double letters in them such as www.washhouse.co.uk may often be mistaken for www.washouse.co.uk. You should keep in mind that domains with odd spellings, hyphens or numbers need to be clearly spelled out.
Trademark issues
Registering domain names that may infringe on the trademark of existing companies should be avoided at all costs, even if you believe the company will not take legal action. So whilst there are no two domains that are the same and it’s possible to buy variations of a domain, e.g. marmite.com, marmite.co.uk and marmite.org or even permutations such as marm1te.com which are limited only to your imagination; don’t do it!
Authors: Kenneth Berkley, Robert Bromilow and Julie Cheung.
