Know Your Value: Domain Names as Digital Real Estate

Here’s probably somewhat of an obvious statement, but it deserves reiterating so we’ll say it: if you’ve got a business, you’ve got assets. When it comes to your business assets, you probably already have quite the inventory. Depending on the niche of your business, this can be an extensive inventory that includes properties, vehicles you use just for work, and of course, that expensive office equipment and furniture. However, hello, don’t forget about the internet! You should also be considering your virtual assets, especially any domain names you own or acquire.

Digital Property is Essentially Real Estate

In the physical world, we know that real estate is considered a primary asset for people and businesses. As virtual goods (which notably includes both content and cryptocurrency, by the way) continue to gain and hold real value, it’s vital to consider your digital property among your assets, including domain names.

Assessing the Value of Your Domains

Sure, having a hunch is helpful, but how on earth do you value the domain names you already own (or may acquire from an existing owner)? We’ve got you covered. Let’s investigate your top two options:

• Research domain sales that occurred recently. Here’s an outstanding article from Inc. on domain name value. Check out what’s hot by keeping track of the trends.
• Get an estimate. SitePrice, EstiBot, and Website Outlook can help you, as can researching the domain name price directly on sites like GoDaddy.

Know Your Trends

Understanding trends is about more than spotting the emerging trends on Google and on site evaluators. Niche knowledge happens ahead of the fact, meaning you are the best resource to predict what will work. By this, we mean that when you see innovation in your industry, snatch up those low-cost domains! Sure, there’s a chance they won’t be worth much, but you can always redirect them to your primary niche sites and increase value. Additionally, there’s also a chance they will increase in value over time, which makes them an asset that you can retain or sell. Ka-ching!

Should You Invest in Domain Names?

That depends. But mostly: yes. If you have a knack for finding or generating domain name ideas that increase in value over time, domain names are considered low-risk, low-cost investments in most instances. If you have even just $100 to invest, go ahead and try snagging ten domain names through GoDaddy. If you’re good at assessing trends in digital property, you may even see an increase in value over the next year or so – and the SEO value is excellent, as it can always point to your existing domains. Score!

Why Do Some Domain Names Have Value?

In addition to trends, domain names can hold value for other reasons. Having a prime keyword in the domain can increase the entire SEO value of a page. If you sell handcrafted wooden chairs, it makes sense to get “handcraftedwoodenchairs.com” and “woodchairs.com,” and maybe even something with local value like “woodchairsmontana.com.” If you’re starting from scratch, the domain name with the most SEO value (and the shortest, most easy to remember) should function as your primary domain name. Your other domains can redirect to your primary site or exist as separate sites with inbound blog content. This allows you to dominate keywords.

Changes in Digital Property Value

In the physical world, property value changes based upon a variety of factors including:

• Trendy hot spots
• The popularity or negative public opinion of the real estate owner
• Changes in the features of the property (buildings, adding a pool, landscaping)

Naturally, you should transfer these considerations to all of your assets. Think about how that translates to your digital property. By example, if public opinion about the domain name owner (or their popularity) changes, so does the potential value of the domain and its brand. Features are equally important. Consider these “features” of a digital property:

• Web copy
• Blog content
• Images with proper alt-tags
• Localized content
• And all the traffic, discussion, visitors, and user-generated content generated on the site

So remember: you can increase the value of your domain with whatever you include on the site. Even if you sell the site without the content, the property value will increase, similar to teardown properties, which are still actually pretty standard in certain areas. Not bad, right?

Are You Ready to Assess and Invest?

If you’re ready to seriously consider your URLs as investments, you have three things to consider:

• Domains you own (and want to keep)
• Domains you may wish to transfer (sell)
• Domains you want to buy

Again, not to be repetitive, but remember it’s just like physical real estate: a real estate investor will have properties they want to retain for business or personal use, some they might want to sell, and others they want to invest in and grow. Monetary value may determine what you want to keep and sell, but there’s more to it than that. You should strongly consider holding on to URLs with:

• Localization
• Branded keywords
• Your name

Track Your Domain Value

Like real property and the real-life stock market, you need to keep your eye on the market when it comes to your digital properties. Stay vigilant! Values fluctuate. Tracking domain value is also critical because assets bring with them other concerns and benefits, such as insurance and even mortgage value. Consider this: if your domain is highly valued and stable in price, why wouldn’t you be able to borrow against it just as you would a physical property? Exactly! You can! The world is changing, and with more TLDs (top level domains) becoming available, it’s an easy way for a creative person or niche expert to make an immediate, impactful investment. FYI: TLDs are different domain name extensions (.com, .us, .biz, .club, .marketing) which you can purchase to connect to your hosted site.

The Reality of Domain Name Value and Investment

Regardless of what GoDaddy tells you, most domain names aren’t worth that much. However, some have real value, and it is even possible to borrow against the value of your domain name. For this reason, it’s best to select domain names that can make money for you while you’re waiting for their value to increase (or to sell or transfer). Ultimately, if you have a marketing brand, pick items that can redirect to your existing properties so they’re good investments no matter what you do with them in the future.

SEO Meets Domains and Value Explodes

Purchasing domains can provide ample opportunities and even possibly generate increased value, but remember that SEO is one of the ultimate means of value building in regards to providing heightened value to any of your domain names. Better yet, remember we’ve got your back when with all matters SEO. We’ve got your subject expertise in our back pocket. Let us help you build the value you deserve: let us help you dominate.