Domain name appraisals

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Domain name appraisals

A domain name is worth what someone will pay for it. A domain that looks valuable on paper is worth what it appears to be worth only if someone is willing to pay that amount for it. On the other hand, a domain that doesn't look valuable at all may be valuable to someone who is willing to pay a lot for that domain. The value of a domain is what it's worth to someone else, and that value is often dependent on the revenue that the domain can help generate.
While no one can assign an exact value to a domain until someone has paid for it, the following criteria are commonly used to determine a domain's general worth. Having a combination of positive factors usually increases a domain's value.

Contents 1 Domain length 2 Memorability 3 TLD 4 Domain age 5 Domain keywords 6 Hyphens and numbers 7 Domain history 8 Backlinks 9 Brandability

Domain length

Shorter is better, and shorter domains almost certainly cost more than longer domains. Short domains are easier to type, remember, and fit on business cards and other promotional materials.

Memorability

Short or longer domains have increased value if they're easy to remember. One-word domains, for example, can be very valuable. A domain that can be easily pronounced is easier to remember than one that can't be easily pronounced, so being pronounceable is a related factor.

TLD

A dot com (.com) TLD or extension is generally considered to be the most valuable extension. If your domain is a dot net (.net) extension, for example, you risk losing traffic to the dot com extension variation of that domain if it points to a different website.
Domains with country-specific domain extensions are valuable for websites catering to traffic from the specific country. Because they're country-specific, however, their value is generally limited to what they're worth within that country.

Domain age

Search engines tend to give more weight to older domains, and people who know how to check when a domain was registered often consider a website more credible if it's been in existence for a few years. For this reason, some domain buyers look for already-registered domains that can be purchased and transferred to them.

Domain keywords

While one-word domains are extremely popular, domains with two words, possibly even three words, can still be valuable if those words together have commercial value. Keywords relevant to an emerging product or trend give the domain increased value.

Hyphens and numbers

Hyphens in domains reduce their value. The hyphen is often forgotten and people go to the non-hyphenated version of the domain instead. Also, anyone can take a two-word domain, insert a hyphen between the words, and register it as a new domain. That doesn't make it a valuable domain.
Domains with numbers are generally less valuable too. As above, anyone can take an existing domain, add a number or two to it, and register it as a new domain. It can look like a cheaper version of the original domain. Also, when hearing a domain with a number in it, listeners don't know whether to write the domain as a number (e.g. "2") or as a word ("two" or "to"). In cases where the numbers add meaning to the domain, such as a relevant year, they're less likely to detract from the domain's value.

Domain history

Was the domain previously used for a popular, reputable site? The domain value goes up. Was it used for a site with questionable content, or was it used to send spam? The value goes considerably down.

Backlinks

Quality backlinks that are relevant to what the new domain owner wants the site to be about add value. If the backlinks aren't relevant to the intended purpose of the site, or if they're of poor quality, they don't add value to a domain.

Brandability

Can a domain name be a marketable name for a company or product? If so, its potential value increases.

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Hi! Readers

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How to Choose a Domain Name

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Hi! Readers
Following last post "How To Choose Web Host",I put in "How to choose a domain name".
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Stay Tuned! From next post I have to put in not easy ones as those are running out!!
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A good domain name can help with the success of your website. A poorly chosen domain, on the other hand, can hinder its success.

Content

• 1 Domain name content
• 2 Domain name variations
• 3 What to avoid (or be careful with) in a domain/business name
• 4 Domain name length

Domain name content

• Make it easy to remember.
• For a business site, use your business name or a variation of it.

Domain name variations

• To prevent other people from capitalizing on your success, register different extensions of the domain if possible. For example, if you have a .com domain, consider registering the .net, .info, and perhaps other variations. (If you have a country-specific domain extension and your site is primarily for people in that country, having more than one domain is less important.)
• If your domain has common misspellings, register the misspellings and point them to your site.
• Generic domains can be useful for advertising.

What to avoid (or be careful with) in a domain/business name

• Numbers can be confusing. Some people will type the number as a numeral, and others will type it as a word. If you really want to use a number in a domain, register it both ways, e.g., superproducts2go.com and superproductstogo.com.
• Be especially careful with 1 and 0. 1 can look like the letter I, and the number 0 can look like the letter O.
• In general, pick a domain that is easily spelled when spoken.
• Hyphens in domains generally aren't a good idea. People will type the domain with and without the hyphens. If you really want hyphens, register the domain with and without them and have both domains point to your website. And if the unhyphenated version isn't available, you're risking losing business to that site because of people who go there when looking for your site.
• Don't choose a domain name where the plural form could be confusing, for example, ohioschool.com and ohioschools.com. If both aren't available, you risk losing site visitors to the other domain name. For most domains, this isn't a problem. For example, lawyers.com would obviously be a directory, and lawyer.com would be a specific (lucky) lawyer's web site. However, if your domain name in plural form is available, you should register it.
• Don't choose a domain name that contains double consonants, especially the letter s, such as workssuper.com.
• If you coin a word or use an uncommon surname for your business name, be prepared for no one to know how to spell it until you've spent millions in branding. Try using common words in your business name instead.

Domain name length

The shortest domain names are already registered. While you probably can't get a three-letter domain, you can still consider length.

• Shorter is generally better. Simply because it's much easier to type, for your visitors to remember and to fit on business cards or other business publications.
• Longer may be better than shorter when it's a phrase that people can remember easily.
• Avoid more than three or (at the very most) four words in a domain name.

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Domain name registrar

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Hi! Readers
In Dec 31 2010 post Free Web Hosting - Curse or Blessing ? I said "I will post soon about "Free Domain Name" such as my site http://nightwish2010.tk/  As you might have already guessed,I do not pay any cents for Web Hosting and Domain Names."
.tk is not a normal domain and I need more knowledge to describe this domain to readers.
The article below helps me understand and create a better article in this regard.
So my "Free .tk Domain Name" article will be later. Please be patient.

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Domain name registrar
A domain name registrar is an organization that processes domain name registrations, renewals, transfers, and other requests on behalf of people registering domain names (registrants). Domain name registrars also maintain the information in the Whois database.

Contents
1 Domain name registrar accreditations
2 Domain name resellers
3 External links
4 See also

Domain name registrar accreditations
To handle gTLDs (generic top-level domains) such as those with .com, .net, and .org extensions, the registrar must be accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) are the two-letter domain extensions that represent a specific country, such as .ca (Canada), .in (India), and .uk (United Kingdom). ccTLDs are accredited by national ccTLD authorities, and the ccTLD authorities for each country have their own rules. Many domain name registrars are accredited by both ICANN and national ccTLD authorities so that they can handle both gTLDs and ccTLDs.

Domain name resellers
A domain name reseller is an individual or organization that resells domain names through a domain name registrar reseller program. Domains are still registered through the domain name registrar, but resellers can offer the domain registration services at their websites and earn a profit from each domain registered. Most web hosts are domain name resellers. In addition to being able to offer another service to their clients, web hosts can also package domain name registrations with their other services if they choose to.

External links : ICANN-Accredited Registrars --- IANA ccTLD Database

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