Guide to Domain Name Appraisal Services

Domain names can be a lot like customized license plates; the phrase makes sense to the owner, but not to the person driving behind. Get a domain appraisal to make sure this doesn’t happen to your domain name. Domain appraisal services evaluate the marketability of your domain name and its potential value. Couple a good domain name with a website clients like and the domain name becomes an extension of your marketing.

Even if you understand the basics of choosing a domain name, domain appraisals help you look at your domain name from another perspective.

A good domain name:

1. Alerts search engines to the content of the website.
2. Includes keywords.
3. Is short and memorable.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get a free domain name appraisal

A free domain appraisal helps you know the value of your domain name, but you may need to know where the domain name stands in market position and the size of the market. The service may base its appraisal on information you provide rather than on its own research.

I recommend: Use Nameboy's free domain name appraisal, which considers popularity of words, terms and phrases in your domain name as well as the length and number of characters in your domain name. If you are confident in your ability to self-evaluate your domain name, use Swift Appraisal for a quick domain name valuation.

Evaluate the research methodologies used by professional domain name appraisal services

Certified appraisals may take up to two days to return the results to you. Often a certified appraisal values the domain name higher than a free domain name appraisal, but if you don't know how the company reached that decision, be skeptical.

I recommend: Look for companies like Zetetic that provide a full disclosure of research methods and have been featured by reputable companies like CNNMoney.com and Forbes. Review Domain Research Methodology for more information on the different ways to research to obtain domain name valuations.

Pay to have your domain name appraised

The purpose for domain appraisals determines how much money you should spend to get the appraisal done. If you are simply curious about the marketability and potential value, you could use an inexpensive service.

I recommend: Go Daddy domain name appraisals are quick and base the price on the number of critical factors evaluated. Sedo.com also offers appraisals based on evaluation criteria, but also offers a portfolio evaluation of up to 50 domain names.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Domain names are not case sensitive.
• Valuations based on information you provide may not show the domain name's actual, objective value.
• Some companies offer a free domain appraisal as a way to entice to you to purchase a professional appraisal.

The official source of Domain Name Appraisal Services is
the Domain Name Appraisal Services page at Business.com