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I posted these in one of the gTLD threads, but thought it deserved its own thread for discussion purposes. Feel free to augment or add other due diligence items you find useful as a reply.
First, I love the tag at the bottom of one of the gTLD threads: "official gTLD droplist 2016". Sadly, I think we will find that to be true 90% of the time. So, I'm thinking about how not to be part of that 90%?
One of the keys for me has always been due diligence before I purchases. This has not always been the case and has proven to be a costly error early on in my domain career. I'd hate to see you you guys repeat the same mistakes I made. If you do solid due diligence, you will walk away from a lot of domains and focus on those with true potential.
So, what is due diligence? Here's the checklist I use before making a domain buy, whether it be .gTLD, .com, or .whatever:
1. What is the intended use of the domain? Each name MUST have one. If you can't find one, no one else will. I apply this to even brandables and made-up 'words'.
2. Can I pronounce and easily spell the name? If you can't say it, the world will hate it. This probably does not apply to Chinese repeaters, but I really don't care about that market anyway.
3. Does the name convey the desired term in the shortest way possible? Free.money, yes. Complimentary.money, no.
4. Does the domain fit the extension? Easy.money, yes. Hippo.money, no.
5. Does the world care about this name? / Is there a need for it? / Is it a popular term or phrase? Tools really help with these. I use Google Trends now and historically have used Overture to help answer these questions.
6. What is this name gonna cost me and is it in my budget? I tend to register speculative names under $20, unless I have a specific need for a project, then I raise my budget to feed aftermarket opportunities. Top.News at $52,500 does not pass this test.
7. Would I want to develop this domain and create a business out of it? This is my passion test. If I wouldn't want to development it, why would someone else?
8. Is the name clean? Does it infringe on a trademark, the .com version, or a similar name? A little googling, typing in URLs, and possibly a trip to uspto.gov will answer this one.
Assuming the answers to all this questions are a go, I then pull the trigger on the name.
Anyway I hope this helps some of the newbs save some dough. Best of luck to all of you.
First, I love the tag at the bottom of one of the gTLD threads: "official gTLD droplist 2016". Sadly, I think we will find that to be true 90% of the time. So, I'm thinking about how not to be part of that 90%?
One of the keys for me has always been due diligence before I purchases. This has not always been the case and has proven to be a costly error early on in my domain career. I'd hate to see you you guys repeat the same mistakes I made. If you do solid due diligence, you will walk away from a lot of domains and focus on those with true potential.
So, what is due diligence? Here's the checklist I use before making a domain buy, whether it be .gTLD, .com, or .whatever:
1. What is the intended use of the domain? Each name MUST have one. If you can't find one, no one else will. I apply this to even brandables and made-up 'words'.
2. Can I pronounce and easily spell the name? If you can't say it, the world will hate it. This probably does not apply to Chinese repeaters, but I really don't care about that market anyway.
3. Does the name convey the desired term in the shortest way possible? Free.money, yes. Complimentary.money, no.
4. Does the domain fit the extension? Easy.money, yes. Hippo.money, no.
5. Does the world care about this name? / Is there a need for it? / Is it a popular term or phrase? Tools really help with these. I use Google Trends now and historically have used Overture to help answer these questions.
6. What is this name gonna cost me and is it in my budget? I tend to register speculative names under $20, unless I have a specific need for a project, then I raise my budget to feed aftermarket opportunities. Top.News at $52,500 does not pass this test.
7. Would I want to develop this domain and create a business out of it? This is my passion test. If I wouldn't want to development it, why would someone else?
8. Is the name clean? Does it infringe on a trademark, the .com version, or a similar name? A little googling, typing in URLs, and possibly a trip to uspto.gov will answer this one.
Assuming the answers to all this questions are a go, I then pull the trigger on the name.
Anyway I hope this helps some of the newbs save some dough. Best of luck to all of you.
