Your criteria for regging a name - For reg fee?

[estibot.com]

Hi guys, I'm interested to know what sort of criteria you use to find the jewels in the rough. To get the discussion going, here are some of mine:

.com: >500 OVT and >500,000 Google
.us: >20,000 OVT, >500,000 Google
.mobi: > 50,000 OVT, >500,000 Google
.tv >100,000 OVT, >1,000,000 Google

Max 20 characters in length. OVT scores per month.

I think most names that fulfill these criteria are worth grabbing at reg fee. I'll reg just about any name that meet these requirements. Anything below these numbers will have to be short, sweet, and brandable, and preferably contain a highly desirable keyword, such as Poker, Casino, Game, Real Estate, Credit, Business, Video, Travel, Hotel and so on.

Sometimes, of course, it's worth regging a name that just sounds really good, especially the 3-5 char names. If I immediately fall in love with a name, I may reg it regardless of the scores, although I don't do this so much anymore. Another exception is pure speculation: if there is a future trend that you think will be big, then it'll be worth grabbing the .com regardless of the present scores.

Having said all that, the only names I've had offers on do not meet these criteria, but are of the "brandable" type..... Just goes to show that domain name valuation is an tricky business.

 

[wii]

Sorry for asking this, but what exactly does those numbers mean, and how do I test a domain name using this?

 

[estibot.com]

How to do basic domain name research

Wii, your question inspired me to write a blog entry. Thanks for that, I needed that inspiration. I posted the answer to your question on my blog:

How to Do Basic Domain Name Research

Enjoy!

 

[-OutlawBiker-]

I used to do all that and more. Now I just flip a quarter. Heads I reg.

 

[estibot.com]

That maybe a suitable method for you highly evolved domain name expert kings, but I would not exactly recommend such a nonchalant attitude for absolute beginners. I posted the instructions to help beginners get in the game. (--> moved to my blog so those not interested can avoid reading it)

 

[Tippy]

If I find a name and it sounds good, obvious usage, descriptive as to the content I tend to reg it. Sometimes I get burnt but most of the time I walk away with at least a free meal out of it...

I do check results etc... in Yahoo/WordTracker just to give me an idea but if the name/term isnt popular I'll still reg it if I feel it has potential.

 

[Ray]

I got swept up into the realestate aspect of domain names. I regged about 50 at once and only sold about 3. I lost alot of money. Now i just regg them if i feel that i can personally develope something out of them as i tend to have alot of projects.

 

[VURG]

Nice blog Josh. Interesting points.

I think beginners should start by visiting the threads with over 10 positive responses in the available names section of this forum. These people who write those threads are getting positive responses because they are listing good names.

The other great thing for a beginner is to start with an area of speciality that they already know well. This way they should have an idea of what are good words for that area and they should have some idea of what to do with the domain after purchasing it.

 

[estibot.com]

Templaterave: I know the feeling. You've got these names that sound like sure winners and end up wondering if they're worth the renewal fee... Take MovieSeason * com and FilmSeason * com for instance. I regged those, certain that they would produce a very nice return....there has been no interest whatsoever. After regging about a 100 names like that, I decided to check each name systematically for keyword value and reg only if the name is really good. These days, for every 300 or so names I research, I'll reg one. It may not help me find more winners, but at least I'm regging less names, therefore less losers

Vurg: Thanks. You make a good point about starting with something you are already familiar with. I agree completely. If you're a professional by day, domainer by night (like me), use your knowledge of your profession to your advantage. Go to conferences and meetings, and make notes of the trends in the industry. With your special knowledge, you may just end up regging the .com for the next big thing.

 

[.X.]

I used to do all that and more. Now I just flip a quarter. Heads I reg.

same here Doc....Myself personally...if i like a name...and i see a use for it...i will reg it...i don't put myself through all the numbers games...first off....hand regging a .com with an ovt of 500 is a very hard task today...most will be trademarked if they carry that kind of ovt...I reg what i personally like.

 

[seeker]

if it sounds good, has meaning and you can imagine a potential buyer for the domain, I'd get it.
like someone said above, 500 ovt for .com and for it to be available at reg fee is VERY hard.

 

[estibot.com]

I agree >500 OVT .coms are indeed really hard to find. That's why I seem to reg only "brandable" .coms these days. Should probably lower that number. What do you think is a suitable low threshold OVT score for regging a .com? (for strictly keyword domain names)

 

[wii]

Thanks a lot. :kickass:

Wii, your question inspired me to write a blog entry. Thanks for that, I needed that inspiration. I posted the answer to your question on my blog:

How to Do Basic Domain Name Research

Enjoy!

What about the net and org if the com is not available ?

 

[cache]

the best is still .com. If the .com is not available, first try to find other alternatives .com names.