Domainer’s Cheat Sheet at Conceptualist.com, By Sahar Sarid

Domainer’s Cheat Sheet

Published by Sahar Sarid on June 6, 2007 in Domain Names.

Before I purchase any domain I do my own research. Mostly I use publicly available sites however we do have our own custom databases that we built over times. The more data you have, the better your research will look like, the better decisions you can make.

So I found a cool domain, here’s what I do:

1. Check the major search engines; learn more about the keyword/phrase. Who’s using it? For what? Is it only used by one party? Are there locations worldwide that the domain keyword/phrase describe? Who introduced the keyword/phrase, when? Are there any sort of legal issues here? If there is indication of legal issues, what is the risk? Can I still purchase it and use it in another industry and reduce the risk involved? Important to remember, it is not the act of registration that is a TM violation but consumer confusion, which is always directly related to the USE of the domain in question.

2. Check Archive.org history for the domain. This helps learning about past uses of the domain, past ownership/s.

3. Check Domaintools for whois history. It helps if it is a generic name and was previously owned by some major and/or interesting party. Gives added chance for them to come back for it.

4. Check keyword/phrase value. How much the phrase goes for on major search engines’ auction houses? How much related keywords go for?

5. Check industry value. Is it a small industry? Is it a big industry? Is it an upcoming industry? Is it a declining industry?

6. Ask myself is it a trendy phrase? Is it sustainable? Will it be hot next month, next year, next decade?

7. Check who else is using similar domains. Check the .net version, the .org version. Do research to find what other domains are registered and active that use the same keyword/phrase as the domain in question.

8. Check for heartbeats (learn more about “heartbeats” here) from as many sources as possible (Google, yahoo, msn, Overture search tool, wordtracker, custom db we own)

9. Check latest news sources for clues. Google News, Topix, even youtube.

10. And last but not least, after all research, the most important question of them all, DOES IT MAKE SENSE?

Have fun domaining!

7 Responses to “Domainer’s Cheat Sheet”

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1 Javier Marti
Jun 6th, 2007 at 7:46 pm

Thanks for that post Sahar. I think this kind of information sharing is what Frank’s blog is so popular for. I have the impression that you hold back a lot more information than you release.
It is natural, I understand the logic…
However, I also believe that posts like this of yours, will help more people come into domaining, improve its reputation, increase the pool of opportunities available for all of us (by increasing the size of the overall market) and generate steady readership for this blog.
If the price we’ll have to pay is to compete with more people bidding for the same domains, then so be it. But either we all push in the same direction in any way we can to make this activity popular, or we can keep on waiting for the “big times” to come forever…
Only the spread of information like this will build the bridges that small business owners need to see the “new realities” regarding domain names, as soon as possible.
And that will benefit all of us in many different ways…

Regards

Javier
http://trendirama.com

—-ANSWER—-

It’s not that I hold back more then Franky, it is that I’m not as much into domains as Franky. This blog is really not about domains as about the stuff I do. In a very short time the focus will change to other issues then domains, such as other businesses and passions I have. Now, as I’m between stages, I share what I know well, which is domaining.
2 kamal
Jun 6th, 2007 at 8:23 pm

Sahar,

This is great information. Thanks for taking the time to share the tools and thought process you use to make your decisions. I’ve been amazed by your and Frank’s willingness to openly share such information.

—ANSWER—-

We’re bored
3 Mark
Jun 7th, 2007 at 10:37 am

Hi Sahar

while you’re on the subject, do have have any tips on how you like to interpret Overture counts (especially in different countries)? For a phrase that seems good in all other respects is there an overture number which would turn you away from making a purchase?

And do you have any other rules you apply when assessing the numbers that come up from the other sources you use (google, bids for terms etc)?

Very many thanks

Mark

—-ANSWER—-

Hi Mark,
We haven’t bought names for a long time now. When we did it was only .com domains so other countries were never a consideration.
You can collect data forever but that’s just guidance, it’s not a decision factor. The decision is based on common sense, gut instincts. If you do allot of research you will see what makes more snese, what makes less sense. There’s no substitute to experience.
4 David Alejos
Jun 8th, 2007 at 2:57 am

Thanks for sharing this information I have translated this post to Spanish: http://www.forodominios.net/viewtopic.php?p=2161#2161
5 woolwit
Jun 16th, 2007 at 1:20 am

Great post, thanks! We take as a given that good domain names result in profit, but one of the biggest problems for a domain newbie like myself is seeing where profit comes from. Without that crucial bit of knowledge/experience it’s hard to weigh the results of our research. Probably beyond the scope of the blog format but I would love to see your research results as applied to indicate a winner and a loser.
Best,
Woolwit
6 Al Vin
Jun 21st, 2007 at 1:11 am

Thanks for the great post! I am learning lots from your blog and I have think everyone should learn more from you. I have posted the link to my site, DNHour.com for all my visitors to cherish!

Cheers to you and do keep on sharing!

Al