Finding your domain name value – here’s how

“How much is my domain worth?” As history shows, determining the domain value is not that simple. It’s unlikely your domain is worth millions, like the lasvegas.com domain acquired for $90 million by Vegas.com in 2005. However, significant profits can still be made with web address sales in other price ranges.

How can you determine a domain’s value?

Domains are unique — and that’s exactly why potential buyers reach out wanting to purchase your domain. However, this exclusivity is also what makes determining a domain’s value so challenging. Different domain components or domain types, such as top-level domains (TLDs), second-level domains, ccTLDs, or gTLDs, naturally play a role in the valuation — after all, some domain extensions are inherently expensive. Ultimately, though, it’s the specific combination of name and extension, which can only be registered once, that determines the overall domain value.

There are several free and paid online tools and services that can help you evaluate and sell your domain. Some of the most popular providers include:

• GoDaddy Domain Appraisal: With GoDaddy’s Domain Appraisal tool, you can determine your domain value quickly and for free. The service uses a machine learning model that evaluates millions of historical domain sales to estimate a realistic market price. Key criteria include the length and structure of the domain name, keyword relevance, and comparable sales data. In addition, the tool provides examples of similar domains and their selling prices, helping users better assess the potential value of their own web address.

• Sedo.com: Sedo.com offers paid domain evaluations for buying and selling parties, which are sent via email no later than five days after payment is received. Among the ten assessment criteria are the domain’s suitability for search engines and its advertising effect.

Which factors matter when assessing domain value?

Paid domain appraisal services typically take many more factors into account, which means you can generally expect a more accurate result. But as a domain owner, how can you tell whether it’s worth investing in a professional domain valuation? Below, you’ll find the key evaluation criteria that will help you make an initial assessment of your domain’s value on your own.

Factor 1: Domain name and length

A general rule of thumb is that the shorter a domain name is, the higher its value tends to be. However, there are a few conditions attached to this rule — otherwise, random letter combinations like ababcd.org or abcde.com would be worth a fortune. What truly determines a domain’s value is whether the (ideally short) domain has a meaningful name or includes recognizable (non-trademarked) abbreviations, wordplays, or similar elements that could be of interest to potential buyers.

Conversely, the value of a domain is typically lower if it contains cryptic names and endings or combines multiple words or terms.

Factor 2: Linguistic criteria

Beyond the length and popularity of the domain name, several other linguistic factors can significantly influence a domain’s value. For instance, it is relevant whether the central term in the domain is a noun, an adjective, or a verb. In most scenarios, nouns are the preferred choice, and the domain name value can be affected by whether both the singular and plural forms are taken—like shoe.com and shoes.com. For some nouns like “scissors” or “sheep,” as well as plural-only words like “goods” or “expenses,” this factor naturally doesn’t play a role.

Characters, numbers, or words that are part of the domain but completely unrelated to other potential web projects also have a depreciating effect on the value.

Factor 3: Availability of alternatives

With the introduction of new TLDs, the number of possible name and extension combinations for web addresses has increased significantly. When determining a domain’s value, it’s important to also consider the availability of alternative top-level domains. For example, if you own the address domain.com but the alternative domain.org is still available, your chances of achieving a high sale price are considerably lower. By purchasing and registering domain names with various extensions right from the start—especially when focusing on the most popular domain extensions—you’ll have a much stronger negotiating position.

Factor 4: Age of the domain

The domain age refers to the date a web address was registered. Whether the registration date itself actually affects the evaluation by Google and others is uncertain; however, if the domain has been active for years, it certainly impacts the ranking and thus the domain value. The content and the number of backlinks pointing to the domain particularly determine a web address’s reputation. The trustworthiness of web projects published under a domain over time is also relevant from an SEO perspective.

In the context of SEO, the keyword potential of the domain also plays a role: If the web address contains terms with high search volume on Google and other search engines, it significantly strengthens the negotiating position in a domain sale. However, if the address name too obviously mirrors certain keyword phrases, such as in the address what-is-seo.com, it could have negative effects on the evaluation by search engines and thus on the domain value.

Factor 5: Commercial potential

Can you make money with a web address? And if so, in which industry? To accurately determine a domain’s value, you also need to assess its commercial potential. Domains in internet-driven industries are particularly in demand, which makes them significantly more valuable than those in niche sectors. This is partly because companies operating in booming markets want a strong, relevant domain to enhance their brand presence. Additionally, web addresses with strong commercial potential are ideal for advertising placements, making them especially attractive to partners and investors.

How to respond to an inquiry about domain value?

If you’re planning to sell a domain yourself, determining its value beforehand is, of course, essential. But how should you react when someone unexpectedly contacts you to ask whether you’re interested in selling your domain?

In any case, the first rule is: don’t rush into anything! If a company or an individual is genuinely interested in your domain, you’ll usually have enough time to consider the sale carefully and determine the domain’s value at your own pace. Before even discussing the selling price, you should take a closer look at the potential buyer. Make sure it’s a legitimate offer before proceeding with any further steps. If your research yields positive results and you’re open to selling, you essentially have two options:

1. You ask the interested party to submit an offer.
2. You state your desired selling price to the interested party.

Both options have their pros and cons. If you choose the first approach, you don’t necessarily have to determine the domain’s value beforehand — you can start your research after receiving an offer. However, this means giving up the advantage of taking proactive action to potentially achieve a higher selling price. If you’ve listed your domain for sale, you should always make sure to submit your own offer as well.