We are in the age of the great domain names getting rarer and rarer and shopping around for a good domain for your business can be challenging. Premium domain names often come with high price tags, but their value continues to increase. In these economic times, when there are few reliable investments, an exact match domain name with a .com tld is a smart investment whether used to monetize with CPC ads or built out as websites to support a business or to create a new one.

In the event you cannot find or afford a premium domain name for your business, .net and .info tlds can be worthwhile if you are building out a website. When the exact match keywords are not available under any tld variation, adding an additional word to create a brand is a viable option. If you must resort to using a url with dashes, don’t go beyond 2 dashes in your url, to avoid appearing spammy to the search engines.

Searching for A URL

1. Your search will begin by plugging in your desired keywords into a search tool and utilizing the filters to remove any undesirable results, i.e. you can narrow your price range, indicate categories, limit the tld or extensions to exclude numerals or dashes, and even sort by location. Different domain sales websites will offer different sorting options.
2. When you sort, begin your search for .com extensions as they will be the most valuable. Once you’ve reviewed those available in your price range, you can determine whether you’ll need to search again with different criteria.
3. Keep in mind that there are plenty of eligible domain names for sale that do not have prices listed. Typically, the domain owner is just unaware of the value. You can sort to eliminate these results, but there’s a chance they may offer you a bargain since the domain owner is unsure of the value. Domains without prices won’t be scooped up as quickly as those without. The longer they sit unsold, the more willing the seller may be.
4. Value is in the eye of the beholder. If you are buying a domain for an existing business, having your brand name in the url is more meaningful. Domain sellers know this, too, and will anticipate a higher price given this knowledge. This is where a domain broker can be very helpful. When you work with a broker, the transaction is confidential, allowing you to participate in a negotiation untainted by the higher expectations from someone knowing how badly you want his/her domain.

Completing the Transaction

Once you have identified the domain name you want to purchase, in addition to the identity protection mentioned above, your broker can assist you in negotiating a fair price. A professional domain appraisal provides several layers of evaluation above and beyond any online tool, based on economic conditions and human interpretation of words (indicating brandability).

As a layer of protection, using an escrow account to complete the transaction is essential, ensuring the domain is transferred to you upon completion of the sale. Domain sales cross international lines and the laws vary from one country to another. You can never be too safe when participating in an online transaction and domain purchases are no exception.

Theresa Happe works with BuyDomains.com a website where you will find domain names in every niche and price range.