It is perhaps one of the most-used Internet tools of our age: Google. But while most people associate the verb “to Google” as a simple search engine key-in, what domain buyers have to remember is that Google is not exactly a one-hit wonder. Instead, it’s more like a Swiss Army Knife, capable of unfolding and providing you with plenty more tools that can suit a range of different tasks.
Today’s task is researching a domain name to help determine its value. Whether you’re buying or selling, a domain name diagnostic can be one of the most important actions you take: so make sure you do it right. And employ a good Swiss Army Knife like Google when you do it. Here are a few ways you can use Google to your advantage.
Keyword Strength: Placement and Traffic
While you might think it’s great to have “NerdsWithAttitudes.com” to corner the Nerdy Bandana market, you have to be sure that you look at keyword strength three-dimensionally. It’s not only important to have a domain name that has potential niche-ruling key phrases, but actually has a key phrase that people will search for.
You can use Google’s AdWords Keyword tool to find out a general estimate of how much traffic a phrase like “nerds with attitudes” might generate every month. And remember: just because 7,000 people might be searching for your phrase doesn’t mean all 7,000 will click on your site. You have to be #1 to expect most of that traffic. Keyword strength has a lot of variables; use Google to estimate each of these.
Gauging the Competition
One of the things that makes Google great for users is that it gives you a lot of options in addition to simple results. For a domain owner, of course, this means that users will have a lot of access to your competition. But even this fact can come to your advantage in the area of research: you want to know if your domain has competition that will blow it out of the water, or competition that will succumb to your brilliant strategies.
How do you gauge the competition? You can try a few techniques. First, use basic Google searches to identify your top competitors. Then, pay attention to the sponsored ads to see which of your competitors are more aggressively marketing themselves on Google. Use the AdWords Keyword tool to estimate how many free clicks they are getting off of searches every month. The more information you get about your competitors, the more you’ll know where a domain name stands.
Getting Creative
Here at WebsiteBroker.com, we recommend that you do all you can to properly evaluate a domain name purchase or sale. But it’s also important that you put your powers to use and actually pull the trigger on your domain, whether you’re looking to buy or sell. After all, it’s the marketplace that keeps the world of Google – and beyond – spinning every single day.
