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Exact Match Domain .Com Worth?

by mikelmraz
62 replies
Have a couple of .com exact match domains currently. They are all generic and no trademark in the domain names.

The number of exact Google searches per month range from 1,000 to about 15,000. Does any one know if they are of any value?
#domain #exact #match #worth
  • Profile picture of the author icoachu
    YES if and only if it has low competition and has a decent search volume. It also must be directly related to a niche and pulls decent CPC. Other than that, ditch it.
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    • Profile picture of the author mikelmraz
      Originally Posted by icoachu View Post

      YES if and only if it has low competition and has a decent search volume. It also must be directly related to a niche and pulls decent CPC. Other than that, ditch it.
      Thanks for the advise. Does competition really matter? A .Com normally will be used for the long-term and will be most likely turned into a brand.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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        Originally Posted by mikelmraz View Post

        Does competition really matter?
        It can, though it isn't necessarily relevant at all, as you rightly imply.

        That depends on the prospective purchaser's plans.

        The more likely there are to be interested parties seeing its branding potential, the less relevant that is, clearly.

        Don't lose sight of the fact that a domain name's worth what you can sell it for, and that tends to be proportional to the size of the potential market for it and how it's approached. The single biggest determinant of its sale value to you is your skills at identifying and approaching potentially interested parties: it doesn't make much difference how and where you sell it, if they haven't been notified.
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        • Profile picture of the author fenomeno
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          The single biggest determinant of its sale value to you is your skills at identifying and approaching potentially interested parties: it doesn't make much difference how and where you sell it, if they haven't been notified.
          Exactly!

          It should be VERY easy to sell.com domain with 15000 exact search
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        • Profile picture of the author GeoFan
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post



          ... The single biggest determinant of its sale value to you is your skills at identifying and approaching potentially interested parties: it doesn't make much difference how and where you sell it, if they haven't been notified.
          A friend just inherited hundreds of local niche business domain names.

          Where to find a good guide on what works best?

          It is easy to identify prospects, but what is the most effective approach to sell a relevant domain name to a potential buyer? :confused:
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        Originally Posted by mikelmraz View Post

        Thanks for the advise. Does competition really matter? A .Com normally will be used for the long-term and will be most likely turned into a brand.
        EMDs are rarely turned into a brand because they generally don't lend themselves to branding. Without any income, they are worth the $12.95 to register them.
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        • Profile picture of the author fenomeno
          Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

          EMDs are rarely turned into a brand because they generally don't lend themselves to branding. Without any income, they are worth the $12.95 to register them.
          Sorry, but far away from the truth. Generic .com domain with 15000 exact search could be pretty valuable, and in all cases is worth more than reg fee, even if it has 10 words.

          Domain is worth just as much as someone is willing to pay. Yes, that is true, but you need to know that someone is willing to pay $20 for specific domain, and someone $20k for the same domain. This sentence is often used, but not fully correct. I saw that some domains was sold for much less than their true value was, and soon resold for much more. I also do this. So when someone offer $500 for domain name that dont mean that it is really worth $500. The important thing here is to know who will pay best, and that would be true value of domain name.
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          • Profile picture of the author Matthieu Miser
            It depends on if you're planning on selling the domain or using it for seo, if you are going to sell the name, go for more generic things. Business.com for example is worth tens of millions.

            However if you're doing SEO an exact match domain is beneficial, but I don't think it's absolutely essential with the new penugin/panda updates. I think the most important thing is great content that serves your visitors.
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            • Profile picture of the author icoachu
              Originally Posted by Matthieu Miser View Post

              It depends on if you're planning on selling the domain or using it for seo, if you are going to sell the name, go for more generic things. Business.com for example is worth tens of millions.

              However if you're doing SEO an exact match domain is beneficial, but I don't think it's absolutely essential with the new penugin/panda updates. I think the most important thing is great content that serves your visitors.
              It's still valuable even with penguin updates. Remember, penguin is all about overoptimizing your anchor text. It can be fixed by making sure your 'money' anchors fall below a certain %.
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          • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
            Originally Posted by fenomeno View Post

            Sorry, but far away from the truth. Generic .com domain with 15000 exact search could be pretty valuable, and in all cases is worth more than reg fee, even if it has 10 words.
            Sorry....paying a premium for an UNBRANDABLE EMD is just plain dumb. Anyone who knows what he's doing can rank any site for any term without an EMD. Digitalcamerareviews.com is not a brandable domain nor is it something I would even buy if it were available, regardless of how many searches there are.
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            • Profile picture of the author fenomeno
              Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

              Sorry....paying a premium for an UNBRANDABLE EMD is just plain dumb. Anyone who knows what he's doing can rank any site for any term without an EMD. Digitalcamerareviews.com is not a brandable domain nor is it something I would even buy if it were available, regardless of how many searches there are.
              I would grab it immediately! There are many people which would pay high amount for this specific domain.
              I agree that any website with any domain could rank very high if the content is good. But in terms of worth of EMD domain name I could tell that every generic .com domain with high exact search have some value, and it could be pretty high. It all depend of the name, but even bad and long names with 15000 exact search are worth more than reg fee.
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            • Profile picture of the author The Real Deal
              Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

              Sorry....paying a premium for an UNBRANDABLE EMD is just plain dumb. Anyone who knows what he's doing can rank any site for any term without an EMD. Digitalcamerareviews.com is not a brandable domain nor is it something I would even buy if it were available, regardless of how many searches there are.
              I would have to disagree...

              It seems to me that the benefits of exact match domains are often misunderstood, and everyone is only thinking of the SEO benefits.

              One of the most valuable aspects of a good EMD is the obvious increase in click through rate, compared to a branded (but not "big" name brand) domain name.

              Over the years I have noticed markedly higher CTRs for domains that contain the search query, compared to those without. This effect became even more obvious after Google started bolding the keywords in the domain when it matches the search query.

              This does not mean that every EMD will be valuable. If it becomes so long that it's starting to look "spammy" then I presume there is a reduced benefit in the CTR rate compared to a branded domain.

              I don't normally use EMDs that contain more than 3 words so I can't really say where that happens, but I would most certainly take a good 3-word EMD compared to a brandable, (but unknown) domain any day!

              Added: DigitalCameraReviews.com is an excellent example of a quality EMD that would definitely be worth $x,xxx if not $xx,xxx...
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              • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
                Originally Posted by The Real Deal View Post


                Added: DigitalCameraReviews.com is an excellent example of a quality EMD that would definitely be worth ,xxx if not ,xxx...
                We'll have to agree to disagree. There's no way in hell I'd ever pay 4, let alone 5, figures for a domain name with no earnings history. My site, regardless of domain name, is going to get massive traffic for such a search term if I rank in the top 5 spots. There is no "obvious" difference.

                You simply cannot convince me that such an EMD is going to make a big enough difference in CTR (when all other things are equal) to command such a premium price, especially when I have to name my business/company something dopy like "Digital Camera Reviews".
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                • Profile picture of the author peatermead
                  It seems that you are just busy with your short/brand able domains.

                  EMds do have value. I have seen upto 55% CTR with EMD domain. I am sure you will not get this much CTR for you brandable domains unless you are like Google and Amazon. But I do agree that EMDs are not worth 5 figures...

                  Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

                  We'll have to agree to disagree. There's no way in hell I'd ever pay 4, let alone 5, figures for a domain name with no earnings history. My site, regardless of domain name, is going to get massive traffic for such a search term if I rank in the top 5 spots. There is no "obvious" difference.

                  You simply cannot convince me that such an EMD is going to make a big enough difference in CTR (when all other things are equal) to command such a premium price, especially when I have to name my business/company something dopy like "Digital Camera Reviews".
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                • Profile picture of the author masterpeez4py
                  Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

                  We'll have to agree to disagree. There's no way in hell I'd ever pay 4, let alone 5, figures for a domain name with no earnings history. My site, regardless of domain name, is going to get massive traffic for such a search term if I rank in the top 5 spots. There is no "obvious" difference.

                  You simply cannot convince me that such an EMD is going to make a big enough difference in CTR (when all other things are equal) to command such a premium price, especially when I have to name my business/company something dopy like "Digital Camera Reviews".
                  I get your point and to be honest, you are only looking at from an IM'er point of view. And in this case, you ARE not the market for a domain flipper. Water find it's own level.

                  Why would I sit on a PC doing backlink, articles, traffic etc when I could bank $500 with just one domain name in one day. A friend just did yesterday and the sales will soon be completed with the domain name forwarded to the new owner. It took him just 4days do that.

                  Some folks make as much as $5000 doing this every month. You are not the market, man. I wouldn't even dare to sell any domain name related to IM to anyone. Why? Because the don't pay much. Well, another domainer got a slap for doing that as the buyer said to him what he is doing is illegal. Lol!
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          • Profile picture of the author stan22
            Originally Posted by fenomeno View Post

            Sorry, but far away from the truth. Generic .com domain with 15000 exact search could be pretty valuable, and in all cases is worth more than reg fee, even if it has 10 words.

            Domain is worth just as much as someone is willing to pay. Yes, that is true, but you need to know that someone is willing to pay $20 for specific domain, and someone $20k for the same domain. This sentence is often used, but not fully correct. I saw that some domains was sold for much less than their true value was, and soon resold for much more. I also do this. So when someone offer $500 for domain name that dont mean that it is really worth $500. The important thing here is to know who will pay best, and that would be true value of domain name.
            Well said!
            It's all about owner's ability to sell well.
            This often goes with setting the price right (not to mention the marketing process itself).
            There's no domainer out there who wouldn't sell their stock if the price was right.
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      • Profile picture of the author icoachu
        Originally Posted by mikelmraz View Post

        Thanks for the advise. Does competition really matter? A .Com normally will be used for the long-term and will be most likely turned into a brand.
        Yes, competition matters. If there's millions of other pages that have your target kw's, it will take you longer to hit #1. Now, if there's less competition and most of them are not directly targeting, you're in a better position.

        The key is to build small streams of low competition traffic which adds up to a mighty river.
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  • Profile picture of the author jvreview
    They'd be useful for developers, value depends on the market, traffic, etc. For example, if there's high ppc up to $xx each click, many will be interested.
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  • Profile picture of the author rendell
    It depends on who you are selling it to:

    1. Domain collector wants good keywords
    2. Niche site builder wants high CPC + traffic + Aged
    3. Flippa buyer wants completed site sitting on the domain + Revenue
    4. Noob believes whatever you are say the domain is

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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    I think I answered this question just last week...

    Since you missed that one, I will share my thoughts here too...

    Any domain is worth exactly what someone else is willing to pay for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    Originally Posted by mikelmraz View Post

    Have a couple of .com exact match domains currently. They are all generic and no trademark in the domain names.

    The number of exact Google searches per month range from 1,000 to about 15,000. Does any one know if they are of any value?
    No.

    If you haven't found them to be valuable to you - then they're not valuable.

    You can increase their value by having a website of value on them.
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    nothing to see here.

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  • Profile picture of the author Dr MaxIM
    Maybe I missed the point, but he did not ask about selling it directly, but I do not think it EMD really matters for selling without any traffic coming to it. (Unless it is like money.com). In terms of SEO, I personally tend to think that EMD is overvalued in terms of ranking, but it is my point of view.
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    • Profile picture of the author serryjw
      Originally Posted by maxv View Post

      Maybe I missed the point, but he did not ask about selling it directly, but I do not think it EMD really matters for selling without any traffic coming to it. (Unless it is like money.com). In terms of SEO, I personally tend to think that EMD is overvalued in terms of ranking, but it is my point of view.
      WHAT does EMD mean?
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      • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
        Originally Posted by serryjw View Post

        WHAT does EMD mean?
        EMD = Exact Match Domain. The exact words used in your domain matches a desirable keyword or phrase.
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  • Profile picture of the author kylenelson24
    There are tons of valuuation websites online. How accurate are they? who knows! but i do use estibot.com which seems some what accurate.
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    • Profile picture of the author fenomeno
      Originally Posted by kylenelson24 View Post

      There are tons of valuuation websites online. How accurate are they? who knows! but i do use estibot.com which seems some what accurate.
      Not really. Many domains appraised at $1000+ at Estibot are very hard to sell for more than $50, and many domains appraised at $50 could be easy sold for $1000+.
      But for some domains is accurate. I use it just for fun, but dont follow their appraisal.
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      • Profile picture of the author kylenelson24
        Originally Posted by fenomeno View Post

        Not really. Many domains appraised at $1000+ at Estibot are very hard to sell for more than $50, and many domains appraised at $50 could be easy sold for $1000+.
        But for some domains is accurate. I use it just for fun, but dont follow their appraisal.
        That is true. I think when it comes to domains it all comes down to starting high and hope that it sticks in that area of price.

        Valuing a site is much easier. To get a rough estimate someone can always go on godaddy auctions and see what is being auctioned off and compare keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Nope. Not to me anyway. Why spend $500 (or whatever) on a spammy looking EMD when I can buy a brandable domain that reflects my business for $12.95???

    It's a no-brainier if you ask me.

    I like one of the previous answers:

    If OP hasn't foud any value in them, why would anyone else?
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  • Profile picture of the author fenomeno
    I am not saying that you would buy it for $500 or any other amount. But I am saying that many people would pay $xxxx for it, if not more. If that was my domain I am pretty sure next week would not be mine anymore and I would have few thousands of $ more.

    For example, would you pay $4000+ for any LLL.com ? Maybe not, but I am pretty sure you would not be able to find any LLL.com domain for less than $3000, even if the owner is desperate for money.

    I get your point and understand that EMD domain outside your niche is not worth for you even $5 and that is ok, but many people will pay high just because it is generic .com with high exact search.
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  • Profile picture of the author Enzo Ewens
    If those EMD have aged that's better, otherwise if you are just buying a new one, try to buy a brand, something that's easy to remember and not just a domain with lots of keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    It becomes valuable as you market it and make it valuable.
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  • Profile picture of the author ppcseorank
    No way someone is going to pay for a domain with no earning history. And if he does than watch out. Especially if it was payed x.xxx$ that is my opinion
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    • Profile picture of the author pepper81
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      Originally Posted by ppcseorank View Post

      No way someone is going to pay for a domain with no earning history. And if he does than watch out. Especially if it was payed x.xxx$ that is my opinion
      That's wrong. I have a realestate.com domain that is currently parked and has not earned a cent yet I have been offered high $xxxx in the past couple of days. Premium domains that have no earnings history but have branding potential are sold and bought everyday.
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  • Profile picture of the author JabMonkey
    The domain has value because other people believe an emd still has value, even though that train derailed with the Google zoo additions and the emd crowd doesn't realize they are hanging upside down now in a wrecked train.

    So sell while you can before all of them right themselves.
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    • Profile picture of the author onSubie
      Originally Posted by JabMonkey View Post

      The domain has value because other people believe an emd still has value, even though that train derailed with the Google zoo additions and the emd crowd doesn't realize they are hanging upside down now in a wrecked train.

      So sell while you can before all of them right themselves.

      LOL Spoken by someone who listens to the rumour-mill and 'anti-gurus'.

      Many of my EMDs rank based soley on the EMD (no backlinks, no social media, no video promos) and have ranked #1 for years with no change through all the animal updates.

      Other SEO factors have a bigger impact as a niche/keyword gets more competitive, but an EMD still gives a huge SEO boost and always will.

      Chances are if you can find the EMD .com available, the niche is weak enough that the EMD will rank. If no EMDs are available then it is likely a more competitive niche.

      If no EMDs are available and it is a competitive niche then it will take more SEO work to rank (with or without an EMD) because you will have to build other SEO signals like backlinks, social media, etc.

      Google will never "kill" EMDs because someone searching for "Joe's Auto Shop" is probably looking for joesautoshop.com

      Mahlon
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      • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
        Originally Posted by onSubie View Post


        Google will never "kill" EMDs
        You were saying?
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      • Profile picture of the author eternalwarrior
        Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

        Google will never "kill" EMDs
        Mahlon
        Oh! Really?

        Check this thread: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ite-owner.html
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        • Profile picture of the author ComputerBrainDude
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          Originally Posted by eternalwarrior View Post

          Oh! Really?

          Check this thread:
          Sorry, but Google trying to kill low quality EMDs. If you buy EMD and add value to it by good content, then there is much higher chance for it to get rank quickly then non-emd domains.
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        • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
          Banned
          Originally Posted by mikelmraz View Post

          Have a couple of .com exact match domains currently. They are all generic and no trademark in the domain names.

          The number of exact Google searches per month range from 1,000 to about 15,000. Does any one know if they are of any value?
          Originally Posted by Matthieu Miser View Post

          It depends on if you're planning on selling the domain or using it for seo, if you are going to sell the name, go for more generic things. Business.com for example is worth tens of millions.

          However if you're doing SEO an exact match domain is beneficial, but I don't think it's absolutely essential with the new penugin/panda updates. I think the most important thing is great content that serves your visitors.
          Originally Posted by fenomeno View Post

          I would grab it immediately! There are many people which would pay high amount for this specific domain.
          I agree that any website with any domain could rank very high if the content is good. But in terms of worth of EMD domain name I could tell that every generic .com domain with high exact search have some value, and it could be pretty high. It all depend of the name, but even bad and long names with 15000 exact search are worth more than reg fee.
          Originally Posted by The Real Deal View Post

          I would have to disagree...

          It seems to me that the benefits of exact match domains are often misunderstood, and everyone is only thinking of the SEO benefits.

          One of the most valuable aspects of a good EMD is the obvious increase in click through rate, compared to a branded (but not "big" name brand) domain name.

          Over the years I have noticed markedly higher CTRs for domains that contain the search query, compared to those without. This effect became even more obvious after Google started bolding the keywords in the domain when it matches the search query.

          This does not mean that every EMD will be valuable. If it becomes so long that it's starting to look "spammy" then I presume there is a reduced benefit in the CTR rate compared to a branded domain.

          I don't normally use EMDs that contain more than 3 words so I can't really say where that happens, but I would most certainly take a good 3-word EMD compared to a brandable, (but unknown) domain any day!

          Added: DigitalCameraReviews.com is an excellent example of a quality EMD that would definitely be worth ,xxx if not ,xxx...
          Originally Posted by MarketItAll View Post

          Of course they're worth money. Nothing is easier to rank for a keyword than an EMD.com
          Originally Posted by eternalwarrior View Post


          Right now, I wouldn't give 2 cents for an EMD, iwth people's EMDs tanking like crazy. I stopped buying them some time ago when rumors of this Google algo change were being spread around. It's more than rumor now.

          http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ite-owner.html
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        • Profile picture of the author Austin E Anthony
          Originally Posted by eternalwarrior View Post

          What Google doesn't like is not "exact match domain", they are after "low quality" exact match domains. Two different things. Get it right guys.

          I rank with exact match domains in less than a month and never had problem with it. Just makes sure you build it, add good content, social plugins, encourage users to get involved on your blog by leaving comments. That is all you need and you will enjoy long term rankings.
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  • Profile picture of the author michaelplies
    for sure they have value, if you can easily monetize those keywords, I suggest you build up a blog or some kind of review sites with lots of quality content, do some heavy white hat seo and you'll bank
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    • Profile picture of the author The Real Deal
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      We'll have to agree to disagree. There's no way in hell I'd ever pay 4, let alone 5, figures for a domain name with no earnings history. My site, regardless of domain name, is going to get massive traffic for such a search term if I rank in the top 5 spots. There is no "obvious" difference.
      This is not the SEO forum so I won't go into details about this, but if you are relying on SEO for your traffic then the value of the EMD is huge. Although the direct benefit of an EMD has been reduced with the latest updates, the indirect SEO value of a high traffic EMD is actually far higher after the Panda update.

      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      You simply cannot convince me that such an EMD is going to make a big enough difference in CTR (when all other things are equal) to command such a premium price, especially when I have to name my business/company something dopy like "Digital Camera Reviews".
      I have read a lot of your posts and you have always come across as a smart guy, but in this instance you are just plain wrong.

      Although you say I can't convince you, let me take another stab at it!

      Let's leave the SEO benefits of an EMD to the side for a moment and just focus on the increased CTR and the value for a brand to own a high quality EMD.

      The increased CTR

      Myself and others have noticed markedly higher click through rates for search queries that match the domain name for many years. Even more so a few years ago when Google started to bold the domain name when it matched the search query.

      I will admit that it's very hard (impossible even) to accurately measure the CTR benefit of an EMD when it comes to organic results, since you can't replicate the exact same conditions with two URLs. However, when the benefit is obvious you can still see it.

      If you haven't noticed this yourself and therefore doubt that what I am saying is true I suggest that you have a look at Edwin Hayward's study that compared and measured the difference in CTR between an EMD and a non EMD.

      This study was done as scientifically as is probably possible, and the results were again obvious. Since I have linked to the PDF document above I won't quote a lot of detail, but let me just give you a couple of highlights...

      Highlights of CTR Study
      Ads featuring a generic domain name with an exact match to the product (ElectricBicycles.co.uk) performed significantly better than identical ads featuring an alternative generic (YourBikes.co.uk) or non-generic (InAHurry.co.uk) domain.

      The CTR of ads using the ElectricBicycles.co.uk domain name was 15% and 42% higher than the two alternatives.

      The ElectricBicycles.co.uk ads produced 45% more clicks than the YourBikes.co.uk ads and 105% more clicks than the InAHurry.co.uk ads.
      Let me give you a real world example of why I think EMDs often work better than an unknown brand:

      Let’s say you are an American looking to buy a new flag for Independence Day.

      1. If you were to directly navigate to a website by typing a domain name in your browser, chances are good that you might go to AmericanFlags.com. This traffic is inherent with the domain name, and the company doesn’t need to spend advertising dollars to attract these highly motivated visitors who want to buy American flags. They come for free with the ownership of the domain name.

      2. Even if you ended up doing a search in Google for "american flags". Out of the many results presented to you, AmericanFlags.com clearly stand out. Unlike most of the other domains the URL is bolded in the search results and it's obviously 100% related to your search query.

      Here is a link to an article about how John Ferber, (who sold Advertising.com to AOL for $435 million), is turning EMDs into big businesses.

      Here are some big companies that agree with me on the value of EMDs:

      AT&T - WebHosting.com
      Bank Of America - Loans.com
      Boeing - NewAirplane.com
      Bridgestone - TireSafety.com
      Citibank - StudentLoan.com
      Dell - CloudComputing.com
      Procter & Gamble - DentalCare.com
      Xerox - ColorPrinters.com
      Philips - SemiConductors.com

      I could go on, but I think you get the point...

      So have I managed to convince you at least a little?

      Added: In regards to value of EMDs I think the market speaks for itself...but here are just a few examples of verified sales of quality EMDs:

      BoardGames.com - $450,000
      LoanCalculator.com - $215,000
      DiscountVouchers.com - $157,000
      CamRoulette.com - $151,000
      ShortSale.com - $101,000
      SydneyHotels.com - $100,000
      OnlineCollegeClasses.com - $91,000
      BabyFood.com - $70,000
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  • Profile picture of the author MarketItAll
    Of course they're worth money. Nothing is easier to rank for a keyword than an EMD.com
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  • Profile picture of the author roblcd
    Exact Match Domains are worth considering. I see them bought and sold all the time for good profit. The shorter they are, the better. If you have a .com domain name that has around 10,000 to 15,000 Exact match searches. Not Broad!, a month, and it is actually a domain that represents a product or service, then you may have something of value. I would put up a content site immediately, just so you can begin to brand it and build its value with traffic.

    But, you could sit on an exact match domain for years and it won't be worth much unless you find someone willing to pay for the potential it offers. The key is starting the content and value process now, and then sell it when it brings in good traffic. Sites are sold for 10x more if they already have verified traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Edman15
    Yes, EMD still valuable if you know how to make it valuable.

    Look at the pics
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    • Profile picture of the author The Real Deal
      Originally Posted by Edman15 View Post

      Yes, EMD still valuable if you know how to make it valuable.

      Look at the pics
      For some reason I never seem to be able to open those thumbnail pics here on the forum... :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    You make a good argument Rob. Well played.

    That said, I'm just venturing a guess (could be wrong) that the EMDs referenced in the OP are not on the level of those you referenced (high quality).

    My primary point is that you don't need an EMD to rank - it's not the magic bullet that people think. As such, I feel EMDs are WAY overvalued. For example, ranking for "Loan Calculator" is going to be a monumental task, whether you have an EMD or not. That's the primary reason that I argue against EMDs.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Real Deal
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      My primary point is that you don't need an EMD to rank - it's not the magic bullet that people think.
      This I agree with. Those who believe that they will get a free ride to the top of Google just on the back of owning an EMD will be disappointed.

      That said, and without going into a discussion about SEO, there is a benefit to being able to acquire a larger percentage of "perfect" anchor text links, (than "normal") without being hit with a penalty/filter.

      I'm glad we agree on at least one part of the discussion.

      The fact that we don't agree on the financial value of EMDs is irrelevant. As Alexa pointed out earlier in the thread, the value on any domain is purely determined by the market and the seller's ability to get his domain shown to the right group of potential buyers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Let me clear the air a little here. I make my full-time living registering $10 EMDs and selling them for hundreds each, often thousands each (I sell brandables as well).

    EMDs and Brandable domains serve two completely different purposes. There is a bigger than ever demand for both.

    Wolfmmiii is correct - you do NOT need an EMD to rank as well as any other domain. An EMD is one small piece of the SEO puzzle. However, EMDs have several other very strong points that make them attractive to buyers.

    I keep an inventory of over 2,000 domains. I have for years. Rob (The Real Deal) is absolutely correct that click-through rates, more often than not, far exceed CTR of other types of domains.

    EMDs are normally easy to understand and remember. This is an important psychological factor in the mind of a consumer and business owner.

    EMDs convey an immediate message. It tells you, this site is about this specific topic.

    A BRANDABLE domain is a better choice for building your long-term business. However, it takes a lot of promotion and time to get the general population to recognize the brand and what it stands for.

    An EMD is instantly recognized and therefore immediately usable to attract new business, just like Dell uses CloudComputing.com to capture traffic and redirect to their main site.

    To answer the OP's question, it is impossible to tell you whether your EMD is worth $10 or $5,000 without knowing the exact domain name. There are MANY EMDs with massive searches that I wouldn't pay $10 for. MOST EMDs I sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars have pitiful search volume, and have nothing else going for them. No traffic, no PR, no search volume, no age, nothing. They are simply good EMDs that businesses can use to capture and redirect traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cesar Sampaio
    It helps but I wouldn't put too much worth in it. While an exact domain match is still useful it is an upgrade away to become irrelevant for search results marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author pennyroll
    When these questions arise, I'm always curious why people are hesitant to put the domain name? I also see: Hey I have a question: bladeda(dot)com is there some drawback to adding the link or reveling a domains that you already own?
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    Yeah an EMD can help you rank but it's not like it was a few years ago. You could just put up a site with an EMD and be on the first page (depending on the comp)..lol

    If an EMD is not available for a keyword, you can just add an extension to it and still get the same results.

    -Omar
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  • Profile picture of the author Jamesafc
    I would personally, from experience, as a first rule of SEO try and get an exact domain name. An EDM which is 'old' - (registered for around 4-5 years) will most certainly help get your website ranked for your target keyword. Ideally you would want competition to be below 10mil with a high search volume.
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  • Profile picture of the author Make Money Ninja
    The value of the domain is correlated to the value of the search term.

    Simple. It has nothing to do with the competitiveness. Its to do with the number of visitors searching that phrase and the value of each visitors.

    Exact match casino phrase domain: 10k visitors. Worth a ton.
    Exact match miley cyrus domain: 20k visitors. Worth less.
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    IMO they have been worth it for now and IMO they should probably help you a bit regardless, assuming all things constant. But, we can't ignore this:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ite-owner.html
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  • Profile picture of the author laracoates28
    Google will never "kill" EMDs

    Google already announced, new Google algo is coming to kill EMD.
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  • Profile picture of the author Domainate
    As always, Gene is right on the money, but I just came across this and figured I'd share my 2 cents. Your domains can be worth a lot or can be worth nothing - there's no way for us to know without seeing them, but what matters most is how much they could help their owner make. There are lots of terms with 10,000+ search with worthless domains. Even if they don't contain an existing TMs, they could be extremely limited referential terms such that people do the search, find the small bit of info they need and move on, so having a top ranking may not be worth much or anything. And yes, looking at the other end of the spectrum, a brandable domain with little or no search at all can be worth massive money to the right company due to the value the domain can add to the business they build on it.

    To quote the popular South Park meme, if you're evaluating domains solely on how much search they have, you're gonna have a bad time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dimachaerus
    EMD matters but not as much as everyone thinks it does, you need quality SEO and backlinks or it won't matter, if you cannot do SEO then you can outsource it like me. Good Luck!
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