Are premium domains worth the expense?

17 replies
I am considering buying some premium domains on GoDaddy but before I do I want to make sure they are worth the money!

1) Do they offer quicker ranking on certain keywords?
2) Are they already ranked on certain keywords?
3) Do any old backlinks remain active?
4) What other benefits do they offer?
#domains #expense #premium #worth
  • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
    This would completely depend on the domains and why you're buying them. Just because they are listed as premium on GoDaddy doesn't mean there's much special about them. You would need to investigate each domain name individually, sorry.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    There are a lot of domain names being sold as premium on Godaddy that are only premium in the seller's mind. Godaddy allows others to sell their domains for way high prices and call them premium when they aren't actually premium domains.
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    • Profile picture of the author brander
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      There are a lot of domain names being sold as premium on Godaddy that are only premium in the seller's mind. Godaddy allows others to sell their domains for way high prices and call them premium when they aren't actually premium domains.
      So, how can you tell if the domains are worth buying? I am looking at buying about 42 of them!
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by brander View Post

        So, how can you tell if the domains are worth buying? I am looking at buying about 42 of them!
        1) Do they offer quicker ranking on certain keywords?

        EMDs have not had the power they once had in a couple of years now. Google changed the algo to remove the advantage that they once had in the serps.

        2) Are they already ranked on certain keywords?

        If there's a site going along with it. Otherwise, they are just domains and if they are still ranking for keywords from a site that was there, that will disappear soon enough without the site there.

        3) Do any old backlinks remain active?

        They may stick around for awhile, but sooner or later after getting crawled, they more than likely to be deindexed if there's no site there with that url.

        4) What other benefits do they offer?

        True preimum domains are valuable in and of themselves and by premium, these are the type of domains I consider premium.

        .Coms Sweep 17 of 20 Entries on This Week's Domain Sales Chart and Bag the Four Biggest
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        • Profile picture of the author Freelancer's Mind
          Like already stated...
          Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

          EMDs have not had the power they once had in a couple of years now. Google changed the algo to remove the advantage that they once had in the serps.
          However it's still a factor google considers when ranking a domain (if the keyword is in the domain)
          Ok a true premium domain should be: short, aged and it should have a highly searched and/or high CPC (Cost-Per-Click) keyword in it.

          Are they worth the expense?
          Well, that depends. I mean you might not sell a domain on dozens of auctions for $50 but the right buyer might buy it from you for $3000.
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          • Profile picture of the author Steve B
            Brander,

            Given your questions and what you've said about what you're doing, IMO, you stand to lose significant money if you just go out and buy 42 premium domains.

            Why? Because doing this makes no sense based on what you've said.

            If you don't know why you should be wary about "premium" domains then you don't have the knowledge yet to understand what they are, why they are special, and how to recognize them when you see them.

            Others may label them "premium" as has been stated already, and they may put a huge price tag on them, but understand that domain sellers are out to make as much money as possible. Their interests are not your interests.

            There are lots of great dot com domains available for registration in every niche. You can purchase them today for a couple of dollars.

            Given the fact that your web site sitting on the new domain is going to be different than any previous site that might have been there, I would say that buying a "premium" domain isn't going to give you much, if any, bang for your buck. IMO, aged domains are often overrated. It is a criteria that shows your business has been around for awhile. But as soon as you put your new site on the old domain, Google and others will absolutely know that this is an altogether different company from what was there before.

            Good luck to you,

            Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
        Originally Posted by brander View Post

        So, how can you tell if the domains are worth buying? I am looking at buying about 42 of them!
        Based on your other thread, I think you are focusing on the wrong technique. As Suzanne pointed out, EMDs don't have the power they once had, and if you go about it wrong, this route could lead to a detour going to a place you'd rather not be.
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        • Profile picture of the author buysellbrowse
          If you need to ask why a domain name has a premium price tag, then it likely is not a premium domain.
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          • Profile picture of the author Nuno
            Sometime ago EMDs gave such boost that you would almost get guaranteed top of 1st page results.

            Nowadays it's not a surefire strategy but it still works very, very well, I speak by experience and because each month I check thousands of rankings. EMDs are very important, my millions of visitors shows that.

            Some information is being passed on month after month without real testing, if you aren't doing low quality thin affiliate websites, or aren't spamming your url with lots of exact match anchor link text, you have nothing to be scared of.

            What other factor can you buy for SEO that G doesn't hate? Backlinks, press releases, guest posts? No, no and no.
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  • Profile picture of the author Juan Jose
    Hey Brander,

    You should check domain age, PR and search volume for keyword. I suggest you test a little bit to find the best deals for you. I don't want to give numbers, because they could be just not relevant in some cases.

    - Juan
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  • Profile picture of the author MattSabia
    This really really depends on what you will be using the domain for. Mind sharing some more details?
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  • Profile picture of the author Nuno
    The OP created a downloadable education product for kids. Google does try to show that advertising at Adwords is the best way, that you shouldn't bother with SEO, but I (a beta-tester for Google) say: don't give up.
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    I have 15+ years of experience & millions of visitors (I'm also a warrior since 2002)!
    NunoAlex.com explains how I can help.
    I'm looking for a limited number of serious partners.
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  • Profile picture of the author evakent256
    What do you want to use the premium domain for? Do you want more traffic? Do you want to appear higher in the google search?
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by brander View Post

    I am considering buying some premium domains on GoDaddy but before I do I want to make sure they are worth the money!

    1) Do they offer quicker ranking on certain keywords?
    2) Are they already ranked on certain keywords?
    3) Do any old backlinks remain active?
    If you're determining your domain-name purchasing in accordance with ranking-related parameters, you're highly likely, one way or another, to end up disappointed: both in principle and in practice, those tend to be very poor criteria from which to try to judge the value of a domain, partly because they're such poor predictors of income-potential.

    .
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  • Profile picture of the author softproducts
    Premium Domain have lost the touch they used to have, Mainly Because of EMD Update, But Still brandable Short Domain is worth the money.
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  • Profile picture of the author domainscience
    The whole idea (to me anyway) of a domain is that people can easily remember it. (this is called the radio test.)
    If I am going to sell engagement rings and had the budget, I would purchase engagement rings.com

    Why?
    Because it would be easier to remember than some name that people would have to hear multiple times before it becomes embedded in their minds (and even than the advertising would have to be constant.)

    I know google and company says that they don't necessarily use Exact Match Domains in their algorithem, however, to me, this should be secondary as we have all seen the devistation that a Penguin, Panda, or ??? can bring.

    So, if I were to choose a domain, I would pay for an Exact Match.

    If it is a brandable, just keep looking and hand register one.
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  • Profile picture of the author amcg
    I think if you're testing out something i.e a project, choose a domain name you can afford i.e hand-reg or something in-expensive. Adding a prefix or suffix usually helps.

    If it's a business that you are incorporating/seriously investing in, I do think it's worth pushing the boat out to get a good domain name. GoDaddy Auctions/Snapnames/Sedo are good places to look and you'd be surprised about the quality of the names you can pickup.
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