Domain value calculators may be fun to use, but one should not rely on them for accuracy. If you want to buy or sell a domain, they are anything but reliable and can’t replace a professional domain appraisal.
The online calculators aggregate different pieces of information, so the same domain will have greatly fluctuating values from one calculator to the next. I took one of my own websites and checked it in 3 different calculators:
Domainworth.com: $40
Websitetools.com: $5917
DNscoop.com: $0
Online Domain Calculators
The calculators take whois information, related pages/searches, back link count, Alexa rank, traffic, CPC value and other similar pieces of information to generate a domain worth. The big problem is, even if these calculators were all using the same information, I found that visiting one after the other, each one had a problem calling up different pieces of information. For instance, Dnscoop could not call up the page rank or the back link count and even indicated that the domain was for sale, which is not accurate! Domainworth.com was unable to retrieve any of the back links. Websiteoutlook.com was about 10,000 page views/day off from the real page view count and estimated the daily earning s at 1/3 of the actual value.
Needless to say, if you count on these calculators, you’ll never get an accurate portrayal of domain value. Even if people recommend one calculator over the other, when information cannot be retrieved, the end result is a domain worth that is totally undervalued.
Because I checked my own website, I know that all of these calculators were off base. Each one displayed different pieces of inaccurate information. If you can see if for yourself with your own domain or website, having the facts to help you determine the calculator’s accuracy, you realize how blind you are when trying to determine the value of a website or domain you want to purchase.
The Differences
A professional appraiser will investigate much deeper. Here are things a professional appraiser may consider that a domain calculator does not:
- Meaning of the domain: Is it a popular subject or a very small niche?
- Memorable: Is it difficult to recall the spelling or pronunciation ?
- Recent sales: Just as home values are determined by comparable sales in a neighborhood, the recent sales of similar domain names helps to determine a fair price. This is going to vary with the economy and even the popularity of the subject matter.
- Brandability: Does the domain have a strong brand presence and/or does it have potential as a trademark? This is something that is very difficult for domain value calculators to determine. A calculator won’t know if it’s a snappy sounding name.
- Actual domain income: Different domain owners may monetize a website differently. If a domain only earns income from ad placement, the CPC value of the keywords is more significant. If the domain hosts a store, that value may be much higher.
- Keywords and trends: A professional appraiser takes into consideration keywords and popular trends that are not always caught by looking up how many results come up in Google. Value is not based solely on the popularity of words, but how much value they have based on the current economy. Word combinations are evaluated to ensure they are logical and profitable.
A domain calculator cannot estimate the value of a large social presence on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. It also cannot account for a large email subscription list which could provide advertising placement, affiliate income or sell products.
When a seller works with an appraiser, the appraiser has access to the latter information and is able to generate a more accurate estimate. Needless to say, whether you are buying or selling a domain or website, no calculator can compare to a professional domain appraisal.
Theresa Happe works with Afternic.com, a leader in domain sales offering professional domain appraisals and effective tools for facilitating the domain sales process.
