Just a few Guidelines I TRY to use When Picking a Domain Name.

Morning Folks!!


Look, we all have varying degrees of portfolios. Junk today could be worth a big bounty tomorrow. So if you believe in something, don’t let it go. But never close your mind and eyes to new information. NEVER!


I am about to give you some.


Domaining is figuring out what OTHERS think and do. How OTHERS behave and what they buy. How OTHERS spend their time if given a choice. It ain’t about you and me, it is about everyone else. We are the only 2 people that really don’t count.


It’s about figuring out what others will do before they even know as things unfold.


THAT my friends is why it is about type in traffic. It was then, it is today and it will be about that tomorrow. That is what to aim for. You want at least 1 OTHER person out of 6 BILLION to think like you do. If not, you, me all of us are off the mark on THAT part of the equation. And I submit that is one hell of an important piece of the puzzle. Regardless of what some continue to doubt or understand and I am going to explain it in just a few paragraphs down.


Now that does not mean it is all about type ins. Most time I don’t care. I don’t care because I already know the numbers to one degree or another. The type in to me is like a validation stamp. Certified. One grade higher.


The next piece and maybe #1 are those that buy a domain that does not pass the radio test. Another CRUCIAL element of any domain name.


You have to aim for 6th Grade easy spelling that is unmistakable if possible.


Brandables are great. I have no problem with taking the biggest risk of all. But it still has to pass those tests described above or in my mind disqualifies that domain and limiting it's potential forever.


Domains are not stone even though they have facets like diamonds because they can sometimes be used in multiple ways. Not stone. They evolve. They age like fine wine. Grapes. They ripen at different stages and points in time. And some are worthless garbage. Pigeon Sh*t.


We are all pruning our holdings to get rid of those domains that serve no purpose or were perishable or that ship just never came in. Edwards2008.com is probably disposable. Lol


I look at a domain at what it could be. How it could be the best use. Who would be best suited to do that in a perfect world?


And the biggie for me, bigger than type ins. Bigger than any other piece of the puzzle. Could I see it advertised on TV, Radio, Billboards, etc? Could I see a campaign based around that domain name? Could what I have on it go viral and then will it be easy to use as a “Word of mouth” medium?


Lastly don’t chase yesterday, chase what will unfold tomorrow. With all the new stuff coming out, new sectors coming to market, new technology being released, there is opportunity for new veins and new sources of traffic. Type ins! Maybe you won’t find an ocean. But you can surely use some rivers and streams and creeks.


Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

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15 thoughts on “Just a few Guidelines I TRY to use When Picking a Domain Name.

  1. Holo King

    Great post :)
    Lots of people think domaining is a lottery,
    pure luck!
    It takes time to find the right system to buy
    the right domains and you always have
    to be one step ahead to stay on top.
    All good things come with time

    Reply
  2. Anthony

    And the biggie for me, bigger than type ins. Bigger than any other piece of the puzzle. Could I see it advertised on TV, Radio, Billboards, etc? Could I see a campaign based around that domain name? Could what I have on it go viral and then will it be easy to use as a “Word of mouth” medium? …
    Bravo Bravo … this says it all …
    Domainers should stop worshipping Google and listen to Rick :)

    Reply
  3. Uzoma

    Man! You are more than DomainKing, you are infact Common Sense King.
    Question: Did I just read you censor pigeon shit in the article?

    Reply
  4. Anthony

    I have been reading your posts for a while now and also the old posts which have all been useful.
    Thank you.
    I would love to have an article where you talk specifically about type in numbers. I hear a lot about type in traffic and yet see no numbers to really get my teeth into.
    From my limited knowledge and websites that I have up I would say its a fact that type in traffic seems to convert in terms of click throughs better than search results, however my type in traffic is not enough for me to go on as it is minimal.
    I would love to get estimates from you Rick on the sort of type in traffic you think sites like:
    Sex.com
    Finance.com
    Books.com
    Business.com
    would be getting.
    Also if you think that type in traffic is universal regardless of the type of website you have, so for example from above is the less educated person going to type in more than an educated one and therefore finance.com will get less direct traffic?
    I want an early xmas present Rick, a long, long like when youre pi*t off about something long, in depth post about type in traffic.
    Come and Santa, sort it out!
    Have a good easter,
    Anthony.

    Reply
  5. domain guy

    the loweset common dominator is sex and thats where rick moved into the market.thats the first market segment to adapt to new technology,vcrs,1-900 numbers,urls, thats where the human mind evolves.as the decade past then there were a few more biz uses for urls eg business.com,backpain.com etc.
    and on ricks resume he completely missed/passed the 1-900 number market.which came and went.
    as for seeing your domain up in lights xfinity.com is up in lights..a simple brandable.
    ps the usa used to be on an 8th grade scale i see its now down to 6th grade…pretty sad for the usa….

    Reply
  6. ScottM

    Curious if others still use Larry Fisher and Ari Goldberger’s basic valuation formula of a domain’s potential (they mentioned in an interview at a domain auction in 2007 or 2008) where they type the name (without the extension) into Google (and now Bing too) and see how many search results are generated versus another name. I still believe that this seems to be a valid metric because the higher number of search results generated seems to be where there are more or higher-quality sponsored ads appearing so the assumption is follow the money, i.e. advertising money, as that’s where the dollars spent are. Any thoughts?

    Reply
  7. Garry

    Rick,
    I’ve been reading your posts for about 3 years and this by far seems to be the most personable. You came across very friendly almost like you just slowed your mind down and sat down on your front porch rocking chair and told us a folk tale (except it’s not made up.)
    Thanks for sharing.
    Garry

    Reply
  8. John Humphrey

    I have a question about brandables. Assuming the end user is a new company. How important, in your opinion, is getting the exact match Twitter handle along with the domain? And why?

    Reply
  9. Rob Sequin

    Good points.
    “The next piece and maybe #1 are those that buy a domain that does not pass the radio test. Another CRUCIAL element of any domain name.”
    I almost bought a domain that started with gotoGEODOMAIN.com for a project I’m working on then I thought of myself on the phone talking to potential advertisers (or leaving a voice mail) and the conversation going something like this:
    potential advertiser: What’s the website?
    Me: Go to gotoGEODOMAIN.com
    END
    I figured they would only hear GEODOMAIN.com plus the repetitiveness would sound stupid.
    So, even though go to a travel destination makes sense, it does not pass the phone test.
    When you are buying a domain that you will develop, make sure it passes the phone test, the memory test, the reading test and of course the .com only test :-)
    (unless it’s a .org for a non-profit feel or a .tv for a video site) (.net .info .biz etc are usually just clutter)

    Reply
  10. DT

    That is spot on :
    Look, we all have varying degrees of portfolios. Junk today could be worth a big bounty tomorrow. So if you believe in something, don’t let it go. But never close your mind and eyes to new information. NEVER!

    Reply
  11. Chadi Ghaith

    Very Nice wrap up of the major considerations. Thanks Rick for ur generosity when it comes to sharing ur success recipes..
    My opinion? Well, I believe most of those considerations require still certain skills and habits in parallel in order for one to know which domain truly and ultimately fits into which category of success or failure, besides the typein factor which I understand why Rick u emphasize it (for it kinda does half of the thinking on one’s behalf when it comes to choice)…
    I believe most people, even domainers, when they seek to buy or register a domain name, have a high degree of Déformation professionnelle lurking in there somewhere that causes them to speed through those considerations before they could reap good enough benefit from them, because there is a very uncomfortable polarity going on usually between the formula of success reflected by those considerations and the Déformation factor which causes one to be infatuated with a certain domain as opposed to another…
    What’s makes things worse (in my opinion) is that its even more dangerous to jump above the subjective factor and attempt to wear someone else’s mind and shoes by way of being objective while choosing, justifying ur logic by your belief that there is a unified art hanging out there on its own called domaining, when such belief may lead to a fatal form of Déformation…
    From here, the Domain Industry I compare to Love Relationships and destiny sometimes.. You never really could know who is attracted to whom and why… And when u know ur always late and like:”What the hell… He’s too good for her or she’s too good for him or he could’ve loved x instead if he had met her before (now that we know what type he’s into) and and and etc…
    The Secret remains in his mind and hers, and its why there are relatively very very few”domainers” who make it long enough to share a success recipe as u do Rick (for u r definitely one of those few)… I mean You gotta be both a Seller and a Magician in a way to make cnn fall into the magic of ireport.com big enough to pay 750k for it, when they are cnn and they can make of blablabla.com something as big as ireport.com if not more…

    Reply
  12. Enrico S.

    “And the biggie for me, bigger than type ins. Bigger than any other piece of the puzzle. Could I see it advertised on TV, Radio, Billboards, etc? Could I see a campaign based around that domain name? Could what I have on it go viral and then will it be easy to use as a “Word of mouth” medium?”
    So true Rick. This goes to how memorable the domain name is for consumers.

    Reply
  13. Ryan Lanane

    Rick – I wish I had listed to you in 1998, I would be way ahead of the game. I just started dabbling last fall and wow am I behind by miles. When Slavik’s first offer for $1,000 for addictedtogames.com was made to me and all the site had was what I then saw as a WORTHLESS 80-100 visitors a day – I BIT.
    I bet he just made a HANDSOME PROFIT off that baby, I see he doesn’t own it any more.
    I’m still slowly reading, learning, and trying to figure this game out. In my eyes it is just like the stock market. Pick the right stock it will pay dividends. The only difference is you pay an annual fee to own the stock and hope it appreciates and nobody wants to”short it” :)
    Best of luck Rick, you were a true Visionary back in the days I cared more about other aspects of online business :)

    Reply

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