With over 60 million domains currently registered, it can be daunting to try to find the right domain -- one that will drive quality traffic to your Website or parked domain. But how can you ensure you"re making the right decision when you purchase registered and expired domains? Do your research and you'll feel confident in your purchase. In this article, I'll explain the tools and techniques domain pros use to determine -- or at least reasonably guesstimate -- how much, and what type, of traffic a domain receives. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be able to predict approximately how much money a given domain will make, and thus gain a better understanding of the domain's true value. We'll discuss three methods for evaluating the traffic a domain receives:
In this article, I'll explain the tools and techniques domain pros use to determine, or at least reasonably guesstimate how much, and what type, of traffic a domain receives. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be able to predict approximately how much money a given domain will make, and thus gain a better understanding of the domain's true value. We'll discuss three methods for evaluating the traffic a domain receives:
*Trackers/Direct Methods *Predictors/Indirect Methods *Traffic Source The educated buyer always comes out ahead so read the following to unlock the mysteries of domain traffic and learn how to determine scientifically if a domain is really worth the price.
Trackers/Direct Methods Ideally, you could skip all of the guesswork and find out how much traffic a domain receives directly from the domain owner. The easiest way to do this is simply to ask the sellers about it. However, the seller may make mistakes (or simply be dishonest), so it's always a good idea to double-check the numbers using one or more of the following methods.
Developed Website Traffic counting scripts are one of the simplest and most reliable methods for determining traffic to an already developed Website. Many free professional statistics programs are available. These can be integrated fairly easily into any Website code to give buyers the additional reassurance of a 3rd-party-verified system. Most trackers will provide sellers even more information, such as top referrers, the geographic and chronological breakdown of visitors, and more.
Parked Domains...If a domain name is parked, the parking program may make traffic statistics available automatically through the domain's sales listing page. For example, if at the time this article was written, the traffic attracted by the parked domain, and a site about retro shoes could also be viewed on the domain's sale page.
It's worth noting that the visitor count can be manipulated by malevolent sellers, but in general, parked domain visitor stats serve as a very helpful guideline for potential buyers.
I wouldn't recommend relying solely on any of these tricks as a bullet-proof way to guesstimate traffic. However, taken as a whole (and with a hefty spoonful of salt), they can shine a bit of light on the question of whether or not a domain will receive valuable traffic.
I wouldn't recommend relying solely on any of these tricks as a bullet-proof way to guess the amount traffic. However, taken as a whole (and with a hefty spoonful of salt), they can shine some light on the question of whether or not a domain will receive valuable traffic.
Alexa.com...Alexa ranks web sites based on the number of visitors they receive. For example, at the time this article was written, Yahoo.com ranked first, while tisstiss.com ranked at 212,093 and folkk.com at 717,298. These rankings are based on data derived from Alexa toolbar users. Translating these numbers into unique views, allready.biz received over 10,000 unique views in the month of September while pummle.com received over 70,000 unique hits. (Statistics from Sedo.com).
Many high-traffic domain names will receive an Alexa ranking just from their type-in traffic. In general, an Alexa ranking under 1,000,000 for an undeveloped site is a good indicator that the domain receives decent traffic (e.g. several thousand monthly unique views). Rankings over a million are less reliable, but usually any sort of Alexa ranking means the domain receives at least some traffic. As with all of these methods, Alexa should be used as a guideline only: sometimes even domains for which Alexa returns "No Data" (too low to rank) will still receive traffic. Ranking.com offers a tool that's similar to Alexa's.
Overture Searches...Yahoo! Search Marketing's Keyword Selector Tool (known to most as formerly Overture) tells you how often a given keyword was searched on the Yahoo! network. For example, "Yahoo" was searched 17,858,229 times in September 2005, while "Blue" was searched 178,124 times.
Research has shown that Overture searches do sometimes have a rough correlation with traffic (especially type-in traffic), but as with other methods, there are many exceptions to the rule.
Traffic Source...If you are wanting to better understand something, go to the source. This aphorism applies to domain traffic just as well as it does to other information. Thus, in addition to using the above methods to guesstimate the quantity of traffic a given domain receives, you may want to use these techniques to try to determine the source of that traffic.
Traffic Source...If you are trying to better understand something, go to the source. This aphorism applies to domain traffic just as well as it does to other information. Thus, in addition to using the above methods to guesstimate the quantity of traffic a given domain receives, you may want to use these techniques to try to determine the source of that traffic.
Traffic source will affect the longevity and conversion of the traffic. In simpler terms, it will have huge impacts on how much money the particular domain will make.
.Link Popularity...Any given web site or formerly-developed domain name may receive traffic from old incoming links and directory listings. There are many online tools for checking link popularity; Marketleap.com offers one of the best of these tools.
Search Engine Listings...Search engine listings are a major source of traffic for many sites. You can guesstimate how much search engine-derived traffic a web site receives by looking at its "search engine saturation". This is an indicator of how often the domain appears in the various search engine indexes. Again, Marketleap.com offers an excellent tool for evaluating search engine saturation.
Just keep in mind that it's also important to look at how high the site is listed and how often the keyword is searched. And don't forget that search engine listings change frequently, so if this is the primary source of traffic, expect fluctuations!
Paid Fluctuations...Some traffic may be coming from PPC advertisements, exit popups or banner ads that the seller has bought. This is the shortest-lived traffic, because as soon as you buy the domain, the seller stops paying for the ads! The best way to determine traffic origin is to ask the seller about traffic sources and view the traffic logs. To ensure the logs are not modified, ask for access to the logs instead of screenshot of the statistics.
Without access to the logs, it can be difficult to determine if a domain is receiving paid traffic, but a smart domain buyer will look for a few key pieces of evidence: do the domain statistics align with the Alexa ranking and the number of incoming links? For example, a domain that receives a couple hundred views a day, and has no Alexa ranking and very few incoming links from low-traffic sites may likely receive paid traffic. But don't discount such domains out of hand: they may be receiving typo-traffic, or may even be a seasonal domain (such as one related to the World Series).
.Expired Traffic...If a domain was formerly developed, some users may continue to visit because of old links and reference pages, or simply because they remember the actual name of the domain. This traffic may continue for years, but as with any site, it decreases over time.
If it's not possible to speak with the current owner about the past development of the site, a few simple searches can help. In particular, use the hints above to examine the types of sites that are linking to the domain. With that information, you may be able to get some idea of the type of traffic that's visiting the domain in search of old content. After the content is removed, many of the links will be updated or removed and this traffic will eventually dwindle or expire.
Typos -n- Variations...Don't ignore traffic that's diverted to the domain name as a result of typos from other high traffic sites. Check out the traffic that flows to similar or mistyped domains using the tools above. Also consider traffic generated from variations of names, such as an abbreviated form of your domain name, or an acronym. If these domains experience high volumes of visitors, there is a possibility that this will translate to high traffic levels for similar sites.
Alexa can be useful tool for doing this -- it offers a feature that lists other web sites that visitors of any given domain also visit. For example, an Alexa search on: social networking website visitors shows that many visitors to these types of domains also visit similar Jordan Sneakers sites.
.Find the Right Domain...Traffic is crucial for any revenue generating business on the Web. Finding and choosing the right domain with targeted traffic can take your business and -profits- to new heights. If you haven't quite had the time to build that web site, simply park your domains, let your parking company place targeted advertisements on the domain's index page, and sit back and monetize the traffic. You can do this at sedo by taking advantage of their optimize keyword tool. Also, use the tools listed above to determine domain traffic and never make a wrong buying decision again.
In this article, I'll explain the tools and techniques domain pros use to determine, or at least reasonably guesstimate how much, and what type, of traffic a domain receives. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be able to predict approximately how much money a given domain will make, and thus gain a better understanding of the domain's true value. We'll discuss three methods for evaluating the traffic a domain receives:
*Trackers/Direct Methods *Predictors/Indirect Methods *Traffic Source The educated buyer always comes out ahead so read the following to unlock the mysteries of domain traffic and learn how to determine scientifically if a domain is really worth the price.
Trackers/Direct Methods Ideally, you could skip all of the guesswork and find out how much traffic a domain receives directly from the domain owner. The easiest way to do this is simply to ask the sellers about it. However, the seller may make mistakes (or simply be dishonest), so it's always a good idea to double-check the numbers using one or more of the following methods.
Developed Website Traffic counting scripts are one of the simplest and most reliable methods for determining traffic to an already developed Website. Many free professional statistics programs are available. These can be integrated fairly easily into any Website code to give buyers the additional reassurance of a 3rd-party-verified system. Most trackers will provide sellers even more information, such as top referrers, the geographic and chronological breakdown of visitors, and more.
Parked Domains...If a domain name is parked, the parking program may make traffic statistics available automatically through the domain's sales listing page. For example, if at the time this article was written, the traffic attracted by the parked domain, and a site about retro shoes could also be viewed on the domain's sale page.
It's worth noting that the visitor count can be manipulated by malevolent sellers, but in general, parked domain visitor stats serve as a very helpful guideline for potential buyers.
I wouldn't recommend relying solely on any of these tricks as a bullet-proof way to guesstimate traffic. However, taken as a whole (and with a hefty spoonful of salt), they can shine a bit of light on the question of whether or not a domain will receive valuable traffic.
I wouldn't recommend relying solely on any of these tricks as a bullet-proof way to guess the amount traffic. However, taken as a whole (and with a hefty spoonful of salt), they can shine some light on the question of whether or not a domain will receive valuable traffic.
Alexa.com...Alexa ranks web sites based on the number of visitors they receive. For example, at the time this article was written, Yahoo.com ranked first, while tisstiss.com ranked at 212,093 and folkk.com at 717,298. These rankings are based on data derived from Alexa toolbar users. Translating these numbers into unique views, allready.biz received over 10,000 unique views in the month of September while pummle.com received over 70,000 unique hits. (Statistics from Sedo.com).
Many high-traffic domain names will receive an Alexa ranking just from their type-in traffic. In general, an Alexa ranking under 1,000,000 for an undeveloped site is a good indicator that the domain receives decent traffic (e.g. several thousand monthly unique views). Rankings over a million are less reliable, but usually any sort of Alexa ranking means the domain receives at least some traffic. As with all of these methods, Alexa should be used as a guideline only: sometimes even domains for which Alexa returns "No Data" (too low to rank) will still receive traffic. Ranking.com offers a tool that's similar to Alexa's.
Overture Searches...Yahoo! Search Marketing's Keyword Selector Tool (known to most as formerly Overture) tells you how often a given keyword was searched on the Yahoo! network. For example, "Yahoo" was searched 17,858,229 times in September 2005, while "Blue" was searched 178,124 times.
Research has shown that Overture searches do sometimes have a rough correlation with traffic (especially type-in traffic), but as with other methods, there are many exceptions to the rule.
Traffic Source...If you are wanting to better understand something, go to the source. This aphorism applies to domain traffic just as well as it does to other information. Thus, in addition to using the above methods to guesstimate the quantity of traffic a given domain receives, you may want to use these techniques to try to determine the source of that traffic.
Traffic Source...If you are trying to better understand something, go to the source. This aphorism applies to domain traffic just as well as it does to other information. Thus, in addition to using the above methods to guesstimate the quantity of traffic a given domain receives, you may want to use these techniques to try to determine the source of that traffic.
Traffic source will affect the longevity and conversion of the traffic. In simpler terms, it will have huge impacts on how much money the particular domain will make.
.Link Popularity...Any given web site or formerly-developed domain name may receive traffic from old incoming links and directory listings. There are many online tools for checking link popularity; Marketleap.com offers one of the best of these tools.
Search Engine Listings...Search engine listings are a major source of traffic for many sites. You can guesstimate how much search engine-derived traffic a web site receives by looking at its "search engine saturation". This is an indicator of how often the domain appears in the various search engine indexes. Again, Marketleap.com offers an excellent tool for evaluating search engine saturation.
Just keep in mind that it's also important to look at how high the site is listed and how often the keyword is searched. And don't forget that search engine listings change frequently, so if this is the primary source of traffic, expect fluctuations!
Paid Fluctuations...Some traffic may be coming from PPC advertisements, exit popups or banner ads that the seller has bought. This is the shortest-lived traffic, because as soon as you buy the domain, the seller stops paying for the ads! The best way to determine traffic origin is to ask the seller about traffic sources and view the traffic logs. To ensure the logs are not modified, ask for access to the logs instead of screenshot of the statistics.
Without access to the logs, it can be difficult to determine if a domain is receiving paid traffic, but a smart domain buyer will look for a few key pieces of evidence: do the domain statistics align with the Alexa ranking and the number of incoming links? For example, a domain that receives a couple hundred views a day, and has no Alexa ranking and very few incoming links from low-traffic sites may likely receive paid traffic. But don't discount such domains out of hand: they may be receiving typo-traffic, or may even be a seasonal domain (such as one related to the World Series).
.Expired Traffic...If a domain was formerly developed, some users may continue to visit because of old links and reference pages, or simply because they remember the actual name of the domain. This traffic may continue for years, but as with any site, it decreases over time.
If it's not possible to speak with the current owner about the past development of the site, a few simple searches can help. In particular, use the hints above to examine the types of sites that are linking to the domain. With that information, you may be able to get some idea of the type of traffic that's visiting the domain in search of old content. After the content is removed, many of the links will be updated or removed and this traffic will eventually dwindle or expire.
Typos -n- Variations...Don't ignore traffic that's diverted to the domain name as a result of typos from other high traffic sites. Check out the traffic that flows to similar or mistyped domains using the tools above. Also consider traffic generated from variations of names, such as an abbreviated form of your domain name, or an acronym. If these domains experience high volumes of visitors, there is a possibility that this will translate to high traffic levels for similar sites.
Alexa can be useful tool for doing this -- it offers a feature that lists other web sites that visitors of any given domain also visit. For example, an Alexa search on: social networking website visitors shows that many visitors to these types of domains also visit similar Jordan Sneakers sites.
.Find the Right Domain...Traffic is crucial for any revenue generating business on the Web. Finding and choosing the right domain with targeted traffic can take your business and -profits- to new heights. If you haven't quite had the time to build that web site, simply park your domains, let your parking company place targeted advertisements on the domain's index page, and sit back and monetize the traffic. You can do this at sedo by taking advantage of their optimize keyword tool. Also, use the tools listed above to determine domain traffic and never make a wrong buying decision again.
About the Author:
James Byrd grew up in North Carolina. He is now residing in Phoenix, Arizona with his two children and wife of twelve years. They raise horses and collect shoes including air force one shoes and cheap jordans
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