Estibot’s Search Popularity and Keyword Suggestion Tool

I've been a big fan of Estibot.com for quite some time. Long before I discovered Estibot, I was using many of the same metrics it uses to make buying decisions on domain names. I was looking up that data from a variety of sources and then compiling it into a spreadsheet for review. Needless to say, Estibot saves a lot of time when you want a quick overview of the keyword metrics behind a domain.

Automated domain name appraisals seem to be a lightning rod for controversy. Almost every domain forum thread discussing them seems to deteriorate into two sides arguing over their accuracy. I think that most people are missing the true benefit of Estibot. That benefit being the quick calculation of keyword specific data presented in an easy to understand format to help you make educated domain name buying decisions. The actual appraisal value is just a small piece of the pie and many times I disregard it based off what the other data is telling me. Google frequency, anchor text, in title, in URL, backlinks, Alexa, PPC ads, Overture and Wordtracker scores; it's all in there and all on one page. It's like Prego.

Estibot.com recently added an unbelievably fast search popularity and keyword suggestion tool. Start typing a keyword(s) and Estibot instantly returns additional keyword terms complete with Overture scores, Google frequency results and also the number of advertisers bidding on those terms. It's very useful for a variety of research including brainstorming and niche development. Did I mention how fast it is? Go check it out.

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Longer Domain Registrations May Help Google Rankings

One of the variables that Google uses to determine the search engine rankings for a site is how trustworthy the domain is. Google's trustrank is not recognized by Google as an official algorithm but its effects can often be seen during the domain development process.

Google primarily uses trustrank to improve the quality and relevance of its search results. By increasing the trustrank of their sites, domain developers can expect to see higher visibility in Google's search results which would generate increased, targeted traffic and higher revenues for their online properties.

Some of the widely known factors that determine a domain's trustrank are:

• The domain's age
• The number of incoming links
• The PageRank of the incoming links
• The topic of the website located at the domain
• Frequency of content updates
• Existence of a privacy policy
• Readily available contact information
• A site-map

Another lesser known factor that a number of SEO experts believe will help a domain's trustrank is the length of the domain registration period. In other words, if all else is equal, a domain that has 5 years left on its registration period will have a higher Google trustrank than a domain that expires in 6 months.

The logic adds up since spammers would rarely register domains for more than 1 year since their techniques usually result in the domain being blacklisted in a short amount of time. For them, adding additional years to a domain's registration period would be a waste of money. It makes perfect sense for Google to include the domain registration period into factoring trustrank.

For domain name developers, a small investment in extending their domain's registration length may end up paying for itself through increased revenues as a result of better search engine rankings. This ties in well with the growing trend of domainers opting to develop their domains into niche mini-sites instead of parking their domains and relying entirely on type-in traffic. I don't believe this would have much of an effect on parked domains due to the lack of index-able content. I've tested this recently on a few of my mini-sites but it's too early to draw any conclusions. I'd really like to hear from others who have tried this and are willing to report the results.

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Picking Quality Keyword Domains in 3 Quick Steps

In a pinch, there are 3 metrics you can quickly check to determine the profit potential of keyword domains. The domain's keywords should be checked for keyword search volume, monetization potential and keyword frequency. In my opinion, they're also listed in their order of importance. This is far from a comprehensive examination but it will reveal a few key characteristics about a domain name that can help you determine if it's worth registering or not. I would advise much more diligence when purchasing a higher priced domain in the aftermarket.

In short, good keyword domains make it easy to match products and services to the people looking for them. For the following example we'll use the domain name herbalcapsules.com and more specifically, the phrase "herbal capsules" for keyword analysis.

1. Keyword Search Volume - Simply put, keyword search volume is the amount of search queries for a given search term over a specified amount of time. Currently, the most widely used tools to determine search volume are Wordtracker, Overture, Keyword Discovery, and the Google Adwords Tool. The search volume for the exact keyword phrase "herbal capsules" will give you a rough idea on the likelihood of receiving direct type-in traffic at herbalcapsules.com. The figures are not directly correlated, meaning 1,735 monthly Overture searches will not translate into 1,735 direct type-ins at herbalcapsules.com. In fact, it'll probably be a very small percentage of that. There really isn't a reliable formula to determine that "X" amount of search volume will equal "X" number of type in visitors. Just know that the higher the search volume, the more potential traffic either through direct type-ins or SEO development based on the "herbal capsules" keyword phrase.

If no search volume exists for a particular phrase than you might want to reconsider registering that domain, especially if it's for the sole purpose of earning PPC revenue from type-in traffic. Lack of search volume doesn't mean that particular keyword domain is worthless. It does however require that traffic be generated from an additional source, such as development and link building. A keyword domain with low search volume can actually perform quite well once developed, especially if it has good advertising potential and keyword frequency.

2. Monetization Potential - Are advertisers bidding on the keywords that make up your domain? Once you've identified a market in step 1, you need to determine if there are products and services to help you monetize that traffic. Probably the quickest way to do this by performing a keyword search at Google.com ("herbal capsules") and observing the quantity and quality of ads that appear through the Google Adwords program. Quality is determined by the focus of the ads. Are they tight and on topic, containing the keywords that make up your domain? Try to disregard the "catch-all" ads often served up by advertisers like Ebay, BizRate and Local.com as they will not provide the targeted ads that your visitors are looking for.

If your keyword domain shows strong results amongst Adwords advertisers, it's very likely you'll find a number of other monetization opportunities through various affiliate marketplaces and PPC programs. Adsense is not the only game in town when it comes to website monetization. It does however provide a quick checkup for monetization potential.

3. Keyword frequency - Keyword frequency represents the number of times a keyword phrase appears in a search engine's index. The "results" appear in the upper right corner at Google.com after a search query has been performed. In my opinion, it's more a function of how common a phrase is, not how popular it is. Still, it can provide valuable feedback when it comes to making a domain registration decision. Do not register a domain based solely on the fact that it has a high keyword frequency. As a general rule, the higher the keyword frequency, the better as this signals that the keyword phrase is commonly used. However, exceptions to this would be phrases such as "more than" (morethan.com) and other common connectors which will return millions of Google results but really have no clear use as a keyword domain for monetization purposes. You'll also want to scan the results to make sure your keyword phrase is being used in the context that you expected it to be. Many times various punctuation marks may be present in the results which will dramatically skew the results (See "small medium" as an example).

On the other hand, a domain such as PergolaKit.com ("pergola kit") which returns less than 10,000 Google results may seem too obscure to register when in fact, it's a great keyword domain. In this case, you've come across a small, focused niche that will actually perform very well. If you run "pergola kit" through steps 1 and 2 it will become obvious why.

That's it for now. Hopefully these tips will come in handy the next time you're deciding whether a domain is worth registering or not.
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Tips for finding brandable domain names

Not everyone is looking for keyword rich, generic domain names. Many Internet startups are looking for a simple, catchy name or phrase to build their online identity around. Brandable, web 2.0 style domain names have gained popularity in recent years mostly due to the explosion of social-networking sites.

A majority of today’s social-networking sites have catchy, nonsensical domain names. On the surface, it may seem an easy task to create long lists of available web 2.0 domains. In truth, finding an available, yet memorable domain name can be a real chore.

Finding the right brandable domain name requires a lot of creativity and also a bit of luck.

I’ve found the following resources to be of great use when brainstorming for brandables.

1. http://www.dotomator.com

Dotomator.com creates unique domains by combining different categories of word lists to make short, brandable domains. I’ve messed around with many different combinations and found many of the domains to be available. The word lists can also be used outside the dotomator platform to help you create your own terms. Additional inspiration for brandable domain names can be found using ther web 2.0 domain generator. The tool creates names one at a time and adds them to a column on the right side. These names can be used as is, if available, or further altered by changing key letters within the names to come up with completely new terms.

2. http://www.makewords.com

Makewords.com is another domain name generator which uses a very sophisticated interface that delivers surprisingly good results. In addition to brandable domains, Makewords.com can create hundreds of keyword rich names using a user supplied word and combining it with a number of keyword theme categories. They’ve also created a new domain search tool at http://www.randomainer.com which looks promising but I haven’t had a chance to give it a full test drive yet.

3. http://www.hackslash.net

This is a straightforward web 2.0 domain name generator that presents the user with 15 terms at a time. There are no user input variables and many of the terms include numerals. The main advantage of this tool is the speed in which it generates the names. Click the “make more” button and you’re instantly presented with 15 more names. Click it long enough and you’ll find plenty of catchy, memorable names. The disadvantage is that you’ll have to copy the terms you like into notepad and check them for availability at another site.

Hopefully these resources come in handy the next time you're looking for that perfect web 2.0 style brandable domain name.

 

Good source for free expired domain lists

I often see posts on domain name forums asking for good sources for free expired domain lists. One site that I've been using for awhile is:

http://www.wsmdomains.com/help/expireddaily.html

The page above lists the current weeks drops as well as the domains that dropped the week prior. Now this site may be well known to many of you but you might not have stumbled across the page below which lists the past two months of daily expired domain lists.

https://www.wsmdomains.com/ExpiredDomains/

The address above isn't listed on their site. That's why I didn't link to it. Two months worth of archived drop lists. Happy hunting.

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