DotDB.com is a relatively new platform that we rely on heavily in determining valuations - it provides statistics on keyword usage in domains. Some of you “new to the game” might be a little confused about what's the relevance of this data...so here is a little will explain about its two main data points:
1. # of TLDs Taken for Keyword
The first data point (and most important) is the # of TLDs a given .com domain is taken in - this is usually a smaller number that caps out at 2000. For preface, keyword is defined as anything before the extension of a given domain - ie. ‘Example’ would be the keyword of Example.com. This data point is important as it shows the relative popularity of the term and can be a quick gauge to determine worth. For example, if a given keyword has 10 companies that use alternative TLDs to the .com (like example.net, example.io, etc.) then one can expect high end user demand for Example.com as those companies would probably have an incentive to upgrade. Higher end user demand = higher intrinsic value.
2. # of Domains Containing Keyword
The 2nd data point is the # of domains that use a given keyword - this is usually a bigger number that can reach the 10s of millions. This data point is important because it shows the cultural significance of a given term and how many other websites/domains would bother using the term. For example, if there are 500 companies that use the term ‘Example’ in their domain (and you own Example.com), then all of the businesses that use their keyword domains (like ExampleConsulting.com, ExampleDelivery.com, etc.) might be interested in upgrading their domain to something shorter. Also, this datapoint show intrinsically why shorter domains are often worth a lot more (than longer domains) as they are included in more already existing domains.
Using these two data points together you can determine a lot about a domain's keyword and can judge it against other options. To really understand how value directly correlates, I encourage you to play around with DotDB.com with the QEIP Valuation Tool and see how domains with different data points perform.
