Types of TLDs and Domain Names
When investing in domain names and TLDs on Freename, it can be overwhelming to be presented with the search box and asked to type in what you’d like to purchase. Sometimes your choice can be influenced by something you’ve seen or heard or read recently; or something you’ve always wanted to own. I think in many cases, especially if you’ve thought about owning a top-level domain name for a long time, get it now before someone else does make sense. If the string that you’ve always wanted is available and important to you, and if you can get it for the right price it’s best to act.
But then after you get the TLD or the domain names that you’ve always wanted, you may sit back and evaluate investing in domain names and TLDs that other people may want to buy from you in the future. While it helps to also have an interest or passion in the TLD or domain name you buy, in many cases you’re simply trying to buy something that you think a lot of other people like in the future; and possibly pay you a higher price in the resale market.
As with any investment please do your own research and this blog is not intended to provide investment advice. It’s always best to understand all the aspects of what you’re investing in and we invite you to explore the free name top-level domains and domain names with that in mind.
This post will look at the things that come into play when you’re thinking about buying domain names for investment purposes. This week, we’ll talk about the attributes of the domain name and next week cover the purpose of the domain name or the subject.
So when you are looking for attributes of a good domain name or TLD the most important over the past 30 years has been the length of the TLD or domain name. For the rest of this post, I’ll simply combine domains and TLDs into “names” unless I’m talking about specifically TLDs or specifically Domain Names.(Comprising the left and the right side of a dot)
In many cases, a short name will be the most valuable. It’s the easiest to remember and also has the least amount of substitution usually, meaning there are fewer substitutes that are as good or as short as the domain name you’re considering. Sometimes this can mean that domain names will have letters or numbers or a combination of the two.
I’ll talk about numbers in a second but when it comes to letters 1 2 3 and 4 character names have been valuable over time because there’s a limited number of each, and in many cases, the name can be a person’s initials, a company’s initials, the stock trading symbol of a company or the TV or radio station call letters. Three-letter domain names are also used around the world as airport codes which means many cities have become known by their 3-letter airport code, making that domain have both short length and popularity.
Numbers have become valuable in short names for three main reasons. In many cases numbers when sounded out in English can sound like words in other languages or phrases. Therefore it’s easy for another country around the world to sound out the numbers that many people mean in English and then it sounds like the word in their native language.
Secondly, numbers can have lexicographic, mythical, or translation meanings which inspire feelings of good luck or fortune. People can have favorite lucky numbers or numbers with special meanings.
The third of many other reasons, numbers are popular is that numbers have become identifiers of a group of people in a club. For instance, if you’re in a 9999 Club, it’s made up of people that have domain names that are all four numbers long, and that identify you as a member of a 2, 3, or 4 number club or group in a certain top-level domain name. In this same grouping can be numbers representing the exact number of a popular NFT collection.
In many cases, short names carry a premium price when you’re buying a domain name or TLD, but at the same time, you’re getting an attractive name that may pay benefits more than the premium price that you have to pay for its acquisition.
The second type of domain name that’s attractive to investors is made up of keywords. Whether you choose one two or three keywords, those words can represent dictionary words, the names of cities, surnames, and first names used around the world, any type of noun or adjective, or popular terms searched online. These words are known and it is well known how to spell and use them, meaning less repeating the name or spelling when sharing.
So when you’re looking at keyword domain names you may have an advantage because you may be familiar with keywords that are popular in specific Industries or trends, that may or may not be assessed a premium fee call Len in which case you can buy a great name and your specific industry for the regular price, and even less sometimes with the attractive coupons from freename.
Geo names can be attractive because you can build a community based upon the fact that everyone knows the name of the city that they live in now, once lived in, or maybe traveling to or thinking about living in the future. First and last names can be popular because people may want to have the shortest representation of their name as a t l d or a domain name.
There are other types of domain names that can also be popular even if they’re longer than two or three words, in many cases, these are phrases, or else what is called geo combo domain names where you combine a city or state or country, with the profession or other keyword.
Investors Tip. In many cases over the years smart investors have been able to find domain names attractive for the regular price but still meaningful. Some of the ways that investors have gone to find names that are made up of a combination of letters or numbers, abbreviations, or singular or plural versions of names where the singular or plural carries a premium price.
By Page Howe
