How much is a domain name worth you may ask? Notice I used "worth" rather than "cost". There is no valid answer to how much a domain will cost unless you buy one new from the registry and then its about $50 per year to own it, end of story no need to read any more.
Until you have established your purpose for using a particular domain name in accordance with your web marketing strategy it is worthless. (If you don't have a written strategy for your online initiative yet perhaps I can be of some assistance to you).
I've been working on the internet for many years and approach things from a value based people first business perspective (Translation: I know business, I have lots of experience with the Internet, I care about people and do the best I can in all that I do).
A good web strategy will prevent you from making lots of costly mistakes that have been made time and time again. I've seen them made, made a few too many myself, so there is no excuse for making the same mistakes again.
Of course there is how much, or little, the current owner is prepared to part with this virtual piece of real estate. If you contact me and offer $100 for www.farmer.co.nz I will be polite but can assure you the answer will be a definite NO! Do the math, I own it only because I was clever enough to purchase it in the late 90's. It owes me at least 10 years of registry fees being approximately $500, so its value is going to be somewhat north of that.
Its cost then becomes nothing more than a commercial buying decision, to value a domain name you have to ask yourself, how much do I value it and what is its potential worth to me?
Also referred to as Internet name or Internet address, a domain name is a unique address on the Internet that is akin to your personal phone number, but oh so much more versatile. Generally domain names start with www such as my site www.networker.co.nz. (yes before you start humphing and horaahing webmasters, I know it doesn't have to but that's your job to assist these good folk in, not mine).
Domain names are also referred to as Uniform Resource Locaters or URLs. That's really as technical as you need to go. You can move your domain from one host to another and they will assist you with hosting a web site, using it for personalised email i.e. you@yourdomain.co.nz and you are ready to take on the big wide web.
Alternatively you can "park" the domain, much like I have with these, bring it out later for a project, or wait until someone make you an offer you simply cannot refuse.
A good domain name, or domains, yes you can have more than one pointing to a single website, can be worth their proverbial weight in gold.
They can set you ahead of your current and future competition by assisting your marketing reach on so many levels. One such advantage is search engine ranking. Take www.sunday.co.nz for example (I have the rest of the week too). It has never been used with a website before and yet on Google NZ search database, on searching for the word "Sunday" it comes in 5th on 4,260,000 returned pages. That's got to be worth something me thinks! And you can imagine the stiff competition with media rich websites like "Sunday News", Sunday Times", TVNZ Sunday", not to mention all the events on the day called "Sunday", well you get the picture.
OK I've started ranting, I'm quite passionate about this subject, so back to the point.
As a matter of interest of all the domains I've listed on this page www.farmer.co.nz gets the most casual traffic, that's just walk in the door without me even telling them what I can do for them potential customers. There is obviously a lot of farmer folk looking for services, products and information (OMG, a great business opportunity).
Alternatively it's just that the shoppers (people who are itching to spend money) looking for the well known department store website have neglected the plural.
The www.farmer.co.nz domain above is a good example of this potential marketing conundrum. To illustrate this point I'll reference one of my other New Zealand domain names listed here www.recipe.co.nz.
You've seen the advertisements on TV for the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Board products, promoted by attractive sports stars dancing and acclaiming the virtues of carnivorous indulgence (I agree with the campaign by the way, good for our health and good for our economy. After all if we weren't supposed to eat animals then why were they made out of meat?)
This Marketing Board have magazine ads, billboards, a well designed website and what I would imagine costly TV adverts and the ONLY point of contact in all this marketing material is their domain name www.recipes.co.nz.
Imagine my surprise when I contacted them to say that I was the proud and humble owner of www.recipe.co.nz of which I was prepared to part with for a reasonable price, and they said no thanks. To give them credit they did consult their marketing people first, and so I guess they collectively put their well educated heads together and said "we don't advise this as a good investment" (for a small fee to their client no doubt).
I have had several offers from anti meat organisations and speculators for this same domain, I'm sure they too want to have attractive sports people dancing around promoting the virtues of an all vegetable diet.
My loyalty to this important industry and love of a good steak has outweighed my need for personal financial gain, for now at least.
I did say at the start that there was no valid answer to the question of how much should you pay.
If you have hung in to this point I guess you are starting to feel a little more enlightened on the complex topic so read on.
There are several factors that must be taken into account before you are in a position to dip into your pocket or mortgage your house to complete a transaction.
There are thousands of domains names available on to market "for sale", a legacy of the great domain grab of the late 90's where speculators, known in the industry as "domainers" could see a market akin to the personalised car number plates.
Though I did sell hundreds of domain names to worthy client's way back then in the World Wide Web dark ages, I didn't personally prescribe to this speculative stampede.
Having said this I am pleased I did manage to acquire a few nice top level NZ keyword domain names along the way. It's much more impressive to say you own www.law.co.nz than a piece of tin emblazoned with LAWYR on it, even if it is attached to a Porsche, and that just goes further to reinforce my point.
Perhaps I just hang out with the wrong crowd but I know which one would have the most industry cred, and potential income earning potential if used properly.
A new industry is emerging where companies will evaluate your domain value, for a fee of course. Quite clever really, after all why shouldn't they make some money out of your domain even if you can't?
This does not correlate to selling your domain of course, but at least they make some coin for telling you whether you have a golden goose or a lame duck.
If you are serious about something then do it well. There is a cost to a web presence, sure there are development fees, hosting etc, but the greatest investment is going to be your time.
If you start a parts department at your car dealership you know now what will happen if you don't keep it well staffed, well stocked, nicely presented, and of course promoted, it will not suceed. Don't do these things and it will have a detrimental effect on your image and make big sucking sounds to your bottom line as people exit your business rapidly, never to return.
Websites are just the same.
When it comes to establishing a credible, functional and profitable web presence you have to think about many things, and you have to plan, not should, have to. (Remember that's were I can help you).
If you think you can build it and they will come you are in for a big shock.
Do it on the cheap or half hearted and that's what you risk being perceived as.
There is more competition online for our attention, our dollar and our loyalty than ever before, and this competition is increasing daily. You are going to have to keep current, keep informed and take an interest in your online clientele the same way I would hope you do with your traditional foot traffic.
Website businesses fail for the same reason that traditional businesses fail, people give up and neglect them.
We all have to start somewhere and a good domain name is as good as anywhere. I have some here you may want to consider.
Make me an offer, but only if you think they may have more value to you than they do to me.
Are you looking to stand out in a very crowded market? Take a look at these top level keyword New Zealand domains that could be yours.
www.law.co.nz
The * denotes domain names that are from a third party and some conditions of sale may apply.
If you wish to purchase any of the domains promoted here read our article first, then if you are serious, email us at to discuss further.
If you wish to have your domain name promoted via Networker contact us on to discuss terms.