Domains, domains, domains….. oh how we love them at here redsauce.com. They’re the key to any successful online business and the decision over which to choose can be turbulent and nerve-wracking.

But just why are they so important and how valuable can a simple name be? The answer? Very, very important! It’s all to do with that little phenomenon called SEO and usability! Since the start of 2009 a staggering 192 million domains have been registered, marking a rise of 15 million since 2008. These huge figures show just how important and valuable domains have become in the big-bucks land of the internet. It also means businesses now have even more choice and factors to consider when searching for that oh-so-important domain.

Think of a simple domain – let’s take sex.com as an example. A simple name so it can’t be worth much right? Wrong! This domain is due to go up for auction next month with bids expected to start at a lowly $1 million! All that for a name, huh? The domain’s so expensive because “sex sells”. Only when you think about how many adult websites there are out there who would love this domain can you start to imagine just how crazy the bidding will be on 18th March.

The domain’s also fairly old – 1994  - so is well established in the eyes of Google. It was last sold in 2006 for around $14 million in a deal which was described at the time as “among the most significant domain transactions in history”. Since then the domain’s been the subject on several bitter law suits, amid allegations of theft and back-stabbing. Despite this, the domain is likely to go for much more than the previous $14 million it attracted.

Similarly another simple domain; pizza.com attracted bids of more than $2.5 million in 2008.

Who’d have thought a few simple words could make such good money? Hmm, how times have changed! The big question now is how do you choose a valuable domain which won’t lose value over the years?

The first thing to look at is date; if it’s been registered for at least 10 years, it’s likely to have been indexed by Google, meaning you probably won’t have to work to hard to get it re-indexed. While you might prefer an original, unique domain for whatever reason; you have to consider it’s functionality. It’s going to be new which means it’ll probably take a while to be indexed, which needs to be done to encourage traffic – can you really afford to wait?!

Another thing to consider is functionality and simplicity. As you can see, simple really does sell! The domain needs to be simple so people can remember it and use it time and time again. It should be catchy and the best domains can be sold on year after year.

Once you decide on a domain you need to check who owns it and the price. New research out this week shows that might be harder than you think! Nearly 28% of websites are registered with false or incorrect information, with 7% being completely bogus. This means you need to be extremely careful to avoid being burnt by the domain sharks!

So in answer to my question, domains are just as important, if not more important than the functionality and design of your website. After all, how are you supposed to do well if someone can’t find you?! If you take anything away from this blog, let it be this; sex really does sell!

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