The lowdown on premium domains

When you search for domains at name.com, you might wonder why domain names with the same extension can have different prices. For instance, our price for a .COM domain name is $10.99, but there are premium .COM domains that start at $19.99 and can even cost thousands.

The difference in prices can be a little confusing, so I’m going to try to clear things up a bit.

What makes a domain premium?

A premium domain will typically be very short, simple, and/or keyword rich. Basically, premium domains are more valuable, and that’s reflected in the price.

Unlike typical domains, premium domains have already been registered, so they’re actually being re-sold. Some are owned by registrars themselves, while others are owned by domainers and business-savvy people who list them at domain marketplaces such as SedoMLS or Afternic. You’re actually paying to have the domain transferred to you, but the process is just like registering a non-premium.

Affordable Premiums

There are two ways to search specifically for premium domain names at name.com. The first is the Affordable Premiums page. It allows you to browse/search premium domains in three price ranges: $0 to $120, $121 to $500, and $501 to $1,000. The price for these domains will drop as they get closer to expiration.

An Affordable Premium domain can help a new website get more traffic from the very start, because it will typically have a good NXD (non-existent domain) Traffic Score. These domains are getting attempted visits even though the domain itself isn’t in use.

Affordable Premium domains include at least 11 months of registration.

Premium Domain Search

The Premium Domain Search page allows you to search all premium domains, rather than just those up to $1,000. You can set a specific price range to search, and there are a few advanced search options like maximum length and “starts with” (an actual sequence of letters/numbers).

Start your search!

Though there’s no guarantee that a premium domain will be the magic bullet for creating a successful website, it’s definitely worth your while to take a look at some available premiums and see if the keywords (and cost, of course!) fit into your plans. A premium domain can give you extra weight in search engines and an established base of existing traffic.