When establishing an online presence, a business must choose a domain name that suits its purposes. The domain name should be catchy and easy for customers to remember. It should also be a good match for the company’s brand image. Many business owners have experienced the disappointment of coming up with a perfect domain name only to find that it has already been claimed by someone else. In such cases, attempting to purchase the domain name from the current owner can sometimes be a viable option, depending on the domain name value of the domain in question.

Domain name value is influenced by many factors. One is simplicity. The most valuable domain names tend to be one-word domains that are clearly associated with popular industries. Another factor is the domain’s ending. The most valuable domain ending is “.com.” All of the domains on the top ten list of most expensive domain sales of all time consist of just one word. They also all end in “.com” endings. The record holder for domain name value is Insure.com, which sold for $16 million dollars in 2009.

Because virtual real estate can be so profitable, many companies exist solely to quickly grab up domains. Such companies have no intent of developing websites themselves. Instead, they turn around and sell domains for a profit. These companies are experts in identifying high domain name value contenders.

Many businesses can simply not afford the highest value domains. In other cases, the cost might be feasible but the benefit might not be sufficient. While a website with a higher domain name value will draw greater search traffic, a high value is not the only thing responsible for success. Companies must balance the benefits of expensive domains against the costs. Sometimes lower value names serve just as well.