| Domain names are fast becoming an asset for | | | | the value. |
| thousands of worldwide investors and business | | | | If in doubt about the value of a domain name, industry |
| owners. A domain name is an easy way for people to | | | | experts at Entrepreneur Domains provide online |
| locate a website on the Internet. For many | | | | domain name appraisal services. There is a fee for the |
| corporations the names are becoming a brand in their | | | | service but it may be worth knowing a fair price when |
| own right and can be traded for additional value | | | | buying or selling a particular domain. As with any |
| because of the brand equity or goodwill they have built. | | | | investment, return on investment is an important |
| Some factors contribute to the value of a domain | | | | consideration when trading domain names. |
| name before it is ever registered. Some names are | | | | The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and |
| specific to certain types of organisation or geographic | | | | Numbers, (ICANN) located in California is responsible |
| location. All are subject to the rules imposed by local | | | | for governing the use of international domain name |
| governing bodies concerning the legal registration, | | | | extensions, which are those with 3 letters or more, |
| purpose and disposal of domain names. This article will | | | | including .com, .org and .info. Some domain name |
| provide a starting point to those who are interested in | | | | extensions are further separated to be country |
| purchasing a domain name. | | | | specific and are regulated by local governing bodies. |
| When you choose a domain name you will also | | | | Australian domain names, such as .com.au are |
| register an extension, for example .com, .org or, .gov. A | | | | governed by the Australian Domain Name |
| discussion of all possible domain name extensions is | | | | Administrator, (AUda) and cannot legally be traded in |
| beyond the scope of this article, however the most | | | | the same way as other domains. A .com.au name |
| commonly used ones are worth referring to. The | | | | may only be transferred when a business is sold. For |
| top-level domain name extension, .com, is usually the | | | | this reason, users cannot list a .com.au name or |
| most valuable because it is considered to be a | | | | website for sale on au. |
| "worldwide" commerce address and therefore | | | | Prior to purchasing any domain name, the buyer should |
| generates more traffic than a local name. With | | | | always check that the person selling the domain name |
| appropriate content a .com name is as applicable to | | | | is either an accredited registrar or the legal owner of |
| Australia as it is to the United States. The .org | | | | the domain name. To check legal ownership visit the |
| extension is intended for use by not for profit | | | | WHOIS database for international domain names, |
| organisations and the .gov name is for Government | | | | accessible from Entrepreneur Domains and the AUda |
| departments. | | | | WHOIS database for Australian domain names, which |
| There are cases when a country specific domain | | | | is accessible from the AUda website. |
| name is more valuable to the user than a .com name. | | | | Finally, before purchasing any domain, the user should |
| For example a pizza shop that wants to offer | | | | look at the date of registration by the current owner. If |
| deliveries Australia wide would be wise to purchase a | | | | the date of registration is less than 60 days old the |
| .com.au name, specifically intended for commercial use | | | | user should not buy the domain yet as it cannot be |
| in Australia. When a user searches a popular web | | | | legally transferred during that time. The user should |
| search engine such as Google or Yahoo, they may | | | | also ensure the domain is not ready to expire or they |
| select a box to display results only from Australia. In | | | | could be facing additional charges to renew the name. |
| this case the .com.au names would be displayed but | | | | This article is by no means an exhaustive discussion of |
| not the .com names. | | | | what to consider prior to purchasing a domain name. It |
| Domain name length and word count also contribute to | | | | does provide general guidelines to start trading |
| the value. Rule of thumb is single word domain names | | | | domains and websites. It is recommended that users |
| are worth more. Shorter is better. Like everything there | | | | seek further information from their accredited registrar |
| are exceptions to the rule. Consider the amount of | | | | or the regulatory bodies discussed above. |
| people that might look up a celebrity name after | | | | Although this article is written in good faith and is |
| viewing a news item. is likely to be as valuable as | | | | believed to be accurate, no such guarantee is made. |
| although the latter is shorter. | | | | No part of this article should be taken as specific |
| In most cases hyphens or numbers can be used as | | | | advice. |
| part of a registered name but these mostly decrease | | | | |