Overture Keyword Selector - Utility in selecting domains?

Webwork (Me) Sez: "Give it up for the noob. Share some domain picking secrets!"

[acersun]

I am a total newbie to the domain market.

To make a long question short:

-How to assess if a particular's keyword / keyword combination count is significant in terms of the potential traffic the site can draw when performing well in the serps? What is a forget it count and when does it start to be interesting? Of course this interpretation depends on which level of the game one operates. What for some big shots might be not worthwile to consider, can bring still some decent revenue.

- Is there a rule of thumb how do extrapolite the Overture count to searches on Google and MSN?

I ask these questions from the point of view of finding keyword domain names who have a potential.

Maybe I also asked the complete wrong questions, newbie that I am.

I appreciate any hints and information very much.

Thank you.

Tom

[Webwork]

Rules of thumb? No. Takes a very large dataset - VERY large - to really determine if there's a pattern and them's with the data are not sharing it (for reasons of competitive advantage).

Remember that the Overture KW search tool is only a small window to the search volume. If Overture shows a search frequency of 1000/month you can assume the real numbers, across all forms of search, can easily be 1000 x 1000.

Overture+extension? Again, it's multiples. Many times over.

Keyword+Keyword? You want to check Google for "Keyword Keyword" and variations thereof. For exact matches it's nice to see the phrase in the ###,### range and up. Find a nice unregistered KW+KW phrase that's in the ##,###,### range - one with some commmercial legs (PPC value) - and you might want to risk your $7.99. :)

There's an element of risk and capacity to absorb the downside of investment.

There's more to the story of how to pick 'em. I'm certain others will pitch in just a little. ESPECIALLY thems that already have enough to keep themselves busy or pay a few bills . . so give it up for the noob fellas and gals. :-P

[edited by: Webwork at 2:22 pm (utc) on Feb. 22, 2006]

[acersun]

Webworks,

Thank you very much for the information and hints which are very helpful.

Tom

[ska_demon]

I would say keep the number of words in the domain to 2 maximum.

ie keyword1keyword2 or keyword1-keyword2

From my memories of past posts it is no longer beneficial to own keyword stuffed domains and I believe they are now being penalised. There was a time a while ago when getting all your words in the domain would almost guarantee high traffic but those times are past and gone.

Ska

[acersun]

Thanks ska.

This is VERY interesting information for me.

From a Domainer point of view, would this mean that the days of high prices paid for generic domains are gone, unless its a generic term with direct navigation traffic?

[ska_demon]

By direct navigation traffic I imagine you mean 'type in' domains. Certainly you could pay a lot for a generic domain if it can prove to be profitable. For example, does the site get relevant traffic?

A UK generic domain was for sale a couple of months ago for £100,000. If you could monetise the traffic that the site gets I suppose you could make that back pretty quick. Generic domains are good because they benefit from higher rankings in the SE's and also from people 'guessing' the domain and typing it straight into the address bar. (type ins)

I would personally look for 2 word, previously unregistered 'generic' domains because they are cheap. I have yet to purchase a previously registered domain so I am unable to comment on performance. There have been discussions on this before and I know people here DO buy high priced domains and make them successful.

Ska