How Much Is Your Domain Portfolio Worth?

Most readers of this blog have, at some time or the other, indulged in a bit of domain speculation. And what better way to pass the time on a warm summer afternoon than speculating on the value of our portfolios and the riches awaiting us on disposal?

But how do you value a domain?

With physical assets such as houses, sale prices of neighboring properties provide a reasonable guide. With other asset classes such as gold and shares, very definite markets exist within which prices are constantly fluctuating. With intangibles like domains and websites however, it's a little trickier. The old adage that it's worth only what someone is willing to pay for it is all very true but ... it doesn't help you put a figure to the online property.

That's where the various online valuation services come into play. There are paid ones, yes, but there are also a lot of free services. So you just head on over to one of those and have each individual domain in your portfolio valued at the speed of your average broadband, right? Wrong!

A detailed valuation report at SitePoint explains just how these services demonstrate the art of being free and still being a con.

Quite simply, nobody can put an accurate value to a domain or website as the price one buyer is willing to pay for it could differ quite considerably from what another would. The best way to test the market is in a competitive auction. Even that isn't 100% efficient as the auction is viewed only by a small selection of buyers. There is one site that monitors sale prices and tries to predict value based on what sites similar to yours have sold for. That's your best bet for getting a close enough picture. For further reading, try this site that provides a lot of useful information on buying and selling websites and domains.

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I Really Like Class Action Settlement Checks

Don't you just love it when you get a nice (I define nice as more than $100) and unexpected class action settlement check in the mail? Happens to me every once in a while. Got one the other day. $123.80. Not huge, but during a deep recession like the one we're in now, every dollar has significant value.

The reason for the restitution payment: The web hosting company Alabanza moved their datacenter to a new location, which resulted in significant interruptions for web hosting clients. For more on this particular class action suit, visit www.alabanzamigrationsettlement.com.

I was an Alabanza reseller for many years, via LinuxWebHost.com. The service was OK, but the uptime was disappointing. Eventually, I had developed so many websites that it made sense for me to get my own dedicated server, and that's what I did. I actually use two dedicated servers now: one that hosts my not-so-critical sites, and another with GoDaddy.

I've been impressed with the GoDaddy server. Uptime is excellent, and I really like using the Plesk control panel. I pay a little over $300 per month, and that includes daily backups, access to 24/7 phone support -- which is excellent -- and all kinds of extras like server monitoring, security services, emergency services and patching services. It's very reassuring when you know that you can call up support at 3:00am and there'll be a highly qualified, knowledgeable and patient support professional on the other end who's ready to stay on the phone with you until the problem is solve (I use VOIP to for long distance calls, so I don't worry about long-distance toll charges.) There have been times when an issue couldn't be fixed right away, but whenever they've had to escalate one of my support tickets to a higher level, they've always fixed the problem within 24 hours. They've never dropped the ball, and that means a whole lot when you make your living with websites.

For more about Dedicated Servers at GoDaddy.com, visit www.GoDaddy.com .

News - July 9, 2009: Just found a coupon code for GoDaddy dedicated servers. Use coupon code fbServer15 to get 15% off your dedicated or virtual dedicated server order. This coupon expires on July 23, 2009. Enjoy!

News - July 19, 2009: GoDaddy just release a new code for dedicated servers. The new code is fbfServ15; gets you 15% off your dedicated or virtual dedicated server order. Expires on August 2, 2009. Enjoy!

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