What’s a .com domain name worth?

Buying a domain is a funny old business. 

At one end of the scale you can buy a .com domain from GoDaddy, or wherever, for about $15. And if you find that your perfect .com domain is available, this is clearly a no-brainer.

At the other end, there are a handful of super-premium domains (usually dictionary words) that can sell for $1m and beyond – like Holiday.com or Sports.com - names that were originally secured, in the mid-1990s, for next to nothing.

Somewhere in the middle you’ll find sites that sell domain names for a few hundred or a few thousand pounds. But even this can seem a lot of money when, in theory, you can buy one for just a few dollars.. 

So how can a domain name be worth, say, $3,000 to a small business? 

Here’s why:

Today, a business name and domain name are the same thing – a domain cannot be an afterthought

• A strong .com domain provides strong foundations for building a brand
• You’ll own a domain for the lifetime of the business, so the 'cost per year' is modest
• If you can own the perfect .com of a business name, it means that name is rare, possibly even unique
• It adds value to your brand (which can be appealing to a potential buyer or investor)
• A perfect .com business domain signals authority and gravitas; serious businesses always own the .com
• It’s future proof - if your business expands geographically, a .com is universal
• It makes your business easier to find online - search engines like unique names
• A short domain is easier for people to remember – and makes your email address shorter too
• The ongoing cost of renewing a .com domain is less than $20 per year – and you can renew it indefinitely
• When compared to advertising or other forms of marketing, the investment is very modest 

A .com is a business investment