A domain that would qualify as premium in .com may not be premium under different extensions.
Just like grade inflation, the quality of what people are labeling a “premium domain” has been slipping in recent years.
That’s because anyone can call their domains premium.
This has resulted in a rush to the bottom with terms like “ultra premium”, “super premium”, and “platinum super duper premium magic” domains.
With new top level domains on the horizon, this will get even murkier.
Consultants and service providers are helping new TLD applicants determine which of their domains are “premium”. The problem is that a keyword by itself does not make a domain premium.
We can all agree that Mortgage.com is a premium domain. But is Mortgage.wtf a premium domain? No.
This isn’t a knock just on new TLDs. Mortgage.ws also would not qualify as a premium domain. Nothing in the .ws namespace is premium.
So what’s the definition of a premium domain? Is it based on monetary value? Is it relative to other domains in the same namespace?
Or is it just a marketing term we should all ignore?
Rick Schwartz says
“Or is it just a marketing term we should all ignore?”
I guess the closest parallel would be real estate. Look at the ads and listings. Almost EVERY property, especially condos from $75k to $75MM use the word “Luxury” in the ads or listings or wherever.
George Kirikos says
Trulia had an interesting keyword analysis on their blog a few months ago:
http://trends.truliablog.com/2013/02/real-estate-lab-listing-words/
Phrases in the most expensive properties included: “parlor floor”, “formal gardens”, “paneled library” and “magnificent estate”.
For the least expensive listings? “minimum commission applies”, “lead based paint notices”, “mold-like substance” and “defective paint”.
I wonder how many of the new gTLDs hucksters will be providing warnings to buyers of the “mold-like substance” and “defective paint” for their domains? 🙂
JP says
A premium domain is one which (regardles of it’s actual value) if priced at $1k BIN would have more buyers than you can count on your fingers and toes rushing to be the first one to click “Buy Now”. Thats premium.
Andrew Allemann says
@ JP – interesting idea. Might disagree with the dollar figure, but a good way to think about it.
Maikel Mendez says
There are good domain names and other trash, but .. what we call trash is very subjective, because the brand names are created with garbage, is a very discussed, domain names x TLD = value, but remember that there is a factor, the buyer, and that gives the true value, all else is subjective.
Sam Barnes says
As has already been said, in our experience it’s nearly impossible to define a ‘Premium’ domain.
It’s 110% subjective. If there’s no demand for a product, it’s not worth anything … even if it’s the very very best in the industry.
Same applies to Domains!
If nobody wants it, it’s not really premium!
James says
I think your final sentence is the closest to the truth, but I would propose that a “premium domain” label be assigned based on sales record rather than asking price. So a domain that has verifyably sold for some pre-determined minimum (in the $xxxx’s or xxxxx’s) be designated in the industry from then on as a “premium” name. I know some would grumble, but at least there’s a measureable standard, and a statement of past performance.
Additionally a domain without recent sale record could perhaps have a “professional” appraisal to fulfill the value requirement, but that would open a big can of worms, yes?
Brian Null says
if it needs to be marketed as “premium.” then it may not be 🙂
Mortgage.com speaks for itself
Domenclature.com says
A premium domain, is a domain name that is “ripen”, This could be anything, including brand-able words. All manner of subjectivity plays a role here, including the buyer as stated by Maikel Mendez.
A super-Premium Domain name was born with a silver spoon in its mouth, such as sex.com, numbers 1 to 100, and possibly to 1000, then the alphabets A to Z, most everyday nouns and verbs, most adjectives, the shorter the better, and so on. JP captures this group well by insisting that it will sell like hot cake if placed for sale at $1,000.
Then, there is the vicissitude of life, the unpredictable nature of the market, to take care of the rest. You just keep domaining, because you really never know. If you keep at it, you will learn the required lessons within a few years. 🙂
michael berkens says
Andrew
Premium domains are easy to see if you have the years of experience in the domain industry. Is mortgage.me a premium domain? not in my opinion, .Me for example is all about Verbs so the .Me domains I own include text.me. love.me. date.me, marry.me and one I sold recently move.me
Is move.tunes a premium domain, no
How many domains do we get mails for that owners are looking to sell for thousands even hundreds of thousands of dollars that isn’t worth the registration fee?
Lots of them.
How many people in the world can really put together an accurate list of premium domains? A handful and some of those are applicants.
Not every gTLD is going to have “Super Premium Domains ” the amount will vary greatly per string.
This is of course why I started RightoftheDot.com to consult with new gTLD registries and select Premium, Super Premium and Uber Premium domains for them and position them for sale. (yes a shameless plug)
Louise says
Of all people, you can inform as to your credentials, ONCE IN A WHILE! That what you just said is educational.
gaetano marano says
A: surely is a domain sold for million$ 🙂
Domenclature.com says
We could expand this discussion by looking at The SAI 50+: World’s Most Valuable Internet Startups. It all boils down to who is actually making money on the internet, eventually, businesses and people emulate success. Domainers can sit in their own bubble, deciding, arbitrarily what is valuable, whereas end-users witness a different dichotomy:
1. Facebook
2. Wikipedia
3. Betfair
4. NewEgg
5. Craigslist
6. Mozilla
7. Yandex
8. Webkinz (aka Ganz)
9. GoDaddy
10. Demand Media
see http://www.businessinsider.com/sai-50-2009?op=1#ixzz2bE4Rycll for the rest of the list.
Then of course you have the most innovative list: Google, tencent, Airbnb, dropbox, Gogo, Akamai, Zarly, Cloudflare, Pinterest, Badoo…
see http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2012/industry/webinternet
And then there’s the Inc500 top list at http://www.inc.com/ss/2011-inc-5000-top-10-internet-companies#2
So, at some point, we have decide what really constitute a great name for business, not just what we think in our niche, but in the real world. Who is using what name, and how successful are they at it. Are “domainer” premium domain names the same as the real world Premium domain names, and are premium domain names simply for Google ad sense revenue, or for business? Expert domainer, or Expert business names?
PremiumGeneric.com says
Would http://www.PremiumGeneric.com count as a Premium Generic domain?
Adam says
What about the ubiquitous “category killer” domain ?
Rob says
“Or is it just a marketing term we should all ignore?”
Yes. Just ignore it. It is simply a cunning marketing strategy (in most cases) to make an unwary buyer think they have to pay a high price for a domain that in reality very few if any other people want.
eg: buydomains – all “premium”. bah.
eg: sedo – many “premiums” with ZERO offers, ridiculous prices and been there for years.
JP says:
“A premium domain is one which (regardles of it’s actual value) if priced at $1k BIN would have more buyers than you can count on your fingers and toes rushing to be the first one to click “Buy Now”. Thats premium.”
I like it. But how many sellers will tell you that no-one else wants their domain even at $200?