Our method
How we value domains and websites
The same rules we use when we buy for ourselves. Facts first, price from real sales.
Domains, step 1
First, the disqualifiers
The same filter we run on every auction before we spend a dollar. One fail and we pass, whatever the metrics say.
Subdomain-style names
Names like shop.brand.co inherit the parent’s metrics, not their own.
Hyphens and numbers
Harder to say, spell and remember. They cut resale demand sharply.
Trademark, adult or gambling terms
Legal risk for the buyer and a red flag for search engines.
Spam or takeover history
Gambling, pharma or foreign-language takeover pages in the Wayback archive.
Mostly non-English history
If under 80% of archived pages were in English, the backlinks rarely fit an English buyer.
Blacklisted
Listed on a spam blacklist. Hard to undo, so we pass.
Domains, step 2
Then the Domain Score, out of 100
Our own metric, instead of a single third-party number. Seven factors, weighted by how much they move real resale prices.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Top links | 25 | How strong the best sites linking in are. A few links from major publications (authority 70+ on a 100 scale) outweigh hundreds of small ones. |
| Link profile | 15 | How many unique sites link in (full marks at 1,000) and how clean those links are. |
| Age | 15 | Years of real use in the Wayback archive, or since registration. Full marks at 15 years. |
| Name & extension | 15 | .com first, then .ai, .io, .net and .org. Shorter is better. |
| Brandability | 10 | Easy to say, spell and remember. Real words or a clean invented name. |
| Keyword match | 10 | Exact match (EMD) or partial match (PMD) to a phrase people search for and advertisers pay for. |
| Hot niche | 10 | Sits in a niche buyers are paying up for: AI, SaaS & cloud, Cybersecurity, Fintech & payments, Insurance, Legal, Health & medical, Real estate. and more. |
No single number decides it. A domain with one strong authority metric but no major links, a short history or a hard-to-say name scores lower than that metric suggests. Any disqualifier from step 1 caps the score at 25. The free domain value checker shows a preview score from the name, age and niche; the link factors unlock with the full check.
85 and up
Exceptional
70 and up
Strong
55 and up
Good
40 and up
Fair
Under 40
Weak
Domains, step 3
Price comes from real sales, never a formula
The score tells us whether a domain is worth owning. It never becomes a price on its own. For price we match it against our database of real, dated closed sales of similar names (same extension, length, word count and niche, and a similar Domain Score), then adjust for how this name scores against them. We also weigh reported sales (NameBio and the major marketplaces), who the likely buyer is (an end user building a brand pays more than an investor), and the search demand and advertiser CPC behind the words.
That’s why our domain value checker shows the facts and the checks instantly but no automated price. Automated appraisals miss history, backlinks and trademark risk, and real sales often land far from them. For a number you can act on, get a free human appraisal.
Websites and online businesses
Six steps from profit to price
The same engine behind our free calculators and every private estimate we send.
1. Earnings (SDE)
Seller’s discretionary earnings: profit plus one owner’s pay. Larger, management-run companies use adjusted EBITDA; larger SaaS uses ARR.
2. The right band
Each business model has its own quick-sale, market and premium multiple band. See the full table.
3. Quality score
A 0–100 score places the business inside its band, from the bottom of quick-sale to premium.
4. Comparable sales
We blend in the multiples of real closed sales in the same category and size range. The more recent comparables we have, the more they count.
5. Confidence
Seller-reported numbers widen the range by 15% until we verify them.
6. Asking price
We suggest an asking price inside the supported range. Asking up to 10% above it needs an explanation, 10–25% needs evidence and review, and over 25% we ask the seller to reprice.
What the quality score weighs
- Earnings quality (15)
- Growth quality (10)
- Recurring revenue (10)
- Diversification (10)
- Transferability (10)
- Owner independence (10)
- Traffic durability (10)
- Age and track record (5)
- Documentation (5)
- Defensibility (5)
- Platform and legal risk (5)
- Buyer demand (5)
Where the score places you
- Under 40: bottom of the quick-sale band
- 40–54: quick-sale band
- 55–69: lower half of the market band
- 70–84: upper half of the market band
- 85–94: premium band, with evidence and a manual review
- 95+: strategic review by a human
Benchmark version 2026-09-v1. See every multiple.
What we verify before a number goes public
- Traffic: read-only Google Analytics 4 and Search Console access, not screenshots.
- Revenue: payment processor, affiliate and ad-network exports.
- History: the Wayback archive, backlink profile and anchor text.
- Ownership and risk: registrar control, trademark search and platform standing.
Every listing shows which figures are verified and where they came from. How a sale works · Our fees
Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
How do you value a domain name?
In three steps. First we rule out domains with disqualifiers like hyphens, numbers, trademark terms or a spam history. Then we score the rest out of 100 on authority, referring domains, trust, age and the name itself. Finally we price it from comparable sales and who the likely buyer is.
Why don’t you show an instant domain price?
Because automated prices miss what decides real sales: history, backlink quality, trademark risk and the buyer. We show the facts instantly and give you a human appraisal for free.
What is the Domain Score?
Our own 0–100 rating of a domain: the strength of its top links (25%), its link profile, age, name, brandability, keyword match and niche. It replaces single third-party metrics, which are easy to inflate.
Does a single authority metric make a domain valuable?
Not on its own. A high number with few referring domains, no major links or a spammy past scores much lower in our Domain Score.
How do you value a website or online business?
We multiply seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE) by a multiple from the band for its business model, placed inside that band by a 0–100 quality score, then widen the range until the numbers are verified.
How often do you update the benchmarks?
They are versioned (currently 2026-09-v1) and reviewed as completed-sale data comes in.