How to Gauge Domain Name Demand

There are several ways to go about checking demand potential for a domain name.   I myself like to use a combination of sites to gauge demand for keyword(s) by end-users and by advertisers.  This will allow you to find domain names that are in demand and have the potential for generating advertising revenue.

So what do I use?

Domaining Tools

1. Google AdWords: Traffic Estimator
   As many of you know, I will frequently post a list of deleting domains for a particular day.  On that list I put information such as volume (VOL), average cost per click (ACPC), maximum cost per click (MCPC), and clicks per day (CPD).  Each of these numbers come from Google’s Traffic Estimator.
2. Overture
   This used to be number one, but due to its frequent unavailability and its insistence on being stuck in January 2007, I have scaled back on its use.  With that said, it is always nice to validate a hunch with Overture.
3. Google Trends
   This is a great way to check the cyclicality of a potential domain.  It will also bring you back down to earth when there is not enough data to provide you with a trend line.
4. Wordtracker
   When you are checking drops quickly, it can be easy to forget Wordtracker.  First of all, Wordtracker is not free.  Even when you do have access to the tool it will only provide data with a 24-hour window.  So you must take that point in time snapshot and hope/figure that demand will hold steady over the next 30 days.  This is a problem with keywords that are cyclical in nature.  Like Overture, Wordtracker is just a nice way to check on a hunch.
5. Google SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages)
   You should always run a quick Google search on a potential keyword.  This will show you the advertisers that are fighting for eyeballs.  Remember that you want to see advertisers across the top of the results, advertisers down the right-hand column of results, and “More Sponsored Links” at the bottom of the right-hand column.  This shows that advertisers are hungry for your keyword(s).  One additional item to check is the total number of results returned.  If you keyword search only returns 100,000 pages, then you probably don’t have a good keyword.  Look for terms that return millions of results.Take a look at the screen shot below for an example of a good Google search results page.  You can click the link to see the image in its full size.
   

 I hope this list has proved helpful to everyone.  I know there are other useful tools out there, so what do the rest of you use?

Jay over at the DomainTools Blog has notified their readers today that they have launched RegistrantSearch.com.  This new tool allows users to search for domain names based on a specific registrant name.  This is a very handy little tool and should provide users with some interesting information that would otherwise take a significant amount of time to gather.