✅ How Do You Know If You Found a Good Domain? A Seven-Point Check
Excitement is not evidence. Seven checks, each with a pass/fail, that separate a name you should register from a name you will renew for five years and quietly drop.
The seven checks
- You can name the buyer. Not 'a startup' — a kind of company, and the reason this name is right for them. Fail: you like the sound of it.
- The valuation agrees. Retail estimate over $500 and grade C or better on the free valuation. Fail: you are sure the tool is wrong (rate it with 'Think we're off?' and move on).
- The word is rising or stable. Trend signal at or above 1.0. Fail: interest is falling — you are buying last year's name.
- Other extensions are taken. At least two of .net/.org/.io/.ai/.co registered for the same word. Fail: all five open — nobody has wanted the word yet.
- No live trademark on the exact term in the buyer's industry (why this one is fatal).
- It passes the radio test: said once aloud, a stranger types it correctly. Fail: needs spelling out.
- You would hold it three years without resenting the renewal. Fail: you are already planning to flip it next month.
Scoring
Seven of seven: register it now. Five or six: register it if the misses are 3 or 7. Fewer: it is a name you found, not a good name. The Dumpster Dive shows the valuation, trend and saturation on the result itself for Pro members, so most of this check is one glance.
The tell
A good name makes you want to check whether it is really available before you finish reading this. A mediocre one makes you want to explain why it is good.
Questions
What is a good domain name?
One with a nameable buyer, a valuation over a few hundred dollars, a rising keyword, other extensions already taken, no trademark conflict, a pass on the radio test, and a renewal you would carry for years.
How can I check if a domain is worth registering?
Run it through a free valuation that shows the range, the trend and TLD saturation, then apply the seven checks. Register only what passes.
What is the radio test for domains?
Say the name aloud once to someone and see if they can type it correctly. Names that need spelling out lose type-in traffic and word-of-mouth.
Put it to work
Value any name free, find what is still available, list at 5% commission, and park where the wait earns credits.