I've been looking at LLLL.com for quite some time time. But there's still a few things that I don't get that determines the value of these domains. I know they are affected by vowels and like prounounciablity and also search engine search results. And those other little things such as traffic, dictionary word or like PR. But I also always hear people say 2 premium letters or No bad letters. I guess some of the bad letters are obvious. But what is a good letter and what is a bad later. Which letters are considered to be premium letters? So any domain expert care to share?
There is some disagreement in domaining forums regarding this question, so to stay out of a potential argument here I'll just quote an acknowledged expert on the subject - the author of the widely read 3character.com price guide: "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T are considered premium letters. Other lesser high quality letters include: J, K, U, V, W. Lower quality letters include: Q, X, Y, Z." Again, this is not necessarily my own opinion but thought I'd quote it here to help start a good discussion.
Hi, Osensei, could you plz point me to some more detailed talking about which letters are premium and why? I thought V (virtual) is good. Thanks
NamePros.com there was a very good discussion on this very subject, indepth, about 3-4 weeks ago. Someone here hopefully can point you in the direction of the thread there concerned. Mark Magawr
Too lazy to look up the Namepros thread, even though I was in it. You can find it by the NP search on the top right of the page. The reason some letters are "better" (called letter quality) is acronymns - a common reason for end user purchase of a four letter domain is because the letters match the first letters of the name of the company: One Big Freaking Company might like the domain OBFC.com. But not all letters have the same demand. Leaving aside the position of the letters, which is a topic for experts, experience has shown that some letters are used more often than others. Most LLLL.com domainers have their own idea which letters are better, and there is a lot of disagreement. Here is my list, based mainly on the order that the LLLL.coms sold out. The better letters are to the left and top: Top Tier: S,A,C High Premiums: T,M,B,P,D,E,N Low Premiums: R,I,O,L,G,F,H Non-Premiums: K,W,U,J,V,Y Bottom Tier: Z,X,Q Again, there are a lot of opinions on this, and I change my mind on it also, but this will give you an idea. Dictionary words are valued by the word regardless of letters - unless the letter value outweighs the word, and letter quality in pronouncables also matters little.
Thank you for the info. Let's say, if we are planning to start a LDocument.com, where L is some letter. We will develop it other than sell the domain, so we want it easy to remember. We have BCDHJKLMNOQRSVWY available, what's your suggestion? go with C and S? Thanks
Letter quality is mainly for short domains that get attention as acronymns. Letter quality makes little difference in something like (L)Document.com, so I see no real advantage to C or S. Since you are planning to develop then you want the most easily brandable - a short-cut word for memorable, easy to type without errors, and would look good in advertising. I would cross off O because of confusion with Zero, L and I because of confusion with the number one. Also probably D would not be good because of duplication - people might think it was an error. A would be cool because so many directories list in alphabetical order, you say A is not available so B or C have an advantage there. If there is a geographical region that you will be doing business in then perhaps that would be a good choice - either the first letter or the whole name - do not be too worried about length, short is good, but memorable is better.