At Godaddy.com on a large number of it’s expired domain auctions, Godaddy offers what they call a "Valuation" of a specific domain name that is up for auction.

So how does Godaddy come up with this valuation number?

Godaddy states that:

The valuation is based on the approximate traffic revenue expected for the domain.

I think the keywords one should pay attention to in that statement are: Approximate and Expected. Secondly, is the revenue what Godaddy get’s or what it passes down to it’s Godaddy Parking members?

Since the "Valuation" is based on the "Estimated Traffic" and the approximate and expected revenue…..

how much can you trust the "Estimated Traffic" number? Godaddy clearly states that:

The traffic data is provided AS IS and is for informational purposes only. The traffic data reflects internally calculated data and does not represent a guarantee of continued traffic in any way.

Now if you REALLY consider this estimated traffic number as, AS IS and Information Purposes Only , those numbers really should not be a deciding factor in your purchase or reflect the "approximate expected revenue".

IMO, it’s like saying that EVERY domain name you own "could" sell for $1 Million Each! Each could, but most likely will not.

I have purchased domains in the past that showed a specific number for Estimated Traffic and the traffic (if any) was no where even close to what the number stated. I have heard others state the same. I have also had it go the other way… no number stated and the domain got a good deal of traffic. IMO, you should consider this "Estimate Traffic" and "Valuation" number as Zero.

Don’t get me wrong, some of them will get some traffic and some have value, but I often question the quality of that traffic and greatly the valuation given. Clearly, A LOT of people like to see these two numbers and are bidding on them likely because of those numbers! Is it just because of the numbers provided? I would say most.

Currently, out of the top 100 expired domain names with a Valuation Number, 99 of them have at least 1 bid. 99 OF 100! The one domain without a bid is a 3 word .cc domain.

The mass majority of these domains with bids, I would not even consider buying with your money, let alone my own. The majority make little to no sense and would be hard to sell to nearly anybody. If these domain do not get any traffic, or good traffic I should say… you are very likely never going to see the money spent come back. Never.

What really should matter is the Quality of the domain name by itself! If the domain is that good, it should get some traffic numbers provided by Godaddy or Not. Simply basing your purchase on Information Purposes Only Data is not a wise choice.

Use caution if you are currently making domain name purchased based on numbers provided with out any Hard Evidence to back them up. Even if evidence is provided, you still have to really trust the source you are getting the numbers from and further back up the number using other tactics to guage traffic to a domain.