Im confused by EMDs - can you help, please?

[Kay]

I know WHAT an exact match domain (EMD) is.

The problem is that I don't know HOW to quantify the number of exact matches for a domain. It's never bothered me before because I was using WT for keyword search (for buying and/or developing). Anyway, I buy a domain if I like it rather than because it's an EMD.

Now I'm thinking of selling some domains, but people keep discussing EMD figures and using them to help determine the value of a domain.

Anyway, if you search in EP, you'll see plenty of debate and discussion about whether EMDs are worth paying extra for. It all makes me think of PR and how pointless that is, and Alexa, which IMO is rubbish.

But the potential buyers are nearly always asking for number of exact matches, PR, and Alexa rank.

Edit - my original final sentence didn't make sense so I've removed it.

Meanwhile, I think I'm a step forward now I've refound the AdWords Traffic Estimator tool.

[Kay]

Do'h! Talk about being stupid. Having spent the afternoon on various wild goose chases, I pretty much got back to the same place that JJMcClure told me about the other day.

Maybe I should delete the thread - unless anyone thinks there's anything more to say on the subject.

[Clinton]

But the potential buyers are nearly always asking for number of exact matches, PR, and Alexa rank.

The buyer is king. It doesn't matter what you feel about Alexa or PR or what the facts are about Alexa, PR or EMD. If that's what they want, then that's what they want - give it to them

[Kay]

Yeah, good point about the buyer being king.

I think I've sussed out the exact matches thing now and had a play about with it. I must admit I was quite surprised to see the low exact match numbers for some of my sites that get decent traffic. (By "decent" I mean relatively speaking.) I have sites doing reasonably well, but if EMD had been a criterion of my purchasing decision, I'd probably never had bought the domain. Oh well, it's a good thing that we're not all the same. As far as I'm concerned, I'll leave the EMD purchases for people with more money than me and concentrate on building traffic in other ways.

[KenW3]

I just read that other thread where you stated prior use of WordTracker, and it was suggested the G Adwords Keyword Tool (GAKT) would be helpful. For people requesting EMD numbers from you as a domain seller, that means they do not understand them, nor how to get the numbers. I would recommend, for selling, you provide a link to Estibot.com (or Valuate.com (same back end)) and use their numbers.

For researching keywords to use to rank in search engines, GAKT is great. (I am also a Market Samurai user.) For determining number of searches for keywords to answer a potential buyer's question, GAKT is not accurate. That number only represents one single search engine.

G changed their keyword reporting numbers last year to reflect exact searches through their site only. Prior to September 2010, they included all results from every site that was a G search partner. (That number was still only G, but reported searches used to be higher due to inclusion of partners.) That resulted in a substantial decrease in the exact match numbers reported on the GAKT, but made the new numbers more useful to G advertisers. Now they match the G Adwords Traffic Estimator (GATE) for SERP advertisers to determine costs.

[Kay]

Thanks, Ken.

It's not so much buyers asking me as in individual, it's more because of WTB domain ads. They specify what type of domain they're after and often include that it must have x exact matches. I guess they're just trying to filter out some of the time wasters. Even so, I don't really see the point of it but, as Clinton says, give them what they want.