Cleaning up a Domain portfolio ? Ask yourself before you decide to renew a domain.

Cleaning up a portfolio is a task few domainers look forward to. After all, it’s not easy  to let go of a domain. But as internet marketing expert Paul Forcey points out, a lot of domains cost a lot more to keep than what they give back. Renewal fees aren’t exactly cheap either, so. When you start getting those renewal notices, don’t just go clicking away — take some time to decide whether each domain is worth keeping.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before you decide to renew a domain.

Is it making money?

It costs real dollars to keep a domain, so it’s only worth it if it’s bringing in real dollars as well. If it doesn’t cover the registration fee and monthly fees, drop it — it’s not likely to start making money anytime soon. Choose the domains that make the most money as parked; these are usually the biggest (and easiest) profits.

Any good traffic?
 
Traffic is the main indicator of a website’s earning potential. But the operative word here is “good”. Traffic alone won’t bring in the bucks; targeted traffic will. So perhaps a more specific question to ask is:

Is there any traffic from your target demographic?

Of course, if it makes a fair bit of money parked, chances are it’ll make pretty decent money once you develop it.

Does it rank in the Big 3?

How many of the domain’s pages are indexed in the three major search engines(Google, MSN, Yahoo)? Having pages indexed in major search engines is valuable, so you’ll want to hold on to your well-ranked domains. Note that the supplemental results that come out in Google don’t count for much, so try to avoid that placement. Keep your inbound links up and make sure you’re not duplicating (or being duplicated).

 Is it still credible?

A domain may have been popular when you first bought it, but search engine standards don’t stay the same forever. For instance, .info domains are no longer very profitable as they’ve become synonymous to spam sites. Lesser-known extensions such as .biz seem to be heading in the same direction. If the site has gone supplemental on Google, renewing is much less likely to pay off.

What potential does it have?

How do you plan on earning off the domain? If all you have is a gut feeling that it’ll earn, try to find something more concrete. Click revenues are usually your best bet. If you’re relying on long-term ROI, make sure it’ll cover subsequent renewal costs.

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