What we can learn after nearly 2 years of keyword chart releases?

When I joined GoDaddy in December 2022, one of the first things we looked at was to support domain investors with valuable insights. To help achieve this, we started sharing monthly keyword data from Afternic in early 2023.

Since then, we’ve consistently released 1-2 charts each month highlighting the most popular keywords in domain name sales at Afternic, the leading domain marketplace.

This initiative provides a fresh perspective on the keywords buyers are actively purchasing. Here’s what I’ve learned from nearly two years of sharing this data with the community.

Consistently Popular Keywords

Over the past 20 months of Afternic’s keyword charts, some keywords have consistently stood out. In the unfiltered chart, which includes all keywords—even “filler” ones—”the” has consistently topped the list.

This reflects “the”’s popularity, especially as a domain prefix. For instance, NameBio, a well-known domain sales database, has recorded over 23,000 sales with “the” at the beginning—though this doesn’t include Afternic data.

Another recurring favorite is “my.” Often used as a prefix when the preferred domain isn’t available, “my” ranks high in our filtered charts. Companies like Hippo (myhippo.com), Percent (mypercent.com), and Punchbowl (mypunchbowl.com) initially launched with “my” domains before later upgrading, proving the commercial usage of the prefix.

Some keywords consistently show up in our charts.

Above is an indication of the most popular keywords over time, combining all filtered keyword lists we’ve produced from March 2023 to August 2024. Factoring in both the number of occurrences and the average ranking, here are the top ten keywords from our combined lists:

1. My
2. Ai
3. Group
4. Home
5. Bet
6. Health
7. It
8. Solutions
9. Tech
10. Pro

Noticing Emerging Trends

Our keyword charts have tracked the rising popularity of “AI” domain names. In our first chart from February 2023, “AI” ranked eleventh and has since become a top keyword as AI technology continues to grow.

Related keywords, including “gpt” have also shown up, supporting the general popularity of the AI trend.

Similarly, “X” began appearing in the unfiltered list from June 2023, aligning with Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter to X, using the x.com domain.

Following our monthly charts over time can be a useful way to understand emerging trends.

Keywords That Come and Go

There are some keywords that have made just one or two appearances on the chart. “Florida”, for example, made an appearance in our March 2024 chart, but doesn’t rank consistently among the top keywords.

Keywords that appear once or twice, such as “blue,” may indicate a small number of buyers purchasing multiple domain names containing that keyword, potentially skewing the chart data.

Accessing Past Charts

Every month, we share top keyword charts through our X profile, but if you missed a month, you can head to our archives to take a look through all of the keyword charts that we have produced to date.

Utilizing the Data

These charts provide insights into frequently appearing keywords in Afternic’s domain sales. How can this benefit you? They can guide your decisions in buying, selling, and renewing domain names. Knowing what sells can help you target specific keywords to search for on platforms like GoDaddy Auctions, popular among domain investors.

Stay updated by following us on X @Afternic to be the first to see our monthly keyword charts!