.EU growth in Eastern Europe

Gerrit · 11-29-2008, 03:05 PM

Having been in Eastern Europe for the last few months now I notice how .eu is, although not a very steady or rapid rise, on the rise here. I remember a while ago I mentionned that .eu would have a brighter future than some predicted, especially with former East Bloc countries that feel some pride in their new status as EU member with ready access to the "western" world they were cut off from before the Iron Curtain fell.

Now having been in Eastern Europe the last few months, while the .com and the local domains are still prefered (especially .cz, .sk and .pl seem to be very much used in their own countries where they by far outnumber the local sites using .com even) I do notice advertisements regularly using .eu as domain. Including several companies, not just more casual sites made by clubs or persons. Of course it is not a very steady rise, I mainly see .cz and .pl used in advertisements (they are much more popular than .com even so it will take a while before any other extention comes close) but .eu is being used quite actively here.

People who have invested in .eu domains but think this was a wrong choice, or those who have a bleak view of the future of the extention, may consider looking at potential buyers in the new EU member states in Eastern Europe. .eu will not rapidly take over from the local ccTLDs, but it grows in use for sure. Many people also feel proud that they are now part of the EU and that they broke with their communist past, many multinationals now open branches here or relocate some operations from "western European" countries to cities such as Prague, Brno and Bratislava. Some of those companies have now been advertising here in the streets using the .eu extention.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/cctld-discussion/537961-eu-growth-in-eastern-europe.html

So without wanting to say .eu is steady rising, the future may not be as bleak as some of you think and especially the former East Bloc countries may be a good market for this extention. Companies here do want to reach out to the western european market but especially when the .com is taken and knowing the local ccTLD will not work in other EU countries, they do seem to see a valid alternative in .eu. The countries generally feel very well about their EU status compared to their old status prior to the fall of communism, this renewed European feeling may also contribute to the further rise of .eu popularity.

So just a little advise to those who have some .eu's they fear they cannot sell: try Eastern Europe. The extention may not be extremely popular but it definitely is not uncommon here, and I somewhat expect further growth if the EU further expends (Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Turkey, ... ??)

ssamriga · 11-30-2008, 04:03 AM

I agree, just recently I was asked by a friend of mine (who had a friend who has a company in Eastern Europe) to register an .eu name for their main business website.
Local cctlds are of course many many times more popular than any other extensions but the average user/business owner does not know that ".com is the king" they see .eu to be as good as .com mostly and if they are planning on doing business only in Europe than many would choose .eu over .com even if both were free to register...

vitalir · 11-30-2008, 09:36 AM

Good to hear.
I was talking to australian entrepreneurs doing business in the uk and to my great surprise not only did they knew about .eu but they bought a .eu domain for their brand. In their opinion .eu is quite a useful extension when your business spans europe but obviously you don't want to buy 27 domains one for each country. More than reasonable if you ask me. Good news indeed.

Phil · 11-30-2008, 10:51 AM

After seeing this thread I was curious as to how .EU sites ranked on Alexa.
The highest ranking site is #1169 and there are 13 sites in the top 10 000.
That isn't bad considering the highest .ASIA is 66 720 and for .MOBI it's
7714 with only 2 in the top 20 000. Looks like .EU is settling in nicely for
the long run.

Compassion · 11-30-2008, 11:04 AM

Thanks for sharing your insight and experiences..

Who knows, someday they may be a North America tld !

mvl · 11-30-2008, 01:50 PM

.eu is for the holders, not for the flippers.

p.s. if you want to unload your one word generic .eu or LLL.eu domains for resellerprices please send me a PM

11-29-2008, 03:05 PM	THREAD STARTER #1 (permalink)
Gerrit NamePros Regular Join Date: May 2006 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 968	.EU growth in Eastern Europe Having been in Eastern Europe for the last few months now I notice how .eu is, although not a very steady or rapid rise, on the rise here. I remember a while ago I mentionned that .eu would have a brighter future than some predicted, especially with former East Bloc countries that feel some pride in their new status as EU member with ready access to the "western" world they were cut off from before the Iron Curtain fell. Now having been in Eastern Europe the last few months, while the .com and the local domains are still prefered (especially .cz, .sk and .pl seem to be very much used in their own countries where they by far outnumber the local sites using .com even) I do notice advertisements regularly using .eu as domain. Including several companies, not just more casual sites made by clubs or persons. Of course it is not a very steady rise, I mainly see .cz and .pl used in advertisements (they are much more popular than .com even so it will take a while before any other extention comes close) but .eu is being used quite actively here. People who have invested in .eu domains but think this was a wrong choice, or those who have a bleak view of the future of the extention, may consider looking at potential buyers in the new EU member states in Eastern Europe. .eu will not rapidly take over from the local ccTLDs, but it grows in use for sure. Many people also feel proud that they are now part of the EU and that they broke with their communist past, many multinationals now open branches here or relocate some operations from "western European" countries to cities such as Prague, Brno and Bratislava. Some of those companies have now been advertising here in the streets using the .eu extention. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/cctld-discussion/537961-eu-growth-in-eastern-europe.html So without wanting to say .eu is steady rising, the future may not be as bleak as some of you think and especially the former East Bloc countries may be a good market for this extention. Companies here do want to reach out to the western european market but especially when the .com is taken and knowing the local ccTLD will not work in other EU countries, they do seem to see a valid alternative in .eu. The countries generally feel very well about their EU status compared to their old status prior to the fall of communism, this renewed European feeling may also contribute to the further rise of .eu popularity. So just a little advise to those who have some .eu's they fear they cannot sell: try Eastern Europe. The extention may not be extremely popular but it definitely is not uncommon here, and I somewhat expect further growth if the EU further expends (Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Turkey, ... ??)

11-30-2008, 04:03 AM	#2 (permalink)
ssamriga Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: EU Posts: 1,846	I agree, just recently I was asked by a friend of mine (who had a friend who has a company in Eastern Europe) to register an .eu name for their main business website. Local cctlds are of course many many times more popular than any other extensions but the average user/business owner does not know that ".com is the king" they see .eu to be as good as .com mostly and if they are planning on doing business only in Europe than many would choose .eu over .com even if both were free to register... __________________ SnowyRange.com 16 years old PR3 GEO name with traffic My domains for sale: DNFit.com - Domain Names that Fit Your Business

11-30-2008, 10:51 AM	#4 (permalink)
Phil NamePros Regular Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 919	After seeing this thread I was curious as to how .EU sites ranked on Alexa. The highest ranking site is #1169 and there are 13 sites in the top 10 000. That isn't bad considering the highest .ASIA is 66 720 and for .MOBI it's 7714 with only 2 in the top 20 000. Looks like .EU is settling in nicely for the long run. __________________ :)

11-30-2008, 01:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
mvl fka: leonardo Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 712	.eu is for the holders, not for the flippers. p.s. if you want to unload your one word generic .eu or LLL.eu domains for resellerprices please send me a PM __________________ http://sxt.nl/ ForeignPropertyForSale.com SATAN.EU VOI.EU http://HealthyDishes.com

11-30-2008, 09:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
vitalir NamePros Regular Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 399	Good to hear. I was talking to australian entrepreneurs doing business in the uk and to my great surprise not only did they knew about .eu but they bought a .eu domain for their brand. In their opinion .eu is quite a useful extension when your business spans europe but obviously you don't want to buy 27 domains one for each country. More than reasonable if you ask me. Good news indeed.

11-30-2008, 11:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
Compassion Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: California Posts: 2,034	Thanks for sharing your insight and experiences.. Who knows, someday they may be a North America tld !

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