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I've been thinking what makes .NET so less desirable today. And, most importantly, is this downward trend going to continue?
I've determined that the answer is yes, .NET will likely continue to decline. Here's why.
First off, let's look at what .NET tld historically was and is.
It was, in most cases, the next level replacement for .com.
In the old times when .com / .net / .org was the standard, the choice was clear. If you were a business, you wanted to get the .com. If you couldn't (expensive or unavailable) you probably had to settle for a .net in order to get a shorter name and more memorable. Or, if you were an organization / nonprofit etc, you opted for a .org.
.NET has always been the awkward little brother of .com. Side note in the past, the terms "internet" and "network" were really hot. So .net had some promotional factor out there. Today, "Cloud" and similar terms are the new hot thing. And for some reason, they don't opt for .net anymore.
Why? Because there are new folks in town.
Most companies don't want to limit themselves to "network". They want a generic name and memorable, firstly .com. This is also why .co is on the rise lately = it seems as the next choice, generic name, most similar to .com (despite its disadvantages such as email issues).
This is also why .xyz for example is on the rise lately; it appears to be, for the users, a very nice generic name. XYZ = the end of alphabet, the end of everything. Nice one (@DNGear would agree). But XYZ still has a lot to grow, at least on 2-words which are not yet mature (my experience). Time will tell.
There's also IO. IO has been eating a lot from .net.
Everyone in tech seems to go for .IO because any developer knows what IO is (note, acronym for input/output). IO is on the rise and expensive purchases are being made. So it basically kicked out .net from the table and gorging a ton of domains right now.
So what is .NET today?
Basically the same awkward little brother of .com, but now old and being kicked out by almost any new tld out there (.co, .io, .xyz, .tech, .cloud or whatever your fancy is). This is an established trend already, and I don't see it changing anytime soon.
The question is: Is it worth investing in .NET anymore? The answer is, I'm afraid - maybe. It depends.
Very short .net names are still in demand. Certain very well researched .nets will sell for a lot. Names taken in 150 TLDs etc will definitely sell. Great single words, will probably sell.
But the larger mass of average 2-words and more, not so much.
There is a ton of replacement available out there, sometimes for very cheap and all tlds above seem, in many cases, a great alternative for .net. (Edit: and of course there are a lot of others.)
This is why I've decided to unload most of my .nets and keep only the very short ones and some single words I have. Everything else is going out on the door. My .net sales have been really scarce, and I cannot even tell which is going to sell or not. Even the number of tlds and comparable .com sales didn't provide a match for me. It was always a c***p shoot if I might use this term here.
So should you also discard your .nets or keep them?
I can't tell. Maybe (either). It's your decision - but at least read the above.
Oh, and you're invited to let us know what you think in comments below. Thanks!
I've determined that the answer is yes, .NET will likely continue to decline. Here's why.
First off, let's look at what .NET tld historically was and is.
It was, in most cases, the next level replacement for .com.
In the old times when .com / .net / .org was the standard, the choice was clear. If you were a business, you wanted to get the .com. If you couldn't (expensive or unavailable) you probably had to settle for a .net in order to get a shorter name and more memorable. Or, if you were an organization / nonprofit etc, you opted for a .org.
.NET has always been the awkward little brother of .com. Side note in the past, the terms "internet" and "network" were really hot. So .net had some promotional factor out there. Today, "Cloud" and similar terms are the new hot thing. And for some reason, they don't opt for .net anymore.
Why? Because there are new folks in town.
Most companies don't want to limit themselves to "network". They want a generic name and memorable, firstly .com. This is also why .co is on the rise lately = it seems as the next choice, generic name, most similar to .com (despite its disadvantages such as email issues).
This is also why .xyz for example is on the rise lately; it appears to be, for the users, a very nice generic name. XYZ = the end of alphabet, the end of everything. Nice one (@DNGear would agree). But XYZ still has a lot to grow, at least on 2-words which are not yet mature (my experience). Time will tell.
There's also IO. IO has been eating a lot from .net.
Everyone in tech seems to go for .IO because any developer knows what IO is (note, acronym for input/output). IO is on the rise and expensive purchases are being made. So it basically kicked out .net from the table and gorging a ton of domains right now.
So what is .NET today?
Basically the same awkward little brother of .com, but now old and being kicked out by almost any new tld out there (.co, .io, .xyz, .tech, .cloud or whatever your fancy is). This is an established trend already, and I don't see it changing anytime soon.
The question is: Is it worth investing in .NET anymore? The answer is, I'm afraid - maybe. It depends.
Very short .net names are still in demand. Certain very well researched .nets will sell for a lot. Names taken in 150 TLDs etc will definitely sell. Great single words, will probably sell.
But the larger mass of average 2-words and more, not so much.
There is a ton of replacement available out there, sometimes for very cheap and all tlds above seem, in many cases, a great alternative for .net. (Edit: and of course there are a lot of others.)
This is why I've decided to unload most of my .nets and keep only the very short ones and some single words I have. Everything else is going out on the door. My .net sales have been really scarce, and I cannot even tell which is going to sell or not. Even the number of tlds and comparable .com sales didn't provide a match for me. It was always a c***p shoot if I might use this term here.
So should you also discard your .nets or keep them?
I can't tell. Maybe (either). It's your decision - but at least read the above.
Oh, and you're invited to let us know what you think in comments below. Thanks!
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