How can I avoid losing traffic to the .com?

[Kuffy]

Traditionally any domain that wasn't a .com could expect to lose traffic to the .com. So how can I minimise this loss? I'm thinking of using a longer title and emphasising the extension. For example - if I was creating a site about cider mills, I would have given it a title such as "The cider mill" or " Cider Mills". However cidermill.com was taken, and so was cidermills.com, so I reg'd CiderMill.xyz. I'm thinking of calling the site "The xyz cider mill site", do you think it is a good idea to incorporate the tld into the title like this?

 

[EmotiveDomains]

How do you say xyz anyway - I suggest "xizz", or just simply "zizz"

I had never even considered trying to pronounce xyz as a word and I'd be surprised if many people have. You have no choice but to say each letter individually. Another downside to it IMO.

 

[Grilled]

3. Why? imho xyz is one of the better TLD arrivals. Also, I own xyz1.com, so I have a certain fondness for them.

Why not go for XYZ.One

 

[lock]

Your turning a $Xxx dot com that you want into a $X,xxx and it isn't yours by building extensions around another brand. As mentioned buy something else generic.

 

[Kuffy]

Thanks for that post gpm - it was really interesting and useful.

As I mentioned before, CiderMill.xyz it just a throw away name to promote the upcoming vintage meet (and, yes, I own VintageMeet.com, but it's undeveloped). It cost me less than a dollar, and I also reg'd 3 xyz names to feature items of interest - DiamondT.xyz CiderMill.xyz CheesePress.xyz

Now I need to get moving and get some sites online ready for next year.

 

[TopShelf Domains]

I must argue that O.CO at the time may have been a higher traffic leak for O.COM because people could have assumed the M was left off in the ad, auto complete browsers assuming .COM when typing in O.CO(M), as well as peoples' finger habits of completing .COM as a natural habit after typing in .CO-

I do not believe this O.CO example to be a predictor, or an end all be all result of an end-user developing a nTLD as their landing site.

For example, if the general population sees a .RENTALS extension, the whole finger habit of adding the "M" after the .CO would be eliminated.

 

[Kate]

.co indeed looks like a typo of .com.
In the UK people would likely assume .co.uk (and add the bit they think is missing).
A personal account on .co from a NPer: Why .CO will will not do well