.biz Is .biz dead?

[Nerz]

Ive been doing a bit of research and ive found some pretty decent .biz domains, domains that make logical sense with the .biz extension, but im reluctant to register them.

Is .biz worthwhile? or a clear no go zone...(apart from dictionary domains of course...)

 

[Ron Jackson]

.biz is no more dead than .info which is just cheaper to reg. For building an ecommerce website .biz is much more suitable than .info, but unless a prime word I would be inclined nowadays to keep to .com/.net/.org re regging.

It's all in the word/term selection. Pick those without commercial appeal and you will flop. Select the right ones and you will make money in any major extension including .biz. I think most people who are spinning their wheels are picking bad names that they think are good (like past tense verbs that rarely sell in any extension, let alone a new one). As you can see from the sales list I posted, generic words/terms describing popular goods & services (usually nouns), or 3-letter domains with good letter combos are always in demand.

 

[equity78]

You are right on DUKE I think it has to be a commercially viable noun or LLL in .biz for the highest degree of success.

 

[user-7256]

I think that .biz, to be worth anything, MUST fit as a business. E.g, I own InternetAds.biz, which fits PERFECTLY. However, "Mathew.biz" or something is worthless.

 

[Didoz]

no i don't think it's dead, in the future, when all the nice domains will be taken, .biz domains will worth more IMO

 

[Nerz]

no i don't think it's dead, in the future, when all the nice domains will be taken, .biz domains will worth more IMO

That is a trueism i think. Business will eventually get onto it. Its just a bit early is all.

Looks like the rather blund "is dead" title i posted created a lot of interest..
:lol:

Btw personally, im going to do some research, theres gotta be some gems out there...

 

[Ron Jackson]

I think that .biz, to be worth anything, MUST fit as a business. E.g, I own InternetAds.biz, which fits PERFECTLY. However, "Mathew.biz" or something is worthless.

InternetAds.biz is an excellent fit. While Mathew.biz would likely be worth little (especially since Matthew is a far more popular spelling), Matthews.biz would be very good. Many businesses are named after the owner so popular surnames work well. Adams.biz was among my 4-figure .biz sales this year (bought by a Dutch company called Adams Management Services).

Notice about Mathew.biz I said "likely be worth little". You never know for sure as the right buyer might come along, but to be consistently successful you need to stack the odds in your favor by working with names that are sought by the most potential buyers. Most domain buyers are small business owners looking for something that describes their product or service or them personally.

 

[user-7256]

That's true - it all depends on the buyer, IMO.

 

[BurninDragon08]

I think this is a question that you could argue on.
Because I haven't really seen much .biz sales.
But I do see a good number of .biz domains around the net.

 

[harkster]

Am going to give it a shot with www.rosevllepottery.biz . My first attempt at a biz and it will be linked with www.rosevillepottery.info

Only time will tell -- cost is $7.20 for name, hosting free and my time building/maintaining the sites.

 

[Grrilla]

Apart from .com, which has the advantage of being the "go to" tld, (on more than one level), and .net and .org, which both have the advantage of recognizability/familiarity because they were next in line, keywords are keywords. A .biz site is built in the same manner as a .com site and doesn't resolve any slower on the www or offer any less features than domains w/ other exts. I have, yet, to see any solid proof showing that search engines give one tld preferential treatment over another. SEO procedures are the same- there are no special rules for site submission or meta-tags usage that would differentiate one tld from another. From the POV of the namespace, the www is the land of equal oppurtunity. Until ICANN takes the unprecedented step of removing a gtld from the worldwide web, .biz is alive, IMHO.

The condition of any namespace, including .biz, is in the eyes of the beholder. What is the business model that is influencing and shaping the registrant's vision for the domain? What was the purpose behind registering the domain? If the name is for development, a .com name has promotion advantages that a .biz or a non-.com name doesn't have. (ie it is the tld that SE's default to.) But at what price? Is the developer a sweat equity, "do-it-yourselfer", or does he take more of the "turn-key - throw some money at it", approach? If the intent is to sell the name in the aftermarket, what are the time parameters? Is the plan to have a quick turnaround sale or is the intent to register a name as a long term investment, that will, (or may), pay off, in the future? What is the acceptable level of risk for the investment and how many years of renewal fees does the name justify?

Ultimately, the state of the .biz, (.any), namespace is a matter of the domain name reseller's and/or developer's intent and selective perception. The success of the domain and the website that it represents depends upon, in no small part, the skill and work ethic of the registrant. The TLD, itself, helps organize and expand the web and does so w/ complete neutrality.