Is .pro dying or will it only get more valuable in the future?

[brandnow]

Of course value depends on the individual name. But I have been thinking about this recently.

On one hand, I like .pro because it rings a bell of credibility. This extension shouts "professional." Yet obviously with the stupid policies from the registry and the dwindling number of registrars offering .pro as well as the .whatevs arriving more and more I wonder about the survival of .pro.

There seems to be two options.. either the .pro registry will realize they need to get rid of the outdated restrictions.. so .pro can grow in popularly as being a genuinely good gtld OR the .pro registry will keep the restrictions and nobody will hear about .pro and over the next year or two it will completely fall out of the public's perception more than it already has.

I'm curious about your thoughts on this?

 

[Nitindomains]

Dying?

i thought it were DEAD already.:P

 

[Archangel]

"Is .pro dying?"

I never knew it had life, to begin with.

 

[Kate]

As expected, the new extensions are not hurting established extensions (.com/ccTLDs).
On the other hand, the extensions that never quite took off will be further marginalized.

I think .pro has two problems: the first is the policies, the second is the distribution channels. .pro is not available from mainstream registrars, unless you are French or Russian, which is the reason why .pro gets more registrations in those two countries. Exposure is limited.

The registration count is 109,366 today. If you have been following the trends closely, you will notice it has been stagnating. I think the TLD is on autopilot and the registry (Hostway) is not focused on it - at all. Their business is hosting in general and even their website doesn't say anything about .pro in particular.
Conclusion: .pro is unimportant to Hostway. It's not their core business, just a side activity or to put it bluntly: legacy.

 

[B&J]

.PRO may change hands, if Afilias lets it go. Then, when promoted properly, it may revive and have the second life. But the past momentum is lost.

Still a very good extension.

There were lots of ***pro.*** sales in the past: http://dnpric.es/?q=pro.&searchsrnm=yes&searchsoa=yes

 

[brandnow]

I love .pro because it's short and has practical and universal meaning. It's pretty affordable too at around $10 / year and no "premium" names or any non-sense.

 

[brandnow]

I see each new extension as a brand. So I ask myself that if I were marketing this brand, would it succeed? I go over this, and do my own research, before investing in any extension.

 

[RU]

Of course value depends on the individual name. But I have been thinking about this recently.

On one hand, I like .pro because it rings a bell of credibility. This extension shouts "professional." Yet obviously with the stupid policies from the registry and the dwindling number of registrars offering .pro as well as the .whatevs arriving more and more I wonder about the survival of .pro.

There seems to be two options.. either the .pro registry will realize they need to get rid of the outdated restrictions.. so .pro can grow in popularly as being a genuinely good gtld OR the .pro registry will keep the restrictions and nobody will hear about .pro and over the next year or two it will completely fall out of the public's perception more than it already has.

I'm curious about your thoughts on this?

Welcome to the dark side of the .pro.

 

[RU]

The .pro is much better than .guru, .expert or .ninja
Maybe NEUSTAR, Donuts or Rightside buy this TLD ?!

 

[TheWatcher]

Dying?

i thought it were DEAD already.:P

Ditto.

 

[JayJay]

The others you cite are new. They can't be factored in. .pro's been here long enough to have had an impact (which it hadn't made)

I think he means .pro sounds better in general than those 3, which I agree with...sadly its still a waste imo

 

[brandnow]

What I meant was, yes, I think .pro sounds better than .guru or .expert. I would greatly prefer to build a site around .pro if I am a professional (which I am ). But knowing that only 6 registrars offers .pro gives me less options for where to keep the domain registered. I know that the rules around .pro while I hear are rarely enforced, but there's still a chance they might audit the domain and that's concerning.

I am thinking that .pro should become successful in the next few years because it's better than all the other "professional" nglds. It's short, memorable, recognizable worldwide, and the word "pro" itself has intrinsic meaning.

 

[brandnow]

This is why .pro probably won't make a come back for the time being. And I doubt it's in Afilias best interest to revive .pro now. They might as well wait for the new TLD craze to subside, and then bring out ".pro" is a more special and unique TLD.

I'm thinking the same thing. Which is why now is a good time to invest.

 

[brandnow]

Assuming you meet the eligibility requirements, and want to take a big risk with a low chance of return, it might be a good time to invest. :P

haha

Well, I think the timeframe for .pro to shine again is 1 - 2 years from now. I also see them dropping the eligibility requirements in the future.

 

[B&J]

Afilias decided to drop the restrictions instead: https://www.namepros.com/threads/the-pro-discussion.522420/page-197#post-5068990

They are also looking for new gTLDs to buy if you have some to sell.

 

[Edward Smeu]

Just a heads-up, when I first started these .pro domains were my favourite ones, got some nice keywords and flipped a couple to get back in green but it is very very hard to sell .pro domains.

When Afilias bought it back then it created a frenzy among the extension fans but they had no intention whatsoever to invest more as I understood from their replies, nor should they now.

With top premium keywords you can flip a domain on almost any extension, incl. dot pro but in the long run you can't stay in the game investing in this extension.

I'm sure most newcomers to domaining already seen here and there 'stick to .com' assuming they made a minimum research but here is my advice as someone who invested money and time in this extension: stick to dot com for fluidity.

 

[asset.domains]

already saw a real pro in France i know using .pro ; )

 

[Kate]

.pro is carried by at least two large registrars in France, in Russia too.
So you are bound to see .pro used by French people more often.

But as long as .pro is not offered by mainstream registrars elsewhere, it's going to suffer from the lack of exposure.

 

[asset.domains]

the effect of pro is when your email address ends with .pro after conference presentation in contacts !

 

[asset.domains]

And your argument about the good .com's being taken is the EXACT REASON I trust them. If a company could afford business.com, then I know they have serious pockets. I know they're real. But if I see a business that couldn't afford a great domain and settled with the poor .pro (or .guru or .top etc), I'd think too lowly of them to take them seriously.

so after that logic, ABC.XYZ is not a company that you can trust ?

ps: i saw that survey back in 2014, surveys are interesting things, especially if we ask questions the way we want, and it is interesting to do information surveys, with questions before and after the information about ngtls market entry , you are not going to ask an average joe what is the most secure Fund to put money in..., right, you will ask someone in the finance field....., it didn't change anything, people are keeping registering ngtlds, if the registrations were 0's , here we can say something is going wrong, but there we are, there is no ngtld with 0 registration, and it seems many want to see big fig in numbers of ngtlds sold, they don't need to be big numbers, they are 'channelized' domains, look for an article about comparing ngtlds with tv channels, you are not going to show an adult movie to a kid, comme on....

 

[Archangel]

Bingo. You can't trust it by just looking at the domain. If you even try, you're a fool. I'm talking about getting vibes from domains--that's what your entire rant is about--not precisely who the company is. Google could have EggFart3000.top and ppl would trust it, if they knew it was a Google property. You're not talking about businesses, only images you believe .pro gives. It reeks desperation, radiating nothing that resembles professionalism. It's a failed extension, my compatriot. Move on.

so after that logic, ABC.XYZ is not a company that you can trust ?

 

[alien51]

When I see anything ending in .pro, I think of a loser who tries too hard to look legit yet he couldn't afford a good .com.

To my mind, someone who uses a .pro extension in his calling card, is more likely just a freelancer "one-man army" who is running his business from home.

Not exactly bad, if you're deliberately looking to get the services of a pest-control guy in your neighborhood, or some plumber to fix your broken toilet.

But then again, such tag is now diluted by the emergence of various other TLDs, like say .PLUMBING or say .ENGINEER.

 

[Archangel]

You hit the nail right on the friggin' head.

To my mind, someone who uses a .pro extension in his calling card, is more likely just a freelancer "one-man army" who is running his business from home.

Not exactly bad, if you're deliberately looking to get the services of a pest-control guy in your neighborhood, or some plumber to fix your broken toilet.

But then again, such tag is now diluted by the emergence of various other TLDs, like say .PLUMBING or say .ENGINEER.

 

[mwzd]

.PRO is exactly 3 letters, a number end users are comfortable with when it comes to domain extensions.

It has clear meaning in English and translates effortlessly into a lot of other languages.

It doesn't have premium pricing and renewals cost $15 at most registrars.

With the upcoming changes, anyone will be able to register a .PRO and given that it is one of the oldest 'new gtlds' it is already poised for massive growth.

I see it as being a clear market leader and since the registry doesn't charge premiums this leaves a lot of upside for investors unlike new gtlds that charge $625 - $6250 per year.

 

[mwzd]

No development?

http://www.google.com/search?q=site:*.pro