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 either the .pro registry will realize they need to get rid of the outdated restrictions..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?

 

[Archangel]

Professional, yes. I see no humor, as there is none. You simply have no argument and are choosing to leave with a laugh. Typical of noobs to do...But you are a headache, and I'll unsubscribe from this thread. Good luck with learning how to be a real investor.

'professional domainer'?! LOL, good luck with everything, I'm done here.

 

[inland]

You guys are so full of nonsense.

I've never seen so much trashing of TLDS.

Some hate .xyz. Others hate .co

Others hate .net

Oh my, .guru is better than .ninja

Oh, but I like .plumber better

Maybe we will see .writer ? Oh that will be special.

Oh my Gawd. Let's keep dishing out NOISE.

You sound like Rich Schwartz and his nonsense about pigeon-shiX.

You probably think Adam Dicker is domainer of the year.

Go develop your dot com site, and stop with the BS.

Good grief. What a bunch of little losers.

What 'effect'? 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.

I know for a fact I'm not the only one. .pro looks better than, say, .guru. But it still doesn't look like something a real professional would use. I'd trust my business on business.com, but I wouldn't even consider trusting business.pro.

 

[B&J]

it's too late...
now we have: .expert, .guru and .ninja

Get the numbers for .PRO and see how then compare to these new kids: http://dnpric.es/expert-vs-guru-ninja/

 

[DOMAIN ILLUMINATI]

It's never too late.
.pro is 100 % clearly a well sounding domain extension which let you think of professional content.

Beside other reasons thats the reason why I registered
propropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropro.pro

 

[inland]

It's never too late.
.pro is 100 % clearly a well sounding domain extension which let you think of professional content.

Beside other reasons thats the reason why I registered
propropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropro.pro

Ok. I know that curiosity is not always wise. However, in this case, the question is begging to be asked...

Why?

http://whois.domaintools.com/propropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropropro.pro

 

[Branded Domains]

I think no extension is dying....It only needs one big sale...and that extension become a hit...at least for sometime...

 

[Archangel]

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)

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

 

[Kate]

Maybe NEUSTAR, Donuts or Rightside buy this TLD ?!

It's not just a question of marketing. If they want to relax the eligibility rules, then I believe the contract with icann has to be renegotiated (once again).

 

[Taylor_C]

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.

.pro is offered by many registrars. Its not sold by godaddy however which is a red flag.

Unless Afilias puts money into marketing .pro its not going anywhere. And why would Afilias put money into marketing a tld? That's not their business. That's not what they are good at. They are in the business of providing back end support for tlds, not marketing them.
And with the news that Afilias canceled their ipo I would wager they are not looking to throw money into fields that are not sure wins for them. Experimenting and trying to successfully market .pro sounds like a pretty big financial risk to me.

Tlds need to be marketed. Now more than ever. All other industries know this. The domain industry is just starting to understand this.

 

[Kate]

Perhaps there is some confusion here, but I don't think Afilias owns RegistryPro. They provide the backend/infrastructure services for .pro, like they do for many other TLDs. But indeed they don't own all of them. And you are correct to say that marketing is not their core business, not even the TLDs they own.

 

[Taylor_C]

Perhaps there is some confusion here, but I don't think Afilias owns RegistryPro. They provide the backend/infrastructure services for .pro, like they do for many other TLDs. But indeed they don't own all of them. And you are correct to say that marketing is not their core business, not even the TLDs they own.

It looks like Afilias bought RegistryPro in 2012. That's according to the icannwiki.

 

[Rick Ace]

It's not just a question of marketing. If they want to relax the eligibility rules, then I believe the contract with icann has to be renegotiated (once again).

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.

 

[Rick Ace]

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

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

 

[Archangel]

What 'effect'? 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.

I know for a fact I'm not the only one. .pro looks better than, say, .guru. But it still doesn't look like something a real professional would use. I'd trust my business on business.com, but I wouldn't even consider trusting business.pro.

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

 

[asset.domains]

i lol'd. the .pro guy done one of the best conferences of the course, it's like he put butter on the .pro , it was no .pro that decorated him..., it was like a google alphabet effect, but more focused in one very specialised field.... now the question about looser or not , he works hard and is definitely not a looser and i did't ask from where he got .pro idea, i've just said it was bright at the same degree as his communication.

if you trust the business on their name and not their financial statements and customer service it's up to you, i mean a multidimentional approach is needed... if 2 same great businesses want the same name, it will be impossible for one of them to get it physically....

i've just transmitted my feeling after attending the conference , that maybe could help other domainers...

about the .pro name, i feel it is too narrow to use, but the meaning is different compared to .org or even .com

 

[Archangel]

To each his own. I understand the general concept--after all, what if 2 entities wanted business.com?--but there are better extensions. Most consider net & org to be acceptable substitutes. Using an extension pretty much no one had ever heard of (ie .pro) only makes a person look desperate.

This is a bit old, but the general idea surely isn't antiquated: www.thedomains.com/wp-content/NCC-Group-Internet-Trust-Survey.pptx

 

[asset.domains]

it's seems we are in different dimensions, one word net org are almost all taken (game changing names for key industry) the same as the first extention, that doesn't mean that people will select org or net if they can register or will find new gtlds more suitable for their needs, time is working against old habits and traditions, more businesses are coming and more new domainers are coming too, if tons of newgtlds will be dropped, others will get them... so the market will perform self control, good names are taken in ngtlds from the start, so this is a sign.

 

[Archangel]

The vast majority of the businesses using these new TLDs are struggling in the online sectors. Most ppl don't even know .pro exists and shy away from ANY link that contains them. Really, your argument has no legs. 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.

Again,, I'm not the only one. Statistics show that many don't trust these new extensions. You are going on opinion. I'm going on fact. Fact always wins.

 

[RU]

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.

it's too late...
now we have: .expert, .guru and .ninja

 

[Archangel]

Who cares about growth?? It isn't developed much as it is, already..

 

[Archangel]

It's a generalization.

No development?

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

 

[mwzd]

"Is .pro dying?"

I never knew it had life, to begin with.

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)

What 'effect'? 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.

I know for a fact I'm not the only one. .pro looks better than, say, .guru. But it still doesn't look like something a real professional would use. I'd trust my business on business.com, but I wouldn't even consider trusting business.pro.

To each his own. I understand the general concept--after all, what if 2 entities wanted business.com?--but there are better extensions. Most consider net & org to be acceptable substitutes. Using an extension pretty much no one had ever heard of (ie .pro) only makes a person look desperate.

This is a bit old, but the general idea surely isn't antiquated: www.thedomains.com/wp-content/NCC-Group-Internet-Trust-Survey.pptx

The vast majority of the businesses using these new TLDs are struggling in the online sectors. Most ppl don't even know .pro exists and shy away from ANY link that contains them. Really, your argument has no legs. 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.

Again,, I'm not the only one. Statistics show that many don't trust these new extensions. You are going on opinion. I'm going on fact. Fact always wins.

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.

You hit the nail right on the friggin' head.

Who cares about growth?? It isn't developed much as it is, already..

It's a generalization.

Yes, I agree, too much generalization, quite a bit too I see.

Just for my info, how many .pro do you own?

 

[Archangel]

Currently: 0
In the past: 0
Will ever own: 0

Just for my info, how many .pro do you own?

 

[mwzd]

If you don't own any and never have, why offer an opinion on something you probably know very little about?

I'm a little confused here.

 

[Archangel]

So you're telling me I couldn't possibly know anything about them, despite my countless years of being a professional domainer, since I don't own any .pro? Of course you're confused: you're running on failed logic.

If you don't own any and never have, why offer an opinion on something you probably know very little about?

I'm a little confused here.