"It is the single biggest mistake one can make on the Internet"

[IAmAllanShore]

According to Rick Schwartz, the "...single biggest mistake one can make on the Internet" would be registering and promoting a .net that you don't own the .com for also.

I know that many a 'folk here have .net's that they don't own the .com for, myself included.

<snip http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/cover020204.htm >
Still, Schwartz thinks the new extensions are a better bet than one old-timer, .net. “.org is the #2 extension because of its widespread use with charities and heavy TV and print advertising. .net is the orphan. It has no identity and loses massive amounts of traffic automatically to the .com counterpart. Not basing your business on a .net extension is the #1 piece of advice I would give anyone that asked. I would choose .whatever over ANY .net unless you own the .com version. If you promote .net, and don’t own the .com, you are likely working hard for someone else and wasting 15%-25% or more of your hard work and marketing efforts. It is the single biggest mistake one can make on the Internet.”

Schwartz recognizes that “it is statements like that where folks either totally agree with me or hate me for saying it. But it is FACT and the more the fact is shown the greater the hate grows. Having a .net to base your business on is like building a boat with a BIG gaping hole in it. What does it say about the boat owner/builder that gets angry when you point out that HUGE LEAK?”
</snip>

Can't help but think that this guy has made millions and millions doing this, so he must know what he's talking about... but at the same time it's depressing to think that 3 letter .net's might even be OVERvalued right now...

-Allan

 

[IdahoFarmer]

Agreed. However, I can't help but come back to the two basic questions.

1) Would you rather have Widgets.com or Widgets.net
2) Why?

If you allow yourself to honestly answer these questions everything will come into focus.

Yes, a brand can be built without the dotcom, but one must take as a given traffic loss to the dotcom. Not a question of "if", but rather of "how much". Thus lends credibility to the "not without the dotcom" statement.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Agreed. However, I can't help but come back to the two basic questions.

1) Would you rather have Widgets.com or Widgets.net
2) Why?

If you allow yourself to honeslty answer these questions everything will come into focus.

Yes, a brand can be built without the dotcom, but one must take as a given traffic loss to the dotcom. Not a question of "if", but rather of "how much". Thus lends credibility to the "not without the dotcom" statement.

The .com because widgets.com has an overture of 44 while widgets.net has an overture of goose-egg.

Just making sure I was clear... I choose .com , and would only think of .net for an alternative to the .com when the .net becomes part of the brandable name easily.

php.net is easy, and is easily identifiable as a cohesive name.

However, phpplace.net is not. If it was phpplace then the name would lead most users to the .com .

-Allan

 

[JoshHendo]

I have registered a domain name as a .net because the .com was already takes :O

Though now I have the domain name, there is nothing i can do except promote the .net

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Added a poll on our favorite PHP question,
-Allan

 

[armstrong]

Hey, 5 of 5 would be willing to develop in php.net!

idotz is a perfect example. Every time I turn around, I have someone going to idotz.com to accept a domain transfer from me and not being able to figure out what to do. That's because we all call it "idotz", not "idotz.net" , the .net is just another stumbling block for folks to mis-remember.

What did these lost people do, Allan? Give up on the transfer? My guess is they figured out the correct TLD in the end. Considering the trouble they went through, will they be more inclined to remember or to forget idotz?

The problem with Schwarz's statement is that it is a blanket statement. Of course there are many .net domains that are perfect for development even without ownership of the .com.

And unlike other newer TLDs and ccTLDs, .net has the advantage of familiarity. People feel comfortable going to a .net site.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Actually, most that hadn't figured out idotz by that point were quite new, and spend a great deal of time at idotz.com (Making the .com bucketloads of PPC, I'm sure) looking for the ability to create an account, and then I get an IM asking for help.
And you're right, they might just remember "idotz" from that point on, but associated with the name will be the frustration in finding it.
Now, whenever I sent anyone to idotz, I add the .net if I remember to.
At any rate, with so many great name options for registrars (Including some I own ), why go with a .net?

-Allan

 

[Element]

Thanks for the good advice.

 

[Legend.name]

0-6 (php.net) :tu:

 

[stscac]

0-6 (php.net) :tu:

how true :D

-Steve

 

[vimkar]

Throw in your pretty wife and we have a deal.

:hehe: :hehe: :hehe:

that was good .... :hehe: :hehe:

 

[DJ_Guvana]

Ive never been keen on a .net , i only reg .coms and .co.uk's

 

[Sabre]

I like .net for tech-oriented sites like hosting, programming, webmasters, etc. Schwarz's opinion might be true for b2c sites like ebay and amazon, but I feel that he exaggerates, specially his statement "I would choose .whatever over ANY .net unless you own the .com version.". If he settles for something like .tk over the widespread recognizability of .net, then he should have his head examined, IMHO.

Besides, the "lost traffic" theory is faulty, IMHO. Let's say you wanted to go to php.net, but put in php.com instead. Do you then give up and go perl.com? No, you just shrug and try again.

:bingo:

Alot of it depends on the -content- of the site, what its used for etc.

e.g. freeposters.biz, isnt so good.
but posterseller.biz is much better.

 

[IdahoFarmer]

The poll is interesting, but doesn't capture the essence of the debate. The question is whether you should develop the .net for a domain for which you do not own the .com.

Thus, a better poll, IMHO, would be:

You are preparing to invest $100,000 in the branding, development and marketing of your domain / website. Which is the smarter business decision:

1) Develop and promote "PHPsource.net" given that you also own "PHPsource.com" and any type in / name recognition traffic lost to the dotcom will autoforward to your site located at the .net.

2) Develop "PHP.net" knowing that a competitor owns "PHP.com" and that type in / name recognition traffic lost to the dotcom will be business lost to a competitor.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

The poll is interesting, but doesn't capture the essence of the debate. The question is whether you should develop the .net for a domain for which you do not own the .com.

Thus, a better poll, IMHO, would be:

You are preparing to invest $100,000 in the branding, development and marketing of your domain / website. Which is the smarter business decision:

1) Develop and promote "PHPsource.net" given that you also own "PHPsource.com" and any type in / name recognition traffic lost to the dotcom will autoforward to your site located at the .net.

2) Develop "PHP.net" knowing that a competitor owns "PHP.com" and that type in / name recognition traffic lost to the dotcom will be business lost to a competitor.

For this exact example, PHP.com is developed and belongs to a site called "Parents Helping Parents". Therefore, if you developed PHP.net as a site for PHP programming or scripts, you may get some mistypes, but they would see the error, correct it, and you would not be losing traffic to a competitor. However, that is for this exact case only.

 

[martin]

Armstrong, oh yes, I see now that it originated with him. I must have read them out of order, and it was actually your reply to his original examples - that I was agreeing with. I too would choose the alternate extension of the short generic before a made-up .com version.

PHP.info / PHP.us / PHP.net / PHP.org / PHP.biz - :tu:

PHPsource.com - :td:

:imho:

i guess you´re right, but i wont let my 'php.info' go...

 

[Smith]

very dependant on the name.

I own xbox.net and am happy with it, blows away any xbox .com name I could have purchased.

 

[Grrilla]

"It is the single biggest mistake one can make on the Internet"

There are far too many mistakes that can be made on the internet to single out one and say that it is the "biggest". Another, perhaps, more relevant question to ask, is, "What is the most common mistake that the majority of domain name marketers, make on the internet?" If everyone on the internet had a Rick Schwartz-like portfolio and marketing machine, than, based on his experience and success, how could one disagree w/ his assessment?

But in the non-theoretical reality where most of us live, if the oppurtunity of acquiring a *good* name, in any of the top tld/cctld's presents itself, we will all be racing to be the first one in line to make the grab. If the name isn't *good*, or is a "made-up" name that is dependent upon branding, chances are, the .com will be available and, if not, than Rick Schwartz' maxim would have the most relevance.

IMHO, the biggest mistakes that *most* of us make on the Internet, are:
1) Investing in domain names, that have strong potential, but end up sitting around collecting dust, (or pennies if parked at a ppc site.)
2) Investing time and energy on project and development ideas and plans that always seem to remain on the "backburner" or in the "holding pattern" state in one, of several possible levels, of completion.
3) Rushing or taking shortcuts w/ content- something that really should be one of the top, (if not the top), priorities we have for our sites, (unless our portfolios are similar to Mr Schwarzes, and are loaded w/ top keyword .com names.)
4) Not staying on top of what we do have out on the Internet. Not changing, improving or updating our sites with fresh material or adding new incentives for our visitors.

Of course, I am speaking, primarily, from first hand experience. :hehe:

 

[William9]

Personally, I think the biggest mistake one can make on the Internet is to drink while bidding at auctions.

It took years before I figured out why the only auctions I won were those I bid on using the bar’s computer..

 

[Grrilla]

Personally, I think the biggest mistake one can make on the Internet is to drink while bidding at auctions.

Darn, I missed that "molism", William9. Tx for picking up on it. Gulp! Does that mean that draining that bottle of Tequilla while I was at Pool all day, might've been a mistake? I kept getting bounced back and forth between Pool and PayPal so many times, I couldn't figure out where the heck I was at. PayPool? PoolPal? PayPoolPal? I don't know! Guess I'll just have to wait 'til those 3 or 4 screens I been seein, all come together, so I ken see waz in all them emails thatz been stackin up. :tri:

 

[William9]

Darn, I missed that "molism", William9. Tx for picking up on it. Gulp! Does that mean that draining that bottle of Tequilla while I was at Pool all day, might've been a mistake? I kept getting bounced back and forth between Pool and PayPal so many times, I couldn't figure out where the heck I was at. PayPool? PoolPal? PayPoolPal? I don't know! Guess I'll just have to wait 'til those 3 or 4 screens I been seein, all come together, so I ken see waz in all them emails thatz been stackin up. :tri:

Don’t bother bidding. I am looking at the worms at the bottom of my Tequilla bottle with one eye, the other eye is looking at the bar computer indicting I already won Paypal.com at Pool.