Registering .pro domains

[stocks]

I see a bunch of people here selling .pro domains and was wondering how all you guys registered these domains. It says you must be a Licensed professional to reg a dot pro so do everyone have a license?

Also what about if the domain is something you dont get a business license for like I saw TexasHoldem.pro was the highest selling .pro so I'm thinking they dont give out licenses for playing poker.

Also what do you guys think about developing a .pro?

Thanks

 

[steveteva]

I see a bunch of people here selling .pro domains and was wondering how all you guys registered these domains. It says you must be a Licensed professional to reg a dot pro so do everyone have a license?

Also what about if the domain is something you dont get a business license for like I saw TexasHoldem.pro was the highest selling .pro so I'm thinking they dont give out licenses for playing poker.

Also what do you guys think about developing a .pro?

Thanks

Yes you can reg whatever you want, all you need is a business licence.

 

[MicroGuy]

Also what do you guys think about developing a .pro?

In my opinion, you would be better finding a quality .COM domain. You may have to pay a little more, but in the long run you will be glad you did. The .PRO extension should be avoided at all costs. IMO.

 

[coltter]

In my opinion, you would be better finding a quality .COM domain. You may have to pay a little more, but in the long run you will be glad you did. The .PRO extension should be avoided at all costs. IMO.

the .com industry is over-registered, you can imagine a better domain to make money.

 

[akcampbell]

I have bought .com, .info, .org, .co.uk and .pro domains on the aftermarket, I prefer .pro domains because they offer more bangs for your buck. I can get a blockbuster single word .pro that fits the extension for the price I would have to pay for a fairly ordinary brandable two word .com. At the moment .pros are restricted which prevents non-professionals getting hold of them so that gives me a head start in buying and catching top keywords.

 

[matrigaldo]

Just wondering why people think extension like .pro would worth the registration... well, i'm just wondering why they really believe in that. Is it a social phenomenon or what?

 

[netfleet]

the .com industry is over-registered, you can imagine a better domain to make money.

I'll second that.

 

[akcampbell]

Just wondering why people think extension like .pro would worth the registration... well, i'm just wondering why they really believe in that. Is it a social phenomenon or what?

.pro is a slick, credible, premium branding suffix. That's why this site is called NamePros.com and Sedo brand their premium parking service Sedo Pro. 15,000+ US trademarks include the word Pro, that's nearly as many trademarks as every other alternative extension suffix added together.

I bought Game.pro last week. I did a quick check on Metacritic.com and there are 38 Playstation, Nintendo and Xbox games, many of them part of a series, that use the word Pro in their title. I have listed them on a Flash video on Game.pro. Few extensions appear in the title of games, and if they do, it's 1 or 2, not 38. .pro provides heavyweight association with a range of generic keywords across business sectors.

 

[MicroGuy]

Just wondering why people think extension like .pro would worth the registration...

Lost souls I think.

 

[matrigaldo]

.pro is a slick, credible, premium branding suffix.
[...]

Well said, it is a branding suffix. Not a domain extension.

Basing on your considerations, .pro has value only as domain hack, but "pro" suffix is almost always part of the product or of the brand, and not a separated word or a quality.

I.e. Office Pro(fessional), Paint Shop Pro, Mac Book Pro, HTC Touch Pro and lot more. Besides, most of the brands has "pro" at the beginning of the name and not at the end.

This extension is only speculative, IMHO. Domains like Game()pro, Tools()pro etc... yes, strong keywords, but exactly what they would mean?
Do you want to create a professional game brand? ProGame()com or GamesPro()com . Do you want to create a professional tools brand? ProTools()com .

 

[thewebhostingdir]

From what I knew .pro is available exclusively for: Medical doctors (.med.pro), Attorneys (.law.pro), Certified public accountants (.cpa.pro)

 

[akcampbell]

A hack is a domain like Awso.me, Blo.gs, or Gam.es. The keyword on it's own makes no sense, add the extension and it spells out a word or phrase. A domain like Office.pro, which I hold, isn't a hack, professionals work in an office, the keyword Office fits the extension .pro. There are two types of fit; association and semantic. For example, if it was possible to have the domain bread.butter, that would have association fit whereas garlic.butter would have semantic fit.

I hold other professional context .pros like Studio.pro and Salon.pro. Creative professionals like artists, software developers, and film directors work in a studio; beauty therapists and hairdressers work in a salon. I also hold Tool.pro, professionals use tools of various kinds so it makes sense.

Fits adds desirability and brandability to an alternative extension. For example, in .info, I hold information concept keywords like Rates.info, Prices.info, Coupons.info and Savings.info. These aren't hacks, people want these domains because of the fit, look at how many bids they have on Sedo between them. Prices.info has more bids than Prices.net because Prices fits .info better than it fits .net.

Fit is critical for alternative extension value, the highest selling domains across alternative extensions illustrates the point; Travel.info sold for $116,000 in July 2007, RingTones.mobi sold for $145,000 in October 2007, Fishing.net sold for $52,500 in January 2008, and University.org sold for $100,000 in October 2006.

You could have ProGame.com or Toolpro.com or you could opt for Game.pro or Tool.pro, I prefer the latter, they are shorter, quicker to type, and more striking. You asked why people register "the extension" .pro, then added .pro is a branding suffix, not an extension. It's actually both, that's why some people like it. It's not everybody's cup of tea, the vast majority of people like the security, conformity, and mindset saturation of .com. However, I prefer the impact, brandability, image, and originality of .pro.

From what I knew .pro is available exclusively for: Medical doctors (.med.pro), Attorneys (.law.pro), Certified public accountants (.cpa.pro)

In September 2008, .pro restrictions were changed so that all professionals in all countries could register at the second level, ie keyword.pro. The biggest registrars are Encirca, Network Solutions, Domain People, OVH, and Gandi. It costs about $20 to register, you self-certify your professional credentials when you register, then you have a certain number of days to submit your professional license number, regulating body and other details. Professionals can register any keyword, they are not tied to keywords relating to their professions.

 

[matrigaldo]

Well, all your points are good for a domainer

Only, domainers are about 5% of potential buyers of domain names in the world.

And about the hacks... yes, i know what is a domain hack, and that's why i've named that

Different points of view i guess.

 

[akcampbell]

And about the hacks... yes, i know what is a domain hack, and that's why i've named that Different points of view i guess.

Here's the Wikipedia definition;

"A domain hack is an unconventional domain name that combines domain levels, especially the top-level domain (TLD), to spell out the full "name" or title of the domain, making a kind of pun. Well-known examples include blo.gs, del.icio.us, and cr.yp.to."

Note those keywords make no sense on their own. You obviously know better than the distilled knowledge of Wikipedia contributors.

 

[matrigaldo]

[...] I did a quick check on Metacritic.com and there are 38 Playstation, Nintendo and Xbox games, many of them part of a series, that use the word Pro in their title. [...]

[...]From Wikipedia:
"A domain hack is an unconventional domain name that combines domain levels, especially the top-level domain (TLD), to spell out the full "name" or title of the domain, making a kind of pun. Well-known examples include blo.gs, del.icio.us, and cr.yp.to."

If some videogames have the "pro" in their title, and you combine them using the .pro extension, isn't it a domain hack?

(Please, we are just sharing our points, don't treat me as a stupid, it wouldn't be fair, i perfectly know what is a domain hack)

However, .pro extension has been used in a speculative way, if it has been created with a "professional" intention, but, i repeat, i can't see any value on .pro domains except few ones like ... doctors.pro, studio.pro that you hold, and very few ones, less than many others extensions (even ccTLD ones).

This is IMHO.

 

[akcampbell]

If some videogames have the "pro" in their title, and you combine them using the .pro extension, isn't it a domain hack?

If you have a game like Pro Evolution Soccer, then Soccer.pro isn't a domain hack. If you had an extension .soccer ProEvolution.soccer would be a domain hack. Pro.soccer wouldn't be a domain hack. EvolutionSoccer.pro is a domain hack.

The key is whether the keyword can stand on it's own two feet. Office.pro isn't a domain hack because Office is a generic keyword in the .pro extension, professionals work in an office. The generic association is a pretty obvious one. Office does't need Microsoft to be a useful keyword, I could provide 1,001 different office related professional services with Office.pro without it infringing Microsoft's software trademarks. For example, there are 17 US trademarks with Office and Pro in, the most recent one was registered in 2006.

 

[matrigaldo]

Well, what else can i say? Every very very strong conviction goes up in smoke OR become a fanaticism, i've learned to not be excessive sure of anything. But you, man, are really in love with .pro extension

Said that, i hope you will be a rich .pro investor and can laugh at me and at whoever don't believe in this extension.
But i have the conviction (strong but not as strong) .pro extension is basically worthless, and, repeat, i hope it's not true because it looks like you have invested lot of money in that.

PS Can you explain how Pro Evolution Soccer could be interesting for using with a .pro extension? Just this

 

[akcampbell]

I don't think Pro Evolution Soccer "could be interesting for use" with the .pro extension. The game angle came up in the context of the frequent use of the term Pro in game branding and that making Game a useful keyword to own in .pro. I am not sure of anything, certainly not my investment in .pro. I regard it as a very risky investment. Pro is a popular branding suffix in trademark registries and that may make .pro more popular if restrictions are removed in 2010 when RegistryPro renew their 5 year management contract with ICANN.

 

[matrigaldo]

My point is: the "pro" suffix will not make .pro extension more popular that's what i think.

"Pro" as suffix becomes part of the brand/product, if you use this point to value the potential of .pro extension, you do almost the same of considering words containing "com" as more powerful for .com extension. And the same for .net, .org, .info etc... that's why i mentioned the domain hacks.

(However, my first language is not english then sometimes i can talk a poor english, especially when the concept is hard to express I apologize for that)

 

[mwzd]

You're basically confusing the issue with your going on about domain hacks w/ .pro - thats just one use of it and not one recommended by any .pro investor tbh.

.PRO is a gTLD, same as .com / .net / .org and treated as such by search engines. ccTLDs have an inherent seo gap which .pro doesn't.

And the keywords that are available for registration / resale at the price points they are, even the .info would cost you 5-6 figures. For example Andrew purchased game.pro for $5k, what would the same keyword be in any other extension - game.com / game.net / game.org / game.info - and which one sounds the best from a branding perspective? I'd take game.pro at 5k over game.org at $50k anyday if I were buying at those price points.