ccTLD The Official .WS Discussion

[memorablename]

The Official .ws thread

.WS can stand for WEBSITE.

It has pros and cons as a domain. This thread is for people who wish to suggest ideas to build up and help promote the .ws domain as well as to give and receive help and advice on .ws domains in general. Some useful info contributed through this thread below. Views and comments anyone...

http://website.ws/faq/index.dhtml

The registry is now allowing .WS domain names to be transferred from registrar to registrar. It seems that most registrars just haven't updated their websites to allow this yet.

This is good news for the .ws market as this was a major factor in holding .ws back. Time for .ws to take off? Can we publicize this to help boost the market?

Wrote about this a while back -
http://www.mwzd.com/2008/01/23/the-significance-of-ws/

So why buy .ws?
1. Excellent keywords can still be regged.
2. You can buy premium keywords for $20-$50.
3. Excellent development potential, luckily goog doesn’t really care about which extension the site is on but how much content s there and how often it is updated.
4. Godaddy markets .ws - little but its a big brand
5. The ‘website’ christening seems to have more and more acceptance.
6. Its easy to get traffic and thus revenue for better keywords in .ws than a ‘bad’ keyword in .com

Some .WS sales over $200 listed below. Please post any .WS sales you know of over $200 to this thread

folder.ws$250 2008-03-05SEDO.com
reisebuero.ws$750 2008-02-23SEDO.com
cast.ws$200 2008-02-13SEDO.com
notebooks.ws$370 2008-01-07TDNAM.com
yukle.ws$62 2008-01-06SEDO.com
moshax.ws$350 2007-12-25TDNAM.com
flirt.ws$286 2007-12-24SEDO.com
washingtonstate.ws$500 2007-12-16SEDO.com
fulltilt.ws$310 2007-12-15SEDO.com
sms.ws$2,000 2007-12-08SEDO.com
liondog.ws$770 2007-12-05TDNAM.com
clipart.ws$850 2007-11-15SEDO.com
beaches.ws$250 2007-11-14SEDO.com
airport.ws$366 2007-11-05TDNAM.com
tomfelton.ws$335 2007-04-26TDNAM
london.ws $1,825 Sedo


Also from: 2004 to 2006

blogs.ws $1,600
save.ws $417
green.ws $227
Avatars.ws $400
VOIP.ws $2,000 Sedo
Game.ws $1,000 Namepros
VacationRentals.ws $800 Private
VoiceOverIP.ws $600 Sedo
PersonalInjury.ws $600 Private
NikeSports.ws ($480)
UsedBooks.ws ($240)

 

[mwzd]

I feel that the real problem with WS domain names is that they are not properly promoted, and too often associated with dubious "become rich overnight" schemes - the registry could do a better job for promoting them, in my opinion.

Earlier the registry itself was not involved in promoting the extension. That has only come to being with mobi / asia / etc

Developers make the sites and seo ranks them, irrespective of the extension.

The more developed sites there are on the extension, the more the value of the tld. Thats pretty much why .com will be impossible to dislodge in the forseeable future. But that is also why alternate extensions, including cctlds, score - smaller companies can acquire, develop and promote for probably a fraction of what the same keyword in .com would cost.

 

[Tribulatio]

Earlier the registry itself was not involved in promoting the extension. That has only come to being with mobi / asia / etc

I understand this. But what I had in mind here was rather the poor image the registry gives of WS when people attempting to reach a dropped website back under the registry reach advertising pages promising them "financial freedom" and other "get rich quick" schemes. I feel this tends to associate WS with dubious things. In my view, there would be other, more constructive ways to advertise an extension on landing pages...

The more developed sites there are on the extension, the more the value of the tld. Thats pretty much why .com will be impossible to dislodge in the forseeable future. But that is also why alternate extensions, including cctlds, score - smaller companies can acquire, develop and promote for probably a fraction of what the same keyword in .com would cost.

Yes, we are in full agreement here.

 

[BiddersUp]

Thought you guys would be interested in knowing that Riches.ws is now on the market Here

 

[Zepia]

For some reason I love .ws so much I owe like 20 of them, mostly premium single word names.

But most of the time I don't have the time for development and I end up auctioning them along with the ideas I had when I first regged them, for instance see , Tuesday.ws aucrtion here:
http://www.namepros.com/domains-for-sale-auctions/577202-tuesday-ws.html

 

[Tippy]

My friend and I picked up House.ws the other day and we are obviously happy about our purchase.

 

[Tribulatio]

My friend and I picked up House.ws the other day and we are obviously happy about our purchase.

Funny! I attempted repeatedly to get it over several days - it was available, but locked, and when I finally made another attempt again, it was gone in the meantime. Glad to know it went at least to another participant to this forum! And good luck with that name, a good choice definitely!

 

[Tippy]

I had many problems regging it as well, they had system problems for like 2 weeks, I called them up a few times and sent them about 10 emails, they arnt fun people to deal with and are very hard headed lol

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Tribulatio]

I had many problems regging it as well, they had system problems for like 2 weeks, I called them up a few times and sent them about 10 emails, they arnt fun people to deal with and are very hard headed lol

Exactly the same experience here: I sent several messages to them inquiring about that name and another one I wanted, they answered they had a technical problem, then I asked them to register them for me manually and charge my credit card, they refused to do that... definitely, I had feelings similar to yours.

But as we know, in the current environment, especially when relating to online ventures, service is often poor - one can see that with so many registrars, unfortunately.

 

[xrvel]

Edit: nevermind, never use dynadot for .ws checking :p

I just checked and found that 1 letter, 2 letters, 3 letters .ws are still available on dynadot. Are they real or just dynadot's error?

 

[Zepia]

Edit: nevermind, never use dynadot for .ws checking :p

I just checked and found that 1 letter, 2 letters, 3 letters .ws are still available on dynadot. Are they real or just dynadot's error?

Still available but they cost an arm and a leg!!!

 

[xrvel]

Still available but they cost an arm and a leg!!!

:lol: i still love my limbs, so i'll pass instead :D

 

[Timewarp]

The more developed sites there are on the extension, the more the value of the tld. Thats pretty much why .com will be impossible to dislodge in the forseeable future. But that is also why alternate extensions, including cctlds, score - smaller companies can acquire, develop and promote for probably a fraction of what the same keyword in .com would cost.

Even if .ws doesn't become generally known I think it can still have success. With so many new extensions being introduced people will soon recognize .com .net .org and then .everythingelse as a general catch all category... they may not know about all the different ccTLDs but they will be used to seeing a variety so keyword.ws will look fine to them.

 

[Tribulatio]

I fully agree with the remarks by Samit and Timewarp. Investing in some TLDs such as .ws should be done carefully (focus on generic names only) and with long-term prospects in mind: since people will come to value generic names, even if not in a major extension.

I am a little bit perplexed, however, when I see people eager to buy .ws or .cc names on the aftermaket (GD, etc.), and attempt to sell them on forums the following week - first because they will often be disappointed in case they have paid more than the reg price, and second because some of the names they offer could get value if developed and not sold in hurry.

 

[Jaco]

.ws is akin to the domain futures market.

Depending on how search engine algos develop in time (as well as evolving public perception that the only trust-inspiring TLD is .com) it's entirely possible that we are presently living in the "good old days" as far as available .ws.

I mean, on a regular basis, I see $5 closeouts of single, common dictionary word n.ws.Like, right now, "tooth.ws" is on $5 closeout. Does anyone seriously believe that you couldn't get a bit of auction competition going between a couple dentists on that? What a great website that would be for a local dentist somewhere!

The domain community seems to have jettisoned .ws, but I'm not. I'm very, very long on them.

For example, I bought "trades // ws" for $25.
Trades.com would *easily* be a million dollar plus domain.
The going avg Google CPC for "stock trades" is about $16.00
For "online stock trades", nearly $27.00
"Cheap Stock Trades" @ $22.00

COST PER CLICK :o :o :o

Now, lets say trades.com is a $1,000,000 domain (that might be low).
This means I'm getting 40,000-1 on my money for the .ws extension, against the analog .com. Needless to say, this is a massively positive expectation, particularly given the direction SERPs are taking, as well as the publics shifting perceptions of other TLD's. Trades.ws should dev very, very well...

.com will always be the premium oceanfront real-estate; that will never change. Still, I believe there are numerous factors that make certain other extensions great long term prospects. Right now, we're still living with "old mentalities", but once we're living in a day when most everyone was born post internet age and are experienced with many different legitimate websites with numerous extensions, we will see the value of .ws come to fruition. You will have to be patient- possibly for a long time- and keep paying those reg fees, but look at the histories of so many LLL.com's and how many times they dropped. People who lose patience in this game are the ones who lose, period.

 

[jaydub]

added GoodLuck.ws today. I still reg and buy the odd one..

 

[MrRhee]

Sudoku

 

[Timewarp]

I understand this. But what I had in mind here was rather the poor image the registry gives of WS when people attempting to reach a dropped website back under the registry reach advertising pages promising them "financial freedom" and other "get rich quick" schemes. I feel this tends to associate WS with dubious things. In my view, there would be other, more constructive ways to advertise an extension on landing pages...

I noticed they finally changed this but Im not sure what is going on with the replacement.
They now have some one page signup to claim the name...supposedly for free ... must be some kind of scam.

Just type any non-existing .ws domain in the address bar of your browser to see the new landing page and sign up.

 

[xrvel]

I noticed they finally changed this but Im not sure what is going on with the replacement.
They now have some one page signup to claim the name...supposedly for free ... must be some kind of scam.

Just type any non-existing .ws domain in the address bar of your browser to see the new landing page and sign up.

You're right. I just checked the new landing page. "Claim it now for free" button looks like a "scam" website.

 

[Tribulatio]

You're right. I just checked the new landing page. "Claim it now for free" button looks like a "scam" website.

Very strange indeed: "stake my claim", "landrush" - it does not seem to make sense.
If only the WS registry would understand the role it could play in creating a positive image around WS! In the long term, they would derive most benefits from it. Unfortunately, they seem to be on short term profits, which is detrimental to all of us who are buying WS names.

If anybody knows them or meets them at some conference, it would really be good to chat with them on that issue.

 

[dotker]

after seeing that one im throwing away my .ws they suck and are another ponzi scam! WS=wont sell!

 

[mwzd]

:lol: I'm surprised that something that has already existed always and has been debated before is still being seen as something 'new' and reason to abandon .ws [psst, if you're dropping loans.ws or similar quality names, pls contact me first]

Till renewal stays at sub $10 levels at major registrars and with more and more accepting inter registrar transfers I'm going to keep upgrading my portfolio as and when I can.

If you come across a set like this in another tld, let me know what it costs and we'll compare - autofinance.ws, autoloan.ws, autosales.ws, buycars.ws - and these are just one niche.

 

[viswam009]

what about epay.ws

 

[shane mac]

Is .ws worth regging?

I am wondering how poular this extension is.Is it dead?

 

[mjbenterprises]

I think it is dead.. I've seen many great keywords available in this ext, and I've never considered regging any of them....

 

[shane mac]

Yeah Ive found several names that I am mulling over, but if the extension is dead.... IDK.