The .PRO Discussion

[InvisionTech]

It seems .PRO is slowly coming out of the cage with cheaper reg prices than they were a year ago and major registrars like netsol taking notice of the extension and promoting it.

Here are some that I picked up in last couple of days:

Alexandria.pro

Anchorage.pro

Arlington.pro

Belfast.pro

Birmingham.pro

Budapest.pro

Durham.pro

Fairfax.pro

Italian.pro

Lisbon.pro

Fire away with your regs after the relaunch on September 8th, 2008.

 

[Londoneli]

Anyone seen any good developed .pro's they want to report? I've been reworking some of my sites like sparkle.pro for online jewelry.

ex my domain.. I sold it for 4,600$:
www.diva.pro

 

[vadts]

ex my domain.. I sold it for 4,600$:
www.diva.pro

Hi Londoneli! What do you think about my carat.pro?

---------- Post added at 02:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

just sold: yellowpages.pro (Sedo)

 

[johname]

just sold: yellowpages.pro

your lucky it's gone, the yellowpage people are paranoid about their trademark. Hide the profit under the mattress

 

[vadts]

your lucky it's gone, the yellowpage people are paranoid about their trademark. Hide the profit under the mattress

Should I be afraid of their claims?

 

[JoeBiz]

Though, tbh, I don't see the current restrictions as a drawback at all, do you really want to open the zone to spammers and scammers?

Well I'm glad you keep up with this stuff because I can't read any more newsletters than I already do. Seems like every other article is about another UDRP and I've about had all I can stand on that subject.

But regarding the restrictions, I see them as the single factor that has kept total registration below 100,000 when it could be well into the millions. If Pros aren't being sold then there's no profit to be made. And without the profit motive no one (no registrar) is willing to invest any money in promoting dot Pro.

You said that you don't see the current restrictions as a drawback. OK, let's agree that they are not a drawback. If that's the case, what will eventually bring any real value to the Pros? Throw me a bone. I'm dying here. {:~ ]


8^X

 

[mwzd]

As with all other extensions, resale markup comes from buyer awareness, whether through development or promotion, that is the inherent value of .com, at least imho.

Getting the right SLD (domain keyword) is pretty much most of the battle, luck / venue helps when it comes to resale, why a Diva.pro sells for more than Cruise.pro for example.

Go out and find end users, waiting for them to come to you might be easier, but the profits are in going after them yourself.

 

[webdomain]

Sales over..time to develop! I'll be working over the next month to raise rank on 3dtv.pro as currently with little development it on page 4-5 of google results under 3dtv

I'll report back on my progress for raising rank with the goal of page1.

 

[JoeBiz]

As with all other extensions, resale markup comes from buyer awareness, whether through development or promotion, that is the inherent value of .com, at least imho.

Thanks for the input Samit. I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for a minute.

You say "As with all other extensions ..." I think I'd have to stop there and say that with the restrictions, Pros are unique and not at all like all other extensions.

And as a promoter I'd ask myself why I would want to invest money to promote an extension that has a built in anchor slowing it down.

Getting the right SLD (domain keyword) is pretty much most of the battle, luck / venue helps when it comes to resale, why a Diva.pro sells for more than Cruise.pro for example.

I couldn't agree more with your first statement. I was lucky enough to stumble on to Pros when there were some good pickins to be had. They're not all golden but their quality is something I don't worry about. And when I do make a sale I'd say that luck and keyword are the reasons. I think if you have one without the other you're not going to make many sales.

Go out and find end users, waiting for them to come to you might be easier, but the profits are in going after them yourself.

For a number of reasons I'm not in the position to do this.


8^X

 

[mwzd]

You say "As with all other extensions ..." I think I'd have to stop there and say that with the restrictions, Pros are unique and not at all like all other extensions.

There are a LOT of ccTLDs with nexus requirements (restrictions) that do very well - including .de, .co.uk, .com.au & .ca - not so much gTLDs but there it is. In the case of .pro I think the restrictions reduce the risk for site visitors since not everyone can own one and the ones that do provide verifiable pro credentials to the registry unlike .com.

And as a promoter I'd ask myself why I would want to invest money to promote an extension that has a built in anchor slowing it down.

You are not investing money in promoting the extension, none of us are tbh, you're investing in keywords that you assume will give you good ROI.

I have less than 50 .pro domains, the max I've ever had and I'm not worried at all about my investment in .pro - a couple of sales will put me in the black.

Renewal rates are down from $100 to $15, registrations are up from 15k to 100k and frequent sales posted, which is all a positive for the extension.

Oh and when I said 'go out and find end users' I didn't mean it literally, you can contact end users by email.

 

[serryjw]

I think Afilias needs ICANN permission to drop restrictions, else they face problems similar to what the .jobs registry is facing.

Though, tbh, I don't see the current restrictions as a drawback at all, do you really want to open the zone to spammers and scammers?

HybridDomainer didn't do the study, he just blogged about it, it was done by LeadDomainSearch http://www.leandomainsearch.com/blo...opular-topics-on-the-internet-by-domain-count

I think on that list 'art' is what surprised a LOT of people, I've been commenting on the lack of available 'art' domains for a while now.

PRO is at number 10, excellent for brand development and certainly a huge plus for the extension.

MWZD..A NEWBIE HERE. I THOUGHT THAT .PRO WAS FOR PROFESSIONALS, doctors, lawyers.I have seen the craziest .pros here..explain, PLEASE!
Thanks,Serry

 

[JoeBiz]

You are not investing money in promoting the extension, none of us are tbh, you're investing in keywords that you assume will give you good ROI.

I have less than 50 .pro domains, the max I've ever had and I'm not worried at all about my investment in .pro - a couple of sales will put me in the black.

Good Morning Wiz. Hope you had a nice weekend.

When I said "as a promoter" I didn't mean to imply that as a domainer I was promoting. What I meant was that if I was a registrar (or anyone else) contemplating promoting the .pro extension, I think that I could easily find a better place to put my money.

I have about 230 .pro's remaining ... down from 240 to 250. Based on my initial registration fees I am well into the black with no more than five or six sales. But I'm spending $3,400 a year just to maintain my Profolio.

The large majority of domainers are simply not aware that the Pro extension is available for purchase. It would only take one or two large registrars to begin supporting Pros to give demand a huge boost along with the resale value.

Let me leave you with one question. Why does GoDaddy support .de, .ca and .co.uk but not .pro?


8^X

 

[Jawed]

Why does GoDaddy support .de, .ca and .co.uk but not .pro?

Because local businesses don't have any alternative to .de, .ca and .co.uk.

I know .com is the default extension for the US but in countries like UK, Germany, India and China etc the local businesses prefer ccTLDs. There are many instances where .co.uk could be as valuable as .com.

 

[mwzd]

MWZD..A NEWBIE HERE. I THOUGHT THAT .PRO WAS FOR PROFESSIONALS, doctors, lawyers.I have seen the craziest .pros here..explain, PLEASE!
Thanks,Serry

You have to be a certified pro to register .PRO domains, but they don't necessarily have to be on the same subject as your credentials.

I have about 230 .pro's remaining ... down from 240 to 250. Based on my initial registration fees I am well into the black with no more than five or six sales. But I'm spending $3,400 a year just to maintain my Profolio.

From a portfolio of 250 domains you should ideally sell 5 per year, that would cover your registration and leave you with a surplus at the end of the year.

Of course the keyword is probably the most important part of this, if you don't have keywords that people would pay $1k+ for in an alternate, not so well known extension, you might consider reducing your portfolio down to those keywords that will work.

 

[JoeBiz]

Because local businesses don't have any alternative to .de, .ca and .co.uk.

That explains why they do support those 3 extensions but it doesn't explain why they don't support .pro.

 

[-EM-]

That explains why they do support those 3 extensions but it doesn't explain why they don't support .pro.

Maybe because it is an unknown gTLD?

 

[MicroGuy]

Maybe because it is an unknown gTLD?

Unknown, unwanted, and unneeded. Kind of like me at a college sorority car wash. IMHO. ()

 

[webdomain]

MG that is just not a true statement. The registry is expanding like it or not.

 

[JoeBiz]

Maybe because it is an unknown gTLD?

But that's how extensions gain exposure, through registrars willing to promote them. I doubt that .co would have done anything to write home about had GoDaddy not promoted it. Same applies to .me's and their sedo auctions.

Extensions don't become well known and then promoted. They are promoted and then they become well known.

 

[Kate]

Exactly the problem, .pro is not carried by mainstream registrars.
Also, the restrictions albeit minor are not a selling point either.

 

[webdomain]

yes, but knowing how tough it is to get a registry to promote an extension at least .pro has many registrars with ads on their front pages! New extensions are going to have the same struggle and competition for that shelf space will only get worse. I think .pro has a big leg up with even their current position as well as the developed registry base of users.