It's frustrating when opinions offered are not even calculated to help me better understand this industry or a domain's value. As you know, so much of domaining is based on metrics of one form or another that become the measure for desirability and worth of a domain name. I don't think that asking for the "human metrics" on which an opinion is based is unreasonable.
Yes, you're probably right, though when you do ask in an open forum, whether here or in the valuation section, you will always get more than a few frivolous replies, but they shouldn't be ignored either, people are doing exactly what you asked for - offering their opinion. How much you trust said opinion is entirely upto you, but its easy to separate the wheat from the chaff.
If the people posting understood that domaining is not a hobby for many of us and that we are looking for useful, actionable information, maybe it would take the conversation level up a notch or two on this forum.
Again, you're probably right, though I've learnt as much from inane comments as I have from constructive criticism. When people offer a contrarian view, someone will mostly come along and offer a few gems that make the whole discussion worthwhile. You can debate only with mensa members, but then the average joe would probably be left out of the conversation and thats not a good thing, imho.
I spend at least fifty hours a week pouring through lists, reading forums, talking to developers, working on projects, etc. in an effort to create a better future for myself and for my family. If you read my posts here at NamePros, you will see that I take this business very seriously and that when I post, I try to add something useful to the conversation. So when others dismiss me and my efforts without a thought, I feel compelled to respond because all I'm asking for is thoughtful feedback - whether or not someone agrees with me is not the point. I welcome opposing viewpoints, but tell me why so I can learn from it. -WW
It is a serious business and its good that you give it the time and effort it requires, but with alternative non-mainstream extensions like .pro and cctlds, the game changes dramatically from the .com world.
For one - even if you have great metrics for a particular search term, that does not automatically translate to good traffic for alternate extensions. Most end users aren't even really aware of .pro, I'd go so far as to say more people would probably recognise .asia than .pro atm.
But, and here's the crunch factor, with exceptional keywords, seo becomes a lot easier, even if the extension is not as popular. You'll have people disagreeing here too, but as a developer and an seo expert I can assure you this is a fact.
Which brings us to .pro value - w/o inherent traffic there are two avenues for you to profit from said domains - 1. Resale 2. Development.
Development is not everyone's cup of tea and we really can't develop our entire portfolio at one go, except for minisites which don't really perform very well for any extension.
For resale you're looking for keywords whose equivalent even in .info would be a four figure name. Why would you even go for a second rung name when top rung names are commonly sold for $xx - $xxx on Namepros. And the proof of the pudding is in the eating, selling to an end user means educating them about what .pro is, why it is relevant, what the value of said keyword in alternate extensions would be and why this is a bargain.
And this is not easy, why I've limited my .pro investment to keywords that I can't even get for .in or even new cctlds for that matter.
For cctlds / pro / tel etc I have one basic rule - similar domains in .com would be in the six figure range at the very least, even if you could buy them. When you have such a high value name, even small development can help you tap into search traffic forever.
Single keywords have performed the best for any cctld / pro / new extension - so thats pretty much a holy grail - though even i cant turn down livepoker.pro or onlinecasino.ag - they're top of the line keywords but selling them is pretty tough.
Domaining is not my hobby. I support myself exclusively with domaining and development. Here is my take on the matter: Run, do not walk away from anything .PRO related. It is a complete waste of your time. There is no present and almost certainly no future in this extension. IMHO.
.pro has more of a future than .tv tbh. Plus the same keywords i have in .pro for low $x,xxx would cost me a few million dollars in .com, why I prefer .pro, the .com is out of my reach. Try and offer succinct advice, generalisations are generally for the foolish.
Fans of .pro tend to blame the Registry too much. I guess part of the problem is somewhere else.
Its in the mass adoption of the tld by developers and from there end users, but that would mean that said developers are even eligible for registering these domains, why people blame the registry.
What I meant was, specifically in what ways would .PRO impede or be a liability or less profitable for the ways YOU do business domaining? I'm not looking for rebuttals or endorsement as much as clarification and some specifics in order to evaluate the merits of your claim.
You're barking up the wrong tree. They can't even tell you how they make money from .com, not in any open forum in any case
