Long before the Internet was "invented" by Al Gore, the word "PRO" resonated in business and commerce. That trend (actually
foundation) only increased at a greatly accelerated pace post Internet. When free apps offer an upgrade path to feature rich, paid versions, have you noticed how "PRO" is appended to an app title more than any other generic descriptive keyword. How about Big Auto and home improvement companies? Start looking at the names of products and services. The keyword "PRO" is virtually everywhere! Brick and mortar companies have known that little "secret" for decades.
PRO = PROFESSIONAL GRADE
"PRO" is one of the greatest keywords
of all time to describe goods and services that are a cut above the rest. Mainstream domain investors shied away from .PRO because of strict ICANN imposed restrictions that created uncertainty in the .PRO aftermarket. As you know, at the ten year anniversary of .PRO, those restrictions were lifted in favor of adopting the same rules and regulations that now govern the release of hundreds of new domain extensions.
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Domain investors who stayed away may continue to bash .PRO, but the success of this extension will have nothing to do with wishing or hoping.
"PRO" IS A KICK ASS KEYWORD. PERIOD.
Sure, some marketing muscle would help move this extension forward (i.e., .CO, .ME), but cream rises to the top. It's like the laws of physics. If you have any doubt, compare the number of search results returned for the keyword "PRO" vs "Expert" vs "Guru". Just for fun, look at Google images for each of those keywords as well. That's why I'm going pro.
'Nuff said?
*Btw, the content of this paragraph can be used to answer that frequently asked question:
"Yeah, well if .PRO is all that, how come it languished
for ten years and did jack squat? Huh? Huh?"
And the best part is, the explanation contained in this paragraph is no spin doctored answer, it's the absolute truth! Had .PRO been held back and launched with the rest of the newTLDs, it would be near the top of the list in registrations. Naysayers can say it ain't so, but in reality, they know otherwise.
