.mobi What alot of people do not get about the current state of the mobile internet

[mykel241]

I have read post after post about keywords, overture, to long, to short, hyphens, etc. well I am here to tell you that, what you do not realize is that only a couple % of mobile phone users ever type in a URL from their phone. THEY FOLLOW LINKS that are on their bookmarked sites. The majority of the time they keep following them until they find something that interest them. You could basically loop someone through 100 sites if you wanted to.

With the mobile internet content is king. It is not your name that matters. It is the saturation of your brand, links, mobile search positioning that matters. Why do you think click-through rates are so high on developed sites that actually get mobile traffic. It is because it is easier and faster to click and follow a link/banner then to try to type in a new url. Never mind that fact of the domains with hyphens. That is the worst to try to type on 90% of the phones out there.

You could have the best generic mobile domain name in the world and it does not matter at this point. To tell you the truth it may not ever matter. What will matter is your content and how easily someone can get to it without typing a URL.

When you get an pair of eyes keep them. Funnel them to other sites you own. Give them a reason to come back to your site. What I am currently doing is creating a network of mobile sites. I will spend a good budget getting US eyeballs to my main site. Once their I will give them the option to download a jar file with network quick links to all of my sites to their mobile device. If they choose not to download the file I will then ask them for either an email address or phone number so I can keep them updated with all my sites via text messaging, or email. This way they always have a link to click.

Michael

 

[garrett200]

Of course generic names don't matter now, because the mobile internet is in its infancy.

Let's not kid ourselves, most people are buying generic .mobi names now thinking that in the future they will be worth a lot of money.

Developing or no developing, generics (especially short ones, highly searched) will be worth a small fortune if and when there are 2 billion people using the mobile internet.

How much would you pay for undeveloped "mortgage.com" in 1995? How much would you pay now?

 

[nrmillions]

You are right that the name doesnt matter on a mobile but the name doesnt matter on a PC either if you have a really good developed site. That is why Google.com would be worth way more than SearchEngine.com. Generic names will still get you traffic though without marketing. I think eventually users will type in URLs into their phone. The reason they dont do that now is because there are not very many sites optimized for mobiles and they dont know the names of the sites that are. This will all start to change though. If voice recognition comes out then people will definitely speak a URL to go straight to it.

 

[mykel241]

I kind of disagree. I am still on fence but if you think about mobile is about beings hands free especially when driving.

What is going to happen when someone just says Stock news into their device and they are taken to a page with stock news? or celebrity gossip? or closed gas stations to 02865?

I think that voice recognition will play a large roll and this means that content and the amount of money you want to spend for the carriers to deliver your site to their network is all that will matter. The internet leveled the playing field to a point but the mobile internet will be about big media buys, expensive keywords, and he who has the most money to spend wins.

I hate to say it, and sound a little negative but in 5-10 years it is very possible that no one will even need a URL. Do some patent searches and you will see what I mean.

These are just my CURRENT opinions. I still own alot of mobile names and sites but at the same time I am trying to be a realist. The URL is very restrictive and a risky investment.

If voice recognition comes out then people will definitely speak a URL to go straight to it.

They will speak what they are looking for and their carriers network will take then to whatever service paid more for the key word redirect.

Michael

 

[Keith]

I say if the name doesnt matter then everyone should sell me your LLL and nice keywords for reg. fee. I respect opinions in namepros but come on. Of course the name matters.

keithmt

 

[verbster]

Which is more important, the name or the extension? The search or the type-in?

 

[dag]

What is going to happen when someone just says Stock news into their device and they are taken to a page with stock news? or celebrity gossip? or closed gas stations to 02865?

But that's exactly why generics are so useful! People will say a generic term if that's what they're looking for but don't know a specific site they want to go to...

 

[satsdifference.com]

Both and beyond

We kind of get into trouble in this world when we set up black and white.. or an "either/or" scenario..

The truth usually unfolds so that it is "both and beyond"..

All of the above can be true in some capacity for the unfolding trends..

And it is GOOD to be eyeing the trends, especially as domainers..

Speculation is good, because in the domaining world you have to be first with a new registration among 6 billion people.. 2nd place doesn't cut it..

With that said, I am concerned about the day when people will think of not needing a URL or undercutting it!

That's bad.

Remember when those big companies tried to get us to use their "keywords" system that yielded websites they chose?

Prefix.Suffix domain name needs to be preserved! Or, risk losing the One Internet for the faster global brotherhood and emerging virtual global economy.. from losing it to several private intranets..

The URL should be the least to go obsolete in the techie world.. this is my concern, and why I am against browser defaults to the .mobi (why not just use a programmable hot key).. I know this might upset some of you, but you have to draw a line somewhere.. with the power that we will witness manifest from Dot Mobi Gang, principles for the betterment of humanity need to be observed.. at least I will advocate for them.. as I do for this at http://internethumanrights.com

Don't worry my Dot Mobi colleagues, you may just have 7 cars instead of 8..

If we can Hold On!

:wave:



Kind Regards,

Yelo

 

[labrocca]

Interesting topic...let me see if I can stir it up a bit.

1. OP is right ...names don't matter currently for mobi development matters
2. OP is right again when he says the future may have voice recognition built in. Opera already has begun voice recognition software in it's PC versions.
3. KeithMT...wrong as usual.

There are only so many good valuable generics for mobi. Bah...maybe this post wasn't even worth writing as I know what the responses will be already.

 

[Keith]

Interesting topic...let me see if I can stir it up a bit.

1. OP is right ...names don't matter currently for mobi development matters
2. OP is right again when he says the future may have voice recognition built in. Opera already has begun voice recognition software in it's PC versions.
3. KeithMT...wrong as usual.

There are only so many good valuable generics for mobi. Bah...maybe this post wasn't even worth writing as I know what the responses will be already.

Labrocca you are always right on the money. Just another hater who missed the boat. Sorry! But why cant you stay away from the mobi forum if it is all hogwash? You can come out of the closet anytime you choose, we will be waiting with open arms.

keithmt

 

[GeoOwners]

would the people that own poker.mobi, sex.mobi, porn.mobi, hotels.mobi and restaurants.mobi contact me asap!


thanks


.

 

[labrocca]

I been a part of namepros actively LONG before mobi...and currently this mobi area gets the most activity...so I participate. You got a problem with that? I suggest you get over it.

btw...I didn't miss the boat..I stood on the docks and waved it good-bye with my middle-finger.

Let me repeat for those with difficult time with reading comprehension.

names don't matter currently

How much does sex.mobi make? Show me stats for income and I might change my mind. Currently no one brags about parking revenue and I suspect it's because it doesn't exist.

btw..poker.mobi, sex.mobi, porn.mobi, hotels.mobi and restaurants.mobi ALL OWNED BY MTLD and don't even resolve. Isn't that damn interesting. One has to really wonder if mobi doesn't start doing well if mtld won't just keep these premium names and create sites themselves.

 

[fautebol]

Mykel241,

I think you make a very good point here and I agree in part (it's indeed one of the two main arguments I saw against .mobi until now). But, it seems logical to me that if you have closed portals, this is the case. Indeed, I think for quite some time, phones won't be made to really use urls and it's actually pretty terrible to do it when I use mine...But, if you really have many developped sites, I'm not sure this will hold true..The fact "that only a couple % of mobile phone users ever type in a URL from their phone" does not say much to me regarding the future IMHO. I think your statements in the opening post are a bit too strong, because you would really need a vision of how it would work with a developed mobile web (not the actual situation). But rep added. Good to see some serious arguments (whatever pro or against)

Which is more important, the name or the extension?

Indeed...If you are mainly following links, a new dedicated extension could become quite important...

 

[garrett200]

labrocca,

Everyone knows that the names don't matter currently, isn't that a no brainer? The question is, will generics be worth a lot if and when .mobi makes it. The answer is yes.

Also, a handfull of internet entrepreneurs on this forum or any other forum making cute little dot mobi sites is not going to make or break .mobi. Just like if they made cute little .ws sites, the same thing would happen: nothing!

People here can develop until the cows come home and nothing will happen until the biggies join the fray and start promoting the hell out of their mobi sites. When that happens, then content will matter and some of these good generic names will be worth a fortune UNDEVELOPED.

 

[labrocca]

Agreed Garrett. However it's just as obvious that if mobi makes it...that generics might be worth more. And even more obvious but not stated is that if mobi doesn't take-off that most mobi's will be in regfee value.

 

[verbster]

mobi might have a tougher time when the car industry starts including wifi internet systems (with screens) as options in certain models this year...and soon this wifi system will include GPS, music downloads, integrated phone, voice recognition, etc. Maybe a few years, but it's coming (including, most likely, a HUD for the driver) I can't imagine they'll use anything else but what's already in place, but maybe mobi will be part of it by then.

 

[mjnels]

mobi might have a tougher time when the car industry starts including wifi internet systems (with screens) as options in certain models this year...and soon this wifi system will include GPS, music downloads, integrated phone, voice recognition, etc. Maybe a few years, but it's coming (including, most likely, a HUD for the driver) I can't imagine they'll use anything else but what's already in place, but maybe mobi will be part of it by then.

huh?

were going to live in our cars when they are equiped with wifi systems?

 

[armstrong]

Here's my fearless forecast: URLs and domains are here to stay.

Sure you can have links that people can follow, or voice-recognition, or predictive tech, etc. But leveraging these can only add to your traffic, not replace your site address. Technologies change, but in the end, people will still need a way to tell the system where they want to go, and what it is they want, exactly. Without this, you'll have the system doing the picking for you, making the decisions that are rightfully yours.

Think about it. Why do we still have phone numbers? Can you imagine a system to replace phone numbers? How about house numbers, or zip codes? Street names have been around since forever in history, and although we've gone from dirt roads to ten-lane highways, the street names are still in use.

 

[scandiman]

URL's especially matter for branding in other media. If I'm in the used car business I'm going to direct someone seeing my news paper ad to my website to see more product on my lot. I'm not going to suggest they run a google search (be it voice or keystrokes) for used cars, or even for my company name for that matter since maybe some disgruntled customer set up a site to discredit me.

I think SMS is so dang popular because people don't want to be heard in public. This will significantly limit the use of voice commands I think because really, who is going to talk into their phone "search for porn" on the bus when instead they can silently type it on their keypad.

 

[mykel241]

I guess what we need is a crystal ball. Look how fast the internet grew. What happens once all devices converge and its more seamless? Home, Car, Work, Personal?

Anybody a futurist?


Michael