discuss What is the next big extension after .COM?

[Arpit131]

What do you think is the next big extension after .COM?
What do you prefer, in case, lets say that the .COM is not available?
Is it .NET, .Org, your ccTLD, some particular ccTLD, or .CO, .IO considering some startup would buy it ?

What is your next preference. Everybody might have a different view!
Please share your views and why?

 

[domainerfella]

Suppose I started a service (tech or non-tech) and .com is already registered. And I want that keyword very badly. I will go for .NET. Why? Nobody will ask me, ".NET? What?" I would not want even the least net savvy consumer to get confused with my business name. I like .IO with tech domains but I am sure I will get questions from the above category of consumers, ".IO? What?" which is something I want to avoid. So I will go with the .NET and work on its SEO and can even beat the .COM version. If the service flourishes, I would want to make an offer to the .COM owner

 

[jamesosix]

for me it depends on how I drive traffic.

If its mainly online advertising (such as adwords or fb etc) then the extension isn't as important as the keyword(s) because people generally wont be paying attention to the address bar.

If i need to advertise offline then .net, or .co.uk/.uk.

 

[dncafe]

Suppose I started a service (tech or non-tech) and .com is already registered. And I want that keyword very badly. I will go for .NET. Why? Nobody will ask me, ".NET? What?"

If you look at bigger companies, they will always stick with a .com. If they can't get the exact match word dot com, they will add a prefix like "get" or "my". If you wanted bike.com and it was taken, you would see the use of mybike.com, rather than going with bike.net or bike.newextenstion

 

[JamesCrew]

First, I would always have more than a single choice when it comes to naming a business and will always try to stick with .com.

But just in case if I am badly in love with the domain term I am looking for (which is already taken in .com), I will go with .co extension without any hesitation.

Cheers,

 

[Suraj Soni]

as a domain i am .io domains are doing good now a days.

 

[jmcc]

The .NET TLD is in decline. The .ORG TLD is stable and may be a poor alternative to .COM. However I don't think that the repurposed ccTLDs like .CO and .IO are quite in the same class as these TLDs. As for ccTLD markets, the .COM is actually a legacy TLD in many of them.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Omar Negron]

As of right now, .com is "king". If I were to have to choose another TLD then I would go with .org. Only because most people outside of the internet understand the .org extension and what it usually goes with. (charities, non profits, etc)

-Omar

 

[Rado_Ch]

No straightforward answer to this one. Few things to consider:

- always try and find a nice sounding .COM name. Don't necessarily look to incorporate keywords, brand value is constantly growing so a nice brandable domain can also do the trick
- if there is no way to get your hands on a good .COM then the next choice would depend on your online project at hand. .NET is a good alternative but if you are a non-profit organization .ORG would be more relevant.
- if you are a local business always make sure to get the ccTLD too, sometimes it might even be enough without getting any extra extensions
- if your project is aimed primarily towards young people you can take a risk and go for some of the "hip" new gTLDs like .BLOG, .TRAVEL, .PHOTO etc.

Hope that sheds some light...

 

[Name Trader]

Definitely If I can't have the .com, I go for .sucks But seriously, If I cannot find a similar .com, I move on to another domain.

 

[Ganah ALLAN]

A .biz is also an alternative. I would go for .biz instead of a .net because I want to establish the fact that mine is more of doing business and not a network-related venture. A .biz is also a good alternative for corporate site.

 

[Nem0]

The .NET TLD is in decline. The .ORG TLD is stable and may be a poor alternative to .COM. However I don't think that the repurposed ccTLDs like .CO and .IO are quite in the same class as these TLDs. As for ccTLD markets, the .COM is actually a legacy TLD in many of them.

Regards...jmcc

I've sold a couple .nets this year so far for decent dough. A handful last year. I don't think they are in decline if they are good keywords or a nice brandable that is being used in .com. Some Euro countries use them with no prob and some startups don't seem to mind them.

 

[jmcc]

I've sold a couple .nets this year so far for decent dough. A handful last year. I don't think they are in decline if they are good keywords or a nice brandable that is being used in .com. Some Euro countries use them with no prob and some startups don't seem to mind them.

The TLD itself is in decline and it is losing registrations. From the monthly web usage surveys that I run, there tends to be quite a few new Chinese affiliate style websites appearing but development on .NET websites tends to be lower than .COM. They are used in European countries but they are very much legacy registrations. Most European countries are ccTLD postitive and the .NET would only represent approximately 10% (or less) of gTLD domains registered in some of those countries.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Omar Negron]

I've sold a couple .nets this year so far for decent dough. A handful last year. I don't think they are in decline if they are good keywords or a nice brandable that is being used in .com. Some Euro countries use them with no prob and some startups don't seem to mind them.

I agree about .NET's. It really depends on what the word or phrase is. When its a term with super high search volume, describes something, and has advertiser bids, it still has value.

-Omar

 

[Rado_Ch]

The TLD itself is in decline and it is losing registrations. From the monthly web usage surveys that I run, there tends to be quite a few new Chinese affiliate style websites appearing but development on .NET websites tends to be lower than .COM. They are used in European countries but they are very much legacy registrations. Most European countries are ccTLD postitive and the .NET would only represent approximately 10% (or less) of gTLD domains registered in some of those countries.

Regards...jmcc

Yeah, but I'd undermine the importance of this factor as its a completely natural process. Its one thing to compete with .COM and a few other players (like .ORG .BIZ .INFO) and its completely different when you have hundreds and hundreds of competitors. Of course all registration, surely even the .COM ones, become more scattered with the introduction of new TLDs, even if its just in a limited "hype" period. I still think .NET is too far ahead on the 2nd place and it will remain that way until a nice alternative gains momentum.

 

[Suna Yavas]

.net it is. I dont like to point those type of questions to sales history. But .net is still sometimes. Its better then having a "-" in your domain.

 

[brandnow]

.One

 

[jmcc]

Yeah, but I'd undermine the importance of this factor as its a completely natural process. Its one thing to compete with .COM and a few other players (like .ORG .BIZ .INFO) and its completely different when you have hundreds and hundreds of competitors. Of course all registration, surely even the .COM ones, become more scattered with the introduction of new TLDs, even if its just in a limited "hype" period. I still think .NET is too far ahead on the 2nd place and it will remain that way until a nice alternative gains momentum.

The ccTLDs are the alternatives, at a local level, to .COM. That's what a lot of people are missing. As a global TLD, the .COM is the leader. The new gTLDs are in the early stages of their development and what generally happens in this stage is that most new websites in those gTLDs will actually be clones or redirects to the main .COM or .ccTLD website. The pattern typically takes a few years to change as the TLD matures. Apart from looking at this as a domainer, I also run monthly web usage surveys of new gTLDs, a number of ccTLDs and the main gTLDs so I see how the usage percentages vary.

The question really should be qualified as "what is the next big global extension after .com?". At the level of country markets, the .COM has been overtaken in most countries outside the US (the .COM is effectively the US ccTLD as .US has been so poorly marketed).

Regards...jmcc

 

[hookbox]

I think it all depends on what type of business you are starting. First and always I would choose a .COM. If it's a brick and mortar store and you also have a website then I would go with a .NET. If you are a purely online tech startup then I would choose a .CO or maybe a .IO. If I owned a pool service company then I wouldn't mind having a hyphenated .COM or even a .BIZ. It all comes down to the exact application of your business concept to choose the right extension. Obviously first I would exhaust all resources to find a .COM but if a good alternative is not available in .COM then I would go to another option.

 

[Name Trader]

If you cannot find a suitable keyword .com I'd go for a brandable .com instead of a .net. But I do agree with @hookbox comments above. It actually depends on the end use.

 

[rafass]

.io will be the next.

 

[brandnow]

.Org is the best alternative to .Com, especially if you are doing any kind of organizational development for the site.

I see in the future there being little use for .Net now, especially with much more relevant nGTLDs available.

 

[Doug B]

.Org is the best alternative to .Com, especially if you are doing any kind of organizational development for the site.

I agree. Org also has an air of respectability to it. Comes across with more authority than .net

 

[Asfas1000]

I would choose .org or the cctld if no plans to go global.

 

[lumia21]

Anyone here think the same as me that .com is always the most credible and powerful domain? even you have .org, .co, .net, 50% of them related to spam.
.uk is a different story then, and I think it's as nice as .com. If the domain is taken, might have alternatives such as .sch.uk, .plc.uk, ac.uk and so on