discuss Why Dot-Best new tld may in fact be one of the "best"

[namemarket]

There seems to not be a lot of good potential keywords in front of .best These are my thoughts on that subject.

I believe one of the main perceived and quite possibly valid benefits of dot-best is keyword(s) do not necessarily need to be in front of "best" but can work without the best word in the name by being instead in the extension and which can replace the 'best' word by only being in the URL with extension.

For example, BestDomainName.com can be replaced with DomainName.Best and the search engines may rank it well or possibly even the same ranking, assuming the name is listed in the search index. A good example of that is as Cyril said 'Madeira Best' search results being the same or similar to 'Best Madeira' etc.

So the idea is BestKeyword.com or whatever can be replaced with Keyword.Best URL resulting in a shorter URL with search engines potentially giving value to the term by also using the reverse word order in the search index results. So in that random example the extension replaces a need to put the Best word in front of the dot.

I know it all sounds confusing but I have reasons to suspect this is actually correct and may be valid thinking and in fact I now personally like dot-best a lot and believe it's an excellent new extension, probably the "best" overall potential of any of the new tlds and certainly a good buy with the $1.98 promo, IMO.

 

[JB Lions]

There seems to not be a lot of good potential keywords in front of .best These are my thoughts on that subject.

I believe one of the main perceived and quite possibly valid benefits of dot-best is keyword(s) do not necessarily need to be in front of "best" but can work without the best word in the name by being instead in the extension and which can replace the 'best' word by only being in the URL with extension.

For example, BestDomainName.com can be replaced with DomainName.Best and the search engines may rank it well or possibly even the same ranking, assuming the name is listed in the search index. A good example of that is as Cyril said 'Madeira Best' search results being the same or similar to 'Best Madeira' etc.

So the idea is BestKeyword.com or whatever can be replaced with Keyword.Best URL resulting in a shorter URL with search engines potentially giving value to the term by also using the reverse word order in the search index results. So in that random example the extension replaces a need to put the Best word in front of the dot.

I know it all sounds confusing but I have reasons to suspect this is actually correct and may be valid thinking and in fact I now personally like dot-best a lot and believe it's an excellent new extension, probably the "best" overall potential of any of the new tlds and certainly a good buy with the $1.98 promo, IMO.

The truth is you probably can get a lot of good keywords since it's only at around 10k regs. That's why you like it. Then you're trying to find a reason/convince yourself words in the wrong order are a good thing and make a good domain, they don't.

 

[biggie]

I know it all sounds confusing but

when your brain tells you one thing, but.... you refute it with a but

that means you are experiencing cognitive dissonance

One of the legitimate knocks the new gTLD sceptics have made is that the registry held all of the good names. That did not happen here.

that's cuz it's bait left for you to register

you have go against all you've learned about proper grammar usage.
and because of the hype, you contemplate going against it, because they left you a few good keywords.

imo...

 

[frank-germany]

'Madeira Best' search results being the same or similar to 'Best Madeira' etc.

I guess thats not true at all

[best madeira] Volume: 90/mo | CPC: $0.32 |
[madeira best] Volume: 0/mo | CPC: $0.00 |
versus
[best places in madeira] Volume: 170/mo | CPC: $1.22 |
BestPlacesInMadeira.com is still available


switch your brain
ON

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I think any domain investment carries a lot of risk, and a repurposed one with a limited past sales record even moreso. That said, I agree with your reflections @namemarket and think this is an extension at least worth considering some level of investment (disclosure I have done so).

I had not realized until I checked it recently with searches that indeed the order of keywords does not matter essentially, at least now. Also, best itself is highly searched, as said. The SEO specialists tell us of the importance of social media mention (or at least Nibbler reminds me of my sorry social media state when they review my domain website ) so if the best registry plans for social media do become a reality, it would be a significant advantage.

I still prefer words where the order is well, best, but agree @namemarket they work both ways. I have some verbs where the order is right and some nouns where the order is reversed, but the name itself is more valuable.

It is funny @NYJimbo I agree with you that tons of good names are available to hand register right now, but I view that as an advantage not a reason not to invest in the domain name. One of the legitimate knocks the new gTLD sceptics have made is that the registry held all of the good names. That did not happen here.

I have no idea what future will hold, and any domain investment is risky, of course. Only invest what you can afford to lose. etc.

Bob

 

[Joe N]

For example, BestDomainName.com can be replaced with DomainName.Best and the search engines may rank it well or possibly even the same ranking, assuming the name is listed in the search index. A good example of that is as Cyril said 'Madeira Best' search results being the same or similar to 'Best Madeira' etc.

I've seen a few people talking about the .best TLD and pumping it as a big SEO advantage, but this strikes me as just plain false.

My understanding is that the domain name itself carries very little weight when it comes to ranking power. The key advantage of a strong domain name nowadays is brandability and perceived authority. And when you go with a TLD like .best, which most people and businesses have never heard of, those critical value factors take a big hit.

 

[NameLlama]

Check developed ones like
https://wallet.best/
https://english.best/
https://madeira.best/
https://www.violin.best/
Interesting

 

[offthehandle]

Check developed ones like
https://wallet.best/
https://english.best/
https://madeira.best/
https://www.violin.best/
Interesting

You forgot one. Horse.best

 

[Bob Hawkes]

sorry
I am wrong

you are right

It will quite likely be the only time in my domain career so could we officially designate today as "Bob Hawkes was right" day?

 

[Jay Ha]

DumbAndDum.best is avail..

 

[Yusupbabay]

https://egy.best/

 

[JB Lions]

What I mentioned earlier, spend a little time reading today when these first came out, the year 1 new gtlds. You'll start to see a pattern. I picked March 2014 - https://www.namepros.com/s/forums/gtld-discussion.217/page-100

Just check some pages before and after, read around some threads, all the predictions on those early ones.

We were talking about:
.tips
.band
.menu
.sexy
.voyage
.taxi
.pizza
.guru

just some of titles, I remember some big discussion on .voyage, not a term people really use today but people swore it was the next big deal:
Did People Fall Asleep on .Voyage?? -
Dot .Band - I predict success, but...

Is it true what I said most of the sales are at the beginning, first few years then they drop off? Pick one, .tips:
https://namebio.com/?s==UTOyQDM5AjM

Reported Sales
2019 - 0
2018 - 3
2017 - 5
2016 - 2
2015 - 13

Sales over $1,000
2019 - 0
2018 - 0
2017 - 1
2016 - 1
2015 - 10

Pick any first year new gltd, look at sales. Are they getting worse or better?

 

[NamesBond]

So, I'm looking at my email today and I see I have received spam from an address with a .space extension for the first time. I immediately blocked the "entire" extension from my inbox, as my spam filter allows me that option. (I figure, I've never received a legitimate email from a .space extension and no major businesses I interact with use it, so why not block it altogether...?)

I'm sure I'll do exactly the same thing the moment I receive my first .best spam email. (BTW, I just tested .best, and my email system allows me to block the extension...)

Point being, with most spam filters you can block the new extensions - which are frequently abused by spammers - but can NOT block legacy extensions, like .com, org, etc. As a businessperson, why would I EVER utilize ANY extension that can simply be blocked out for email purposes by a large contingent of my potential customers? As a domain investor, why would I ever invest in any extension that can be blocked, as this tremendously limits my investment upside?

JMHO, but these flavor-of-the-day new extensions are not the .best way to go for domain investors, whatever the registrar's particular business rationale... (Mind you, I'm not picking on .best here in particular, it's just a general observation... More and more admins are blocking email from the new extensions en masse, so it's definitely a "domainer beware" situation... )

Here's one webmaster's approach:

How do IT Managers Handle new Domain Spam? Block ALL new Domains – Interview

'Nuf said...

 

[Internet.Domains]

Regardless of the extension, .com included, I don't like to own a domain that has an adjective after a noun. For this reason I have been unable to come up with a grammatically correct sequence. I'm interested to know if anyone has been able to come up with a proper string.

 

[offthehandle]

Regardless of the extension, .com included, I don't like to own a domain that has an adjective after a noun. For this reason I have been unable to come up with a grammatically correct sequence. I'm interested to know if anyone has been able to come up with a proper string.

Worst.best, but some actually registered it.

 

[wurdd]

Personally, my favorite is milwaukees.best, but that's only because there is no dot beast.

 

[Brands.International]

Act.Best is my favourite domain name, so many potential uses

 

[BrandableDomain]

Here are the BEST NameBio reported dot COM suffix sales:

NaturalBest.com $25,000
BestBest.com $13,401
SinoBest.com $10,911
USbest.com $6,900
cubest.com $5,000
gerbest.com $4,108
IsBest.com $4,000
VoteForTheBest.com $4,000
IndiaBest.com $3,888
BakersBest.com $3,405
GardensBest.com $3,400
TheAbsoluteBest.com $3,388
MensBest.com $3,188
MomKnowsBest.com $3,000
CompareBest.com $3,000
ColoradosBest.com $3,000
FreshIsBest.com $2,950
ToolBest.com $2,888
GetBest.com $2,800
BitBest.com $2,500
AsiaBest.com $2,500
FiveBest.com $2,500
ParentsKnowBest.com $2,500
DaBest.com $2,500

Natural.best is or was available a couple of hours ago at Uniregistry for $239.04. Renewal price also $239.04. (Maybe that will change in August?)

Level.best is registered.

Absolute.best is registered.

Ten.best is registered.

Buy.best is registered.

 

[Yusupbabay]

I park this domain at bodis.com and for 4 days have a parking income of $ 0.26.

anyone can explain why the new extension can have parking revenue

 

[Joe N]

I don't disagree with what you say, and in fact have said more or less exactly several times on NPs that almost all domain investments are imho risky, that extensions without a record of sales are even more risky, and I have said this I think in two posts re .best in particular.

My argument was not meant as encouragement for others to invest in .best, but rather to point out that I think sometimes the domain name discussion focuses too narrowly on whether a domain name is suitable for a big business brand name as the only possible application. Yes, if you are selling single word .com for 5 or 6 figures or more, that is your market. But tons of domains sell to end users at small amounts for other uses.

Probably the .best people won't like my comparison in following two paragraphs, but I can tell you how I personally view the situation. I like domain phrases and if there is one thing I hope to leave the domain industry with, other than trying to take a balanced, quantitative, logical and respectful look at things (like you always do by the way), is push the needle in the marketing community to use domain names for marketing phrases. That is what got me back into domain names a couple of years ago, and although I own a variety of types of names, that is still my greatest interest personally. I do see that .best works (along with others like .life, .fun, .world, and many others) so i was interested in the extension.

I also am very risk averse. Right now I see an opportunity to get some (to me) nice domain phrases with rather small risk (the Dynadot promotion). I am not looking for $$$$+ sales. If I sell a name for $750 I am ecstatic, even at $200 I have a great day. Yes, absolutely little track record for .best (2 I think public record sales, 1 in NameBio). Although the new owners have only been running it really since mid fall (bought months earlier than that). So maybe too early to know.

When I started investing in .fun, another TLD I liked a lot for phrase possibilities it had been around for some time and there were no sales above $200 and very few at any level (there now is a registry one at $11,500). Anyway, I liked phrases, I spent $20 or so in investing in .fun domains. I sold one two months ago for $160. Not much but 150x my cost of that name and considerably more than all of my .fun in total. My personal view of .best is for me it makes sense to get some that make good phrases while they are still available. If I sell one, I way more than cover all my costs. If I sell none, it is a risk I accept and live with.

Only invest in domains what you can afford to lose. My mantra.

Bob

I see what you're saying, I do. It sure looks like the margins are super thin, though, if they're even there.

I like domains as a hobby, but ultimately I want to scale. I want to build my portfolio and make money. I can't do that by investing in 100 names in new extensions and selling four of them per year at $300 a pop.

I know there's a place for these things, believe me. I know people sell them sometimes. I just think that investing in them instead of the proven dominant TLD is putting yourself at an immediate disadvantage. Being the underdog is fun and all, but I'd rather give myself the best chance to succeed.

 

[NickB]

@Joe Nichols ( AKA unstoppable force ) meets @Bob Hawkes ( AKA immovable object )

The results are in anndddd it's the Irresistible force paradox!!

Great reading two different views that are not only well thought out but are good natured as well - been good reading.

Glad I'm sitting on the fence with all this .best conversations

 

[namemarket]

.....However, I think banking may be more traditional in thinking and less likely to go with an alternative extension.....

Agree that is correct in most cases but there are exceptions Bob. One in particular I was personally involved with was about 2 years ago after the new dot-bank extension came out.

I had (and still have today) a nice 4 letter dot-com acronym with surprising type-in traffic which I was using in a financial related but non-bank business category with no trademark risk. So a mid-size bank with many branches in Ohio asked me if they can buy my domain.

That bank was widely known for over 100-years by its acronym which matched the 4 words in its official long bank name and their marketing and advertising used my short acronym vs the long real bank name. The Bank President started negotiating with me starting at a very low $500.

When I told him more like several thousand $ not 3 figures he became angry and said in email I was a cyber-squatter on his bank name even though I never heard of that bank before since I am not in Ohio. He would not go above 3-figures even though the bank had more than $800,000,000 in assets and 3 or 4 figures (maybe even 5 figures) was insignificant to the bank.

So instead he buys the acronym.bank name such as ABCD.BANK which his customers and prospects little doubt don't type-in dot-bank but still go to my dot-com which is why today I am sure I get regular traffic from that. Ironically, the cost of dot-bank I heard was more than my price so the .bank ext cost him more money, harder marketing and more difficult SEO, plus likely lots of misdirected traffic every day.

 

[Joe N]

I am sorry Joe, it's my best secret.

Okay... but now I don't understand the point of telling us that .best ranks well. Why would you tell us the results of your research, but not the methods? The whole point of sharing results like this is to convince more people on NP to invest in .best. If you really want to convince us, we need to see that the results are based on something real.

Too many people on NP make lofty, unsupported claims. If you want to share, it's best to do it openly.

 

[NYJimbo]

Nope. Not feeling it. I mean it might have value way in the future, but the fact I can still reg valuable words like Interpreter.best or homecare.best or daycare.best or autoloan(s).best or travelvisa(s).best and many, many others, I think this is only going to be valuable for very liquid names.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

But one can say that of ANY new TLD that is not selling....

Besides, isn't the second year $129 ???

No you can't say it. If you look in many ngTLDs even those with limited sales, often there are a ton of good names registry reserved and only for sale as a premium. Yes, some premium in .best but I know from having invested many hours in search there are many more than in some of the other thinly traded extensions.

Re renewal, it has been announced by the registry that the wholesale price to registrars for renewals has been dropped to approximately $15. The notice was sent out in February so becomes active on August. I don't know where this is in writing, but the co-CEO of the registry has stated it here on NPs.

Bob