Would you ever consider using a one word .US for a business?

[hookbox]

I know I know what am I thinking but I was curious of your thoughts. Would you ever consider using a one word .US for a business?

 

[cocaseco]

Yes, I would consider it. I think the type of business would be important in my final decision.

 

[Asfas1000]

I wouldn't.

 

[mhdoc]

I have accumulated a few because, with the exception of the .US they are so good. However, I notice that when I get serious about putting some real work into building a site, I always seem to find a .com to use.

 

[ulterios]

I think @cocaseco is right in that it would depend on the business type. Also it would depend on if my target audience was US based.

So, if everything was right then sure, why not?

 

[gotasale]

you remind me of sedo

they started their humble business on sedo.us ... then they got surprised of their business success later and they had to pay 80,000$ to buy sedo.com

 

[Domainace]

Like cocaseco said, it depends on the business. Sedo was never meant to be a strictly US business, no the .us name was going to be a disadvantage down the line.

The other thing to consider is that sedo.com may have cost them as much as 40-50 thousand in any case, even before they has the company up and running. It's an attractive and short domain.

If the .us can be had for $500 while the .com is, say, $25,000 - I would consider whether my start-up could afford to spend 25,000 of our limited funds on a domain right away. The money might be better used elsewhere. If we end up being successful and need to shell out $80,000 for the .com later on, at least we'll be a bigger company with more funds we can play with.

But it's all hypothetical without knowing what kind of business we are discussing, what the target market is, how much funding they have, and how important the domain might be to their early success.

 

[S-B]

I would not. Although, I have started websites on .nets (I would not recommend it) and now a .org! Maybe I'm a hypocrite. lol

 

[enlytend]

I've had affiliate sites on .us (and other non .com's) that did all right - a business site? Depends on the business. If it fits and you're only targeting a US market, it might work. Be prepared for some extra marketing because of the less-familiar URL.

 

[Kate]

I would, for a small business.
But not for a major, heavy-branding business venture, or one that is going to trade internationally.

Yet, using a .us for international commerce does not sound that odd after all, because other nations use their own ccTLDs more or less extensively, while the US is the only major country shunning its own TLD
.us would sound slightly provincial.

 

[hookbox]

They want 30 grand for the .com and I regged the .US last night for 4 bucks. Co, Net, Info, Me and some gTLDs already taken and Biz is available also but I don't like .biz much. The .US works perfectly for the word. I think a lot of people look at the .us extension not as United States but as Us as in a group of people and think that it could work internationally because of this. I have always been a firm believer in using .com but I really love the word by itself without having to add inc, company, source, store or whatever other word to create an available .com

I really appreciate all the feedback.

 

[JudgeMind]

I like .us for domain hacks

Example:

Join.us
Rate.us

 

[cocaseco]

...and Biz is available also but I don't like .biz much.

If you are serious about starting a business on the site, take the .biz off the market. For one reason, it removes a potential competitor. I use the "remove from a competitor" line all the time in selling a domain and many times I make a sale not because they wanted the domain, but because they wanted to keep their competition from having it. Its a cheap investment in your success.

 

[pchip]

It depends on the business and/or site on what domain extension may or may not be appropriate. Generally speaking, I wouldn't build any major business around a non .com extension. If you can't afford or the name is over priced for the .com variation of the name you want to acquire, then try to think of a different variation that could work. Sometimes you might find an even better name for your business.

 

[Alice Wonder Miscreations]

There really is nothing technical about .com that makes it better than .us or any of the other TLDs (other than the shrinking number that do not support DNSSEC)

In some respects it is like the brand of suit you wear to a sales meeting. I never personally put much stock into that because I have had too many well dressed confident successful slick suits try to rip me off.

But a lot of our culture does put heavy emphasis on image, and image is really all you are buying when you pay a lot for a .com.

What is fashionable I believe is changing, the young generation soon to have money burn will want something different because it is different.

Remember the "Not your Father's BMW" campaign? There's a reason they did that campaign, they wanted to dis-associate their brand from something that was an uncool relic of the older generation.

It worked, but there just isn't any way for .com to pull the same kind of campaign, because there is nothing technical to differentiate them from the competition.

Get the .com if it doesn't strain your budget, but otherwise don't worry about it until your business is successful enough that getting it won't strain your budget.

Domainers spend less than $10 a year to keep a domain registered. When they charge a high price, it can sit for 50 years unsold and they still make a profit from it. Now those of us who create have other options.

 

[Kate]

...
Remember the "Not your Father's BMW" campaign? There's a reason they did that campaign, they wanted to dis-associate their brand from something that was an uncool relic of the older generation.
...

On the other hand, the countless new extensions touted as alternatives (or worse, replacements) to .com are reminiscent of the infamous 'New Coke'

 

[Alice Wonder Miscreations]

Yes that is true.

 

[cocaseco]

Remember the "Not your Father's BMW" campaign? There's a reason they did that campaign, they wanted to dis-associate their brand from something that was an uncool relic of the older generation.

I believe it was actually Buick that ran that campaign. Old BMWs are still cool, whereas owning an old Buick is sort of like being marked with an L on your forehead. It was a very successful and lengthy campaign, which makes it super ironic that it is remembered as BMW.

 

[StellaMatthew]

Thanks but I'm not aware of it more.

 

[Nick]

I think @cocaseco is right in that it would depend on the business type. Also it would depend on if my target audience was US based.

So, if everything was right then sure, why not?

Am I crazy for being surprised I haven't, yet, found a buyer for Brewery.US ? There are thousands of them in the US. I think if I owned a brewery in the US, I'd want to own it.

I like .us for domain hacks

Example:

Join.us
Rate.us

YEEZ.US?