Morning Folks!!
Numbers have always been my road map. Numbers cut through all the motives, agendas and bullshit and hopes and all the rest. Numbers don't lie people do. I am guilty of forming opinions based on numbers regardless of the fallout or who is involved and I have done that since 1996. I test and I report. I invest to find REAL answers. My reports cut all ways because I just follow them wherever those numbers lead and to the conclusions they provide. I now have some conclusions and if you have been following my posts over the past year you won't be surprised. Some will always squeal but that is because they are emotionally and financially invested in whatever results I find if it does not dovetail with what they want to hear and their agenda.
First of all anything can be sold. Any extension has an aftermarket. So there is always money to be made. So let's be clear on that. Even manure has value.
.Com is universal because you can put any word or combination of words and it sounds good not awkward. However you can't say that about all extensions. Even extensions I like have limits. .ME in particular. Call to action verbs and some nouns. Not all work well or sound good. There are limits. .TV may be more universal as you can put anything that would naturally go with TV before the dot.
So at this point in time I would say .COM, .TV, .ME, Are the 3 primary extensions today and into the years ahead. We will see if any of the new extensions are universal. I can't see more than a handful even having a chance and I don't count .Company because I see that more as an Intranet as opposed to an Internet.
.mobi, .biz, .co, .xxx, RIP. These extensions have had the benefits of a single star on stage and have yet to reap much in the way of rewards. Again, you can flip these extensions and make a living. I don't focus on that. I focus on raw and natural value and whether it will go up or down in the future. I just see them now with limited futures because the NUMBERS point that way. Could that change? Sure! But it is doubtful with thousands of next extensions entering the marketplace.
That said, you can do well promoting ANY extension IF and ONLY IF you own the .COM counterpart. Sorry, this is just not a debatable issue except for people that are ignorant on the subject. Any other choice and it is guaranteed to cost you a significant portion of business. That business that is lost is the cream, the profit. It is not just another sale. It is not just another 1000 sales. So while companies go googoo over SEO, they are missing the more important piece and time sensitive piece of the puzzle which is a 'Domain Strategy'.
See this was not something that was debatable before O.co as far as I was concerned. But when they went public and announced the amount of folks that were actually confused was the majority of folks. 61% to be precise. What IDIOT can copy that KNOWING this?? That is my position! I mean I would have to define an idiot as making a business decision that could cost them up to 61% or more of ALL of their NEW business.
Now I am NOT calling the guys at Overstock, idiots. Quite the contrary. They had the balls to try something and when it did not work they had the balls to change course. They even had the balls to announce the actual numbers. So the folks I am calling idiots is anyone that has that information and still ignores it or buries it. That's an idiot by my definition. Ignoring important information and not learning from other peoples mistakes.
Personally I wanted to develop Rick.TV. But each time I think of doing it I just refer back to what I just wrote. I don't own Rick.com. That means much of the fruit of MY labor will end up somewhere else. That's a bad equation. I even went out and got Rick.co. But without the .com version I just know I will always being running faster than I actually am.
Now I might launch Rick.TV anyways because I do believe in 'Destinations' and hopefully I can overcome the hurdle by drawing attention to the difference. When 1-800-MATTRESS came along they had a problem. There were 8 letters in a 7 digit telephone number. So to educate the consumer their slogan was 'Leave off the last 'S' for savings!' That was enough to do the trick.
So when .co does not have a slogan bringing attention to the difference, there is no difference and the result is 61% being misguided. Some of those folks will still find them. But it won't be the majority. The answers are always in the numbers and those that ignore numbers are ignorant and since they do it knowing full well that the numbers will tell them the truth, they don't want to know the truth and the facts and that by my definition makes them idiots.
So idiots have 2 choices in life. Remain idiots or instead of getting insulted, actually look at the numbers and realize spitting in the wind won't hurt me, it will only hurt you.
There is no longer an excuse. 17 years and enough facts and numbers to prove the point. It's a compass. Ignore it at your own peril.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
'Success is just a matter of luck. Ask any failure.'
Kevin
Surprised you didn’t grab Rick.com as one of your first domains to buy.
I just looked and it’s owned by famous Los Angeles DJ Rick Dees, so that’ll never be on the market again.
Rick Schwartz
He got Rick.com before I even got my first domain. :-(
Fran
What about .de or .co.uk?
Rick Schwartz
@Fran
I think they work well locally.
They become limited on the world stage imo.
Mr.T
Great article, Rick. I´m a big fan of .TV, .ME and .com myself.
I think the fact that”Me” is an english word puts some minor restrictions on the extention, whereas TV and COM are recognized”words” on a global scale.
.ME works perfectly in the english language, but it doesn´t make much sense in Italian, japanese, swedish, russian, german etc.
Krishna Nalamothu
Good article but I think .me and .tv will also fail because of new extensions (over crowding). Except .com and country domains, all others may gradually fade out/see limited success.
Am I wrong?
Kevin Murphy
Is it bad or good for Afilias that you didn’t even mention .info?
Rick Schwartz
@Kevin,
.info”should” be a natural but for some reason has yet to break out.
I reserve judgement on .info because in a crowded marketplace that could have a use.
Tony
I agree for the most part but would take .net and .org before .tv and .me. Not sure why you left them off.
The other thing is you might be the only”numbers guy” in domaining that doesn’t profess to use/like keyword tools from Google and the like. You don’t have to because you are wildly successful without them but I couldn’t do without them.
Rick Schwartz
@Tony,
I agree with .org. Should be on the list. But not .net imo. Sorry.
Lucas
I personally agree with most of what is being said, but .xxx I would not put it as RIP… lets not forget that it has type-in traffic! And .com used for adult must”win” every day… forever, but .xxx needs only to win once!
Rick Schwartz
@Lucas,
There is some traffic for .xxx but for the domains I have that i hold the .com as well, I am seeing about 1 in 100 compared to the .com. In other words, if the .com is getting 400 daily visitors, the .xxx version is getting 4. 100-1 ratio.
I am sure there may be traffic on a .com counterpart of a full blown .com adult site. But I don’t venture into that area.
BullS
Life is so much simpler if you just focus on dot com
KISS
Joao
Interesting.
I have allways put the extensions by this order:
1 – .com
2 – .net
3 – country code
4 – .org
5 – all the rest
I would really like to know more about your supporting numbers, if possible. I haven’t really changed my mind, but hey…i am allways ready to learn.
Rich
Rick,this is my order:
COM
CO
ORG
info
TV AND ME
Today i might be an idiot,tomorrow Rich
Richard Kligman
Very good read Rick! Very happy about your belief in the .tv extension and I couldn’t agree with you more! Can I ask how many .tv names you own or if you have made a nice return with the extension?
Best of luck to you!
Kevin Davis
I sure hope manure sells.I have had AnimalManure.Com for a few years now.Great post Rick,Cheers.
cm
Will people have to buy plurals as well…what are your thoughts about that leakage?
example:
printer.com
printers.com
giftbaskets.com
giftbasket.com
rob sequin
My $.02
Agree with .com and .tv but not on .me for me.
I like .info since infomacion is spanish and information in other languages start with info so it has a broad appeal internationally.
.org is great for the right sight just like .tv is great for the right sight.
Agree .net is nothing
I actually like .pro now. It’s just as good as any of the new vanity tlds coming out and it’s only $2.99 per domain.
rob sequin
What do I know anyway… Sight??? Really Rob? Should be site :-)
Andres Mendes
Great question! What DO you know anyway @robSequin? You go from blog to blog preaching like you have some special insight – quite the know-it-all you are…. Yet you have had very little success yourself in the domain industry it seems. Spare us all your great opinions and predictions. Please Rob, I beg you- spare us all!
Donny
Maybe GM could use some good auto names:)
This Could be a repeat message but the faceboo* thing that just came out is such good news for domain owners.
Those results are not shocking but will be to everyone else
Donny
Stream Movies
I happily own StreamMovies.Tv ……because it suits the extension
dave
Remember ccTLD’s outnumber .com hands-down
Try ranking a .com outside of the US… course it can be done but so much harder than if you use the local ccTLD equivalent. That’s one of the reasons why ccTLD growth (in registration numbers AND values) is outstripping .com.
That’s where the investment gold is IMO
Rick Schwartz
I have a question and don’t know the answer.
Of the Fortune 1000, how many operate from a NON .com domain name as their primary domain? Their main entrance?
TIA!!
Anthony
Hello Rick,
Hows life treating you, good I hope.
Let me show you something funny:
My better half is quite clever, she isnt a brain surgeon but she has a high IQ. She is also the typical web user with a laptop, Ipad, Iphone etc and she isnt very old, 27.
The other day I was explaining .ME to her when we were talking about extensions, rivetiting I know. Later that evening as I was looking for something on my laptop I realised that two websites she frequents regularly are .ME websites yet she didnt even realize as she must have typed in the left side into google and then everytime time since the searchbar has autocompleted for her.
The moral of this story is that although web 2.0 savvy people would like you to believe that .ME and the like are making inroads I dont really think they are to everyday people. IMHO the vast majority of everyday people are googling the left side of the equation without even realising that the right is .Whatever.
Any thoughts on this?
Dave Wrixon
No. You are spot on except .TV and .ME are ccTLDs, even if they only represent somewhere half the size of your backyard.
Dave Wrixon
Yeah, but that is like way too logical.
Where is the opportunity to Pump and Dump?
Joao
Logical doesnt mean being easy…
By the number of expired .coms that i see everyday, my guess is that even in that extension you will need to pump and dump freaking hard!
I'll Be There
Only .com counts. All others (and I mean ALL others) are complete pigeon shit. Worthless. Garbage. Crap. Junk.
Yes, the space will soon get crowded and not everyone will be able to get or afford a .com, but the same is true with oceanfront real estate too. Or Manhattan property.
4093057
Rick,
Hope this link helps. Although I am not giving you a direct answer, this list gives you everything you need to see the numbers. I did a quick, as in five second, scan and didn’t see any non-.com’s.
Great question.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/archived_content/people/edelman/fortune-registrars/fortune-list.html
Ian
Don’t agree on .me as its not ‘commercial’ as you won’t see commerce and industry using the extension…. so it will never become mainstream through the advertising process. .TV is a great compliment to TV adverts but its still weak esp with the registry calling the shots on renewal rates. I still see .org as highly relevant to commercial non for profit and other non primarily focused entities. .net is ok too as a cheap alt to .com if done right. Always liked .US and esp for smaller SMEs based in the US, If I lived in the US I’d be into them big time.
Mobiletechtv
You did well with dot me, so I didn’t understand why in the title it appears you were dissing ALL the exensions, until I dove into your article . . . With the burgeoning of mobile, short and catchy is less to type . . . My blog, MobileTech.tv is ranking in Google, plus it had 6,100 uniques last month . . . It’s okay to put a blog on dot tv. But I learned from the domaining industry to protect my brand and register the dot com. Because dot tv is part of the brand, I register the corresponding dot com, such as BendyTV.com, MobileTechTV.com, etc.
Dave Wrixon
Probably because you are too focused on a Minority Language…..English.
jeff schneider
Hello Rick,
I love your reference to Success,failure and luck! I also like your comments on call to action verbs in front of .com, of which our site takes full advantage. Depending on your outlook of FB you may enjoy a comment I made on Owens Blog. Like it or not its right on the money.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
PS4 Remote Play
I agree on all of this but I think dot co still doing great. Putting RIP on .co seem not good.
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