Afternoon Folks!!
I am often reminded by domainers that there is a world out the USA. That's fine and you may even be surprised to know that I recognize that and have visited my share of countries around the world. But what folks don't seem to recognize is how to fish! You go where the fish are! DUH! Where they are biting. Where they are hungry. Were they are big and diversified.
So here is a tidbit of PROOF of what I see and how I see it and why I focus on the USA and other ENGLISH speaking countries as it pertains to sales and domain names and the value of a domain name.
Lets look at the .Me registry. Please explain how one country in the world of 350 or so can be responsible for 53% of all their registrations when EVERYONE had the same opportunity? 53%!! That is a REAL number. Why do more than half of ALL their registrations come from the USA? Why so disproportionate? Why?
- 53% of .Me domains are registered in the US;
- 46% of .Me domains are registered by businesses;
- That .Me is the most popular domain choice for startups after .com;
- There are still 35% of three-character .me domain names available!
Interpret that into Dollars. Or Euros or Yens or whatevers.
See the problem is I see an answer where others don't. I choose to compete in the arena with the largest fish. Why the USA??? It comes down to one word.
CONSUMPTION!!
Read it again.
CONSUMPTION!!
The USA consumes MORE than the rest of the world combined on MANY things. Many! Many!!!! So that is why I don't dabble in IDN or country codes and only lightly in non-dotcoms. It's fine for those that do but it is not in my DNA for reasons I am about to explain. The numbers guide me.
So if you don't understand or even can't accept that one tidbit in life, then we will never see things eye to eye. We will always disagree because. We will never be on the same page. You will always tell me why your small pond is better and I will always point to the SEA with no limits! The sea of consumption! Sales!
And that is fine. I don't want to talk you out of the pond. It may be very nice. Very comfortable. Very good to you. But at least acknowledge the difference in size and VALUE of the audience. maybe not 100% of the time, but most of the time.
Yes, they consume more rice in China than the USA. So what?? They consume that rice to build things that we will consume mostly in the USA.
Maybe what is important is figuring out since nobody here is in the rice business and many here are in the domain business that facts do count. Numbers do count. This is just one tiny tidbit of an example. So why does .Me have 53% in the USA if it is not about how we consume things and that has enriched many folks around the world? Do you think .co's numbers are much different? They may support my argument even more! .com's numbers are widely known.
Sure you can come here and tell me the USA is slipping by percentage, other contries are gaining or this or that. But it does not mean much when it translates into business.
Country-wise Domains Distribution
Domain Names by Country of Purchase. USA has more domain registrations than all other countries combined! 12X the second closest. All other countries combined equal 48 million to the USA at just under 80 Million. Then add the English speaking countries to that. That would bring that number up to over 92 million and the other down to 36 million. The numbers paint a picture. Then add buying power to that equation and it further tilts.
| Rank | Country | Domains |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 79,950,786 |
| 2 | Germany | 6,496,459 |
| 3 | China | 5,910,176 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 4,808,723 |
| 5 | Canada | 3,930,427 |
| 6 | France | 3,472,316 |
| 7 | Japan | 2,821,525 |
| 8 | Australia | 2,337,278 |
| 9 | Spain | 1,688,317 |
| 10 | Cayman Islands | 1,665,319 |
| 11 | Netherlands,The | 1,416,581 |
| 12 | Italy | 1,329,267 |
| 13 | Turkey | 1,256,428 |
| 14 | Korea | 989,491 |
| 15 | HongKong S.A.R. | 795,535 |
If you fish, you go where the most and the biggest fish are. It is not about what you know folks. It's about how you interpret what you know. Whether you play for an audience of 600 or an audience of 600 million. Just numbers. Then add BUYING POWER and Kaboom!
And btw, how many of the .whatevers are not English words or abbreviations? Why is that? These are questions worthy of some thought. Numbers don't lie. They paint pictures. Some see different realities in their pictures. By starting off with 50% of anything you are bound to do quite well.
So .Me is 53% just in the USA. Then add the other English speaking countries. Maybe you are over 75%. The rest is fragmented. Fragmentation is costly to market to. Fragmented markets are limited markets.
Do you market to the folks with buying power? How does that factor in? Do folks in Guatemala have the same buying power as in the USA?
When I was growing up 'French' was the universal language. It then shifted to Spanish. But English dominates things from English speaking Airport Traffic controllers all over the world to New domain extensions. There is a reason. Why English? Because flight was invented in the USA and as it blossomed it blossomed in English because all the terminology was/is in English. That holds true on so many other things.
From Cars to computers to medical to DOMAIN NAMES!
Are things shifting? Sure. So what? 6000 member audience will grow to 12,000 while 600 million will grow to 1.2 billion. And even if the 600 million only grows to 610 million, it may be a lifetime or more before the 6000 grows into the first million. If ever. That has to factor in. It can't be dismissed. It has to be understood.
Some people are going to come here and beat their chest for this or that. But they all have A.D.D. because they won't focus on the point of the post. They will joust with themselves as they invent straw-men to defend their point of view and maybe their turf.
Numbers are in my DNA. Focus on numbers and money happens. Why is that? Because money is based on numbers and numbers don't lie!
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
RaTHeaD
if ya got the consumption… cough it up. that’s an old TB joke but it works well here too.
Michael Li
Rick, this is probably the most important post you’ve ever written. Thanks for putting things in perspective.
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
The human Genome DNA sequence is comprised of English letters. When you couple the power of numbers and the power of letters you unlock the key to Mass Marketing Principles.
.COM is being transliterated by verisign to accomplish even more Branding power for the .COM Infrastructure. Dominance on a Global Scale is in Verisigns plans as Warren Buffets recent purchase demonstrates. Yes we are in good company Rick.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
Dave Wrixon
@Jeff,
Firstly, there is no such thing as an English Alphabet. It was invented by the Romans and it is called LATIN.
Secondly, Verisign may be extrapolating their brand into other scripts but if you don’t follow them, then you ain’t going to benefit.
As Rick has amply demonstrated the English dot com market is approaching saturation. Future growth and hence profit will be largely elsewhere.
Do you seriously believe that dot ME is the Future?
Theo
I read this post and looked at the numbers and looked at the numbers again.
The numbers tell me two things if you know the numbers.
.com is still the major player (bit of an understatement)
Germany 6 million .coms , 15 million plus .DE’s
.NL 1.4 million .com and 5.1 million .NL’s
so far so good here we have strong ccTLDs aftermarkets and .com still leads the way.
Now lets put some more thought in .CN and .TR
6 million .CN compared to 6 million .com. This used to be 15 million .CN in 2009.
CNNIC cleaned up their TLD space and the chinese went for .com.
.TR some 100k registrations compared to 1 million+ coms. Restrictions and people go to the .com
point of this comment is. You can fish in smaller ponds and get good prices with what you catch.
Second point, soon a TLD becomes or is being restricted people goto the .com
.com is still the global leader and in many countries it carries more weight. France proving my point here with 3.5 .com compared to 2.5.
Keep in mind however that .com will be harder to register in the near future and this goes for the new gTLDs also. Invest in what you know.
Jeff Schneider
@ Dave Wrixon
Not so fast Dave , now dont run a way and we will get back to this later after I make my next points.
The .com Mainstay of the Webs infrastructure remains and in the atmosphere of dozens of technologies obsolescing every 3 months the .COM is still the prize. In a world where new technologies consistently obsolesce look for Standards that prevail.
.COM Foundations are the Standard destinations of the worlds largest corporations.
.Whatevers are the flavor of the day that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, until they are spit out of the system . BEWARE !!
oogle is only in the gTLD game as a hedge position, or at least they should be if they think this whole thing out. Personally I think they are shitting their pants right now. The introduction of the gTLDs will spur type in traffic without question !
Has anyone really sat back and analysed Googles entry into .Whatever land and by doing so what they have inadvertantly revealed to ALL WHO CAN SEE.
By their participation they are admitting the signifigance of typed in Traffic. Now they are part and parcel to the crowd that will pay attention to type ins and what brand they are going to at the RIGHT OF THE DOT. AND The LEFT OF THE DOT
This is firing up a .COM corporate Back Lash that Owen Frager has spoken about. Googles attempted WEB of deception is BACKFIRING ON THEM.
Watch as the Web of deception unfolds and Google eats some of their own poison.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
Joe
“Lets look at the .Me registry. Please explain how one country in the world of 350 or so can be responsible for 53% of all their registrations when EVERYONE had the same opportunity?”
The reason is America’s (un)official (cc)TLD, .COM, at 100+ million registrations, is almost saturated and people find it difficult to buy quality names at affordable prices or even reg fee. That’s where alternative TLDs (.ME, .CO, etc.) set in.
Most of rest of the world loves using national TLDs, even more than .com in many cases.
Rich
America !!!!
Great post Rick
Thank you
Jeff Schneider
@ Joe
RE :”The reason is America’s (un)official (cc)TLD, .COM, at 100+ million registrations, is almost saturated and people find it difficult to buy quality names at affordable prices or even reg fee.”
Every separate and unique one only .COM URL got saturated on the day of their inception. So how many years from the first .COM lease have we to count now? So this saturation stuff on .COM URLS is technically wrong. Look up the defintion of Market Saturation if you don’t Get This!
Jeff
Please allow me.”mé” in Portuguese is the sound a goat makes, and I am pretty sure it must mean something funny on other languages also.
So, the answer to your agonizing doubt is: United States is, by far, the biggest English spoken country in the World.
Now calm down Rick and dump your .me while they’re hot. Remember .mobi?
321Hujodimu
There’s and old, wise saying: Cater to the classes, dine with the masses; cater to the masses, dine with the classes.
I like the masses numbers Rick :) amen!
Aaron
I like your common sense approach to domains, and since USA is the subject, I would like to mention your approach could be compared to Dr. Ben Carson’s……
Uzoma
It’s almost funny how domainers complain about .COM saturation. It’s that a bad thing for a product or good that you are selling to be in high demand, and short supply? Some people need to take economics 101 again I think. The law of demand and supply is supreme. Do you see Debeers or Tiffany’s complaining about short supply of diamonds? That will be strange.
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
Verisigns role in the webs infrastructure protcol pivots mainly off the .Com registries.As the world’s largest domain name registry, already operating .com, .net, .tv, .cc, .jobs and .name, Verisign has maintained 100 percent operational accuracy and stability over the last decade.
Warren Buffet is Smart Money. Where did he place his bets for growth with the .co Juan Calles of the world No. He has placed his bets with the Verisign .COM Vision along with most of the worlds largest corporations who call .COM home.
Does Warren Buffet know something you don’t ?
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
passing by
@Jeff Shneider – .Whatevers are the flavor of the day that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, until they are spit out of the system..
KickA$$ quote:)
As for it being a hard time to find a good .com, That’s a Good thing! We are not in the registrar business.
Sometimes the best tings in life are hard to get, Unless the person your getting it from doesn’t value it as much as you do.
Joe
@Uzoma
@Mr. Tiger
Do you think US startups, ordinary people and anyone who can’t afford to spend a ton of money on a domain, would resort to alternative TLDs if they could get the same domain in .com?
People living outside the US often don’t need to resort to extensions other than their own ccTLDs because they’re still able to get domains they like.
Dave Wrixon
@Jeff
Sorry but it is not going to be possible to hold a dialogue unless you stop rambling off at a tangent.
Most Enlish names in dot com being registered now are no mor memorable than the IP addresses they represent.
OK, Verisign is broadening the appeal of dot com by offering it in different scripts, but the are not really expecting much in the way of traffic with LATIN characters to the left of the dot when it is not in Latin to the Right.
But the interesting thing is that those that registered dot coms with other character sets to the left of the dot will be able to match with a dot com translit on the right. And what is more their rights will be reserved because there is no new registry.
True
INDIA has the 2nd largest English speaking population in the world and the potential growth of internet usage in that country is absolutely ENORMOUS!
.IN extension is going to be the future of domain name investment! This is going to be the next .com, NOT .me
Rick Schwartz
Dave ,
That is NOT what I demonstrated. Nice try!!
http://www.idnforums.com/forums/33302-why-i-focus-on-the-usa-and-com-its-called-consumption.html
You folks STILL don’t get it. Some of you FOOLS, think this is about .Me. It is NOT!!!
.Me is an EXAMPLE!! Look up the word!
It is not about IDN. I am glad you LOVE IDN. I can’t wait for your boat to come in so you can get on it! lol
NUMBERS!!, Buying Power! Consumption!!
Learn to focus on one thing and debate and make a POINT!
Just you normal reaction like for the past 10 yesrs!
Lastly, you folks try and make a living ragging on the USA!
wtf is your problem and your point??
Calvin Seymour
Great post Rick,and I agree, it can be hard keeping your eye on the ball when there are so many being thrown about! Its safer to just hit the big one in the middle, .COM all the way!
OuMun
Well, i wouldn’t spit on ccTLDs. Most of them have absolutely more type-ins that their .com counterparts
Between fleurs.fr and fleurs.com (flowers in french) the first get absolutely more type-ins from french users. We use to type-in our own ccTLDs when we search for stuff. Of course, if you have the .com it’s useful as well. I’ve seen ccTLDs going for 2x the price of their corresponding .com (in local language).
Dave Wrixon
Rick,
Other than Debt , and dot coms, please name one generic product or commodity that the USA actually consumes more of. They may pay mor in their over valued currency and be more prone to being brainwashed by branding and advertising, but that is about it.
Rick Schwartz
Dave, you keep trying to BEND what *I* am talking about to the BS you want to talk about.
Here ya go sport. THIS is what I am talking about just for beginners. Bet others will be posting what YOU want. You will be wrong on both counts so it does not matter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_household_final_consumption_expenditure_per_capita
And maybe there is a good reason I don’t focus on Luxembourg for example.
JamesD
Consumption is shifting – 10 years ago how many Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce etc were sold in China? You could count them on your fingers. Today China is one of the biggest markets, soon to be the biggest.
There are more English speakers in China than in the whole of the US.
You acknowledge that consumption is shifting, but I think you’re underestimating the speed of that shift – it’s fast and strong and happening now.
As for domains…always best to stick with what you know.
Steve
I agree. It’s simple supply and demand. The rarer something becomes, the more valuable it becomes… like diamonds or old baseball cards, or premium .COM’s.
Jose
Ops…
http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/02/daily-chart-11
Rick Schwartz
“There are more English speakers in China than in the whole of the US”
Exactly and that is one of my points above and my focus. And India. English is now the universal language because it is the language of business. When I go to Asia and there are 250 some dialects of Chinese, English or French are the 2 common denominators. And they are likely to have much more buying power than the average man on the street.
“always best to stick with what you know.”
Exactly again.
Dave Wrixon
Absolutely right. Twice as many cars, phones and just anything else sold in China.
Transactions effected in English. Probably less than 1%.
Sure there will be hundreds of millions with a smattering of English.
How many English Language website actually selling volume domestically? Hardly any.
Even in India, you are all grossly overestimating the importance of English to the ordinary consumer or even the wealthy middle classes.
Dave Wrixon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population
Even in India less than 1 in 8 speaks any English and fewer than a quarter of million speak it as a first language.
In China total English Speakers is less than 1%.
Not sure which Universe you live in!
Rick Schwartz
Dave, what does it matter?
I focus on English. What’s it to ya? lol
That should thrill you as it gives you every other language in the world to concentrate on.
Is that a threat to you? Does that make you less money?
I am never going to buy an IDN in my lifetime. No business I personally know either. So what?
You have a market for something? Wonderful! Youhave fish in your pond? Wonderful!
There are plenty of things I will never buy or have no interest in buying or selling or trading.
Doesn’t seem to threaten any of them. They frankly don’t give a shit.
So why do you make a life out of giving a shit about something you could care less about?
Local is fine. Local is great. I just focus my net a bit differently. Globally to my specs. So what?? Who cares? What threat is it to you?
Glad you read my every word. ;-)
David Wrixon
Can’t really argue with that
The problem is that you have chased and promote all these wannabee extensions that are going nowhere.
Anyone that buys Dot ME is going to lose their investment just as those that bought Mobi did.
ASCII dot coms are fine. More than fine. They are the best. It may be that Chinese, Arabic and Russian domains will never be worth more than a fraction of Latin Equivalents. Those that scoped Latin really hit the jackpot, but frankly even you only got a handful of really excellent names.
The Opportunities in IDN this last six or seven years have far surpassed those in Latin simply because the Latin names were alreay fetching relatively good prices, although I would not argue against them going higher. The relative returns on IDN, however, will orders of magnitude higher because the demand is only just beginning to materialise. But it is coming. Many are already making a very handsome return and the base base of domains doing this rapidly broadening and the returns deepening.
Why should I care? Now that is a very good question. Our current business plan does not involve developing, leasing or selling. So yes, why indeed should I care?
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
Re :” In China total English Speakers is less than 1%.
Chinas ruling class prioritizes English as # 1 in their business oriented school system. This is a China Government Decree, or did you not Know this?
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
Rick Schwartz
“The problem is that you have chased and promote all these wannabee extensions that are going nowhere. Anyone that buys Dot ME is going to lose their investment just as those that bought Mobi did.”
David, for the THIRD time I am not promoting .me. I used it as an EXAMPLE. Obviously English is no longer your first language. Look up the word EXAMPLE and use it in the context I used it in not some made up bullshit that you contine to do.
You are one screwed up dude! But predictable as hell.
How many millions did you make last year with all the bullshit you spout? You twist everyone’s words to suit your own twisted agenda that you may wait another 20 years to happen. How old will you be then? lol
Enjoy what YOU do and stop telling others what to do, how to think etc. etc. etc.!
And btw, sorry you can’t win an argument on the merits of your case and you have to twist everyone elses to make a case for yourself. Too funny Rubber Duck!
Andrew Snow
Rick,
In 2012 Chinese tourists took nearly 80 million international trips, spending US$80 billion in the process. And we’re still in the early innings.
The World Tourism Organization stated that the Chinese are on the verge of leapfrogging the Germans and Americans to become the nation whose tourists spend the most money overseas and are posed to dominate consumption of the world’s travel market from tours to hotels, to cruises.
Use your famous visionary billboard lens and you’ll envision Chinese language signs in hotels and tourist destinations all over the world, similar to Spanish insignia in the US today.
So which way will enterprises best capture mind-share and tap into the world’s greatest travel market for decades to come: cruises.me or cruises.com in full Chinese (IDN.IDN)? After all, the websites catering to this huge market are almost entirely in Chinese.
Indeed, consumption is key and .com is king.
Best Regards,
Rick Schwartz
Andrew,
Thanks for the comment!
One thing. When we dig a little deeper and see where these chinese tourists go, would it surprise anyone that the USA is the top destination?
Andrew Snow
It doesn’t surprise me at all Rick – which is why I bought domains like lasvegas.com in Chinese years ago.
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
A few people know about my experiences in International Marketing. I can tell you right now the clever Chinese Multi-nationals prefer .COM as the prize example of free capitalism, unbridled by their current regime. They view .COM as the prime Trophy platforms of choice for Internet commerce. These Smart Money Chinese entreprenuers make money both ways.They are agressively adopting the English American ways of Capitalism.
Just ask Andrew Rosener one of Broker super stars, about his (Chinese Connection),there are lots of Chinese multinationals entering our turf through the .COM pipeline.See Article in Todays WSJ on Sanfrancisco Chinese Banking Giant.Many more to follow,trust me on this, but verify first you will find I am Dead Balls On.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
Rick Schwartz
http://www.idnforums.com/forums/33314-beer-com-and-wine-com-bengali.html
:-)
Jeff Schneider
RE : http://www.idnforums.com/forums/33314-beer-com-and-wine-com-bengali.html
I see this link is far different and very revealing about what some say on the front of the stage and what they actually do or practice behind the stage. Nice
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal tiger)
David Wrixon
Jeff,
Kind of depends whether you want to Feast at the Tablbe or forage for scraps on the floor.
If you want to buy from the Chinese, I am sure English will serve you well.
Kind of speaks volumes about US Commerce that they are sitting around waiting for the Chinese to come to them.
You will see how things go for Apple this years. Four indigenious Chinese Smartphones on the market that knock spots off The iPhone 5 without even counting what is coming from HTC and Samsung.
carledgar
It’s actually composed of letters from the Roman alphabet- the same letters used by dozens of countries. There IS no English alphabet. just Roman, Greek/Cyrillic (developed by the Greek monk St. Cyril), as well as a range of oriental alphabets, many of which we’re all familiar with (worry about ending a sentence with a preposition).
carledgar
‘sorry’ rather – not ‘worry’ lol
Jeff Schneider
Thanks for excellent definition on a semantical basis.My conceptual points made, remain correct, regardless of nit picking. Nameste
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
sid
A persons Genome DNA sequence is composed of British letters. Whenever you couple the strength of figures and the strength of letters you unlock the important thing to Mass Marketing Concepts. .COM has been transliterated by verisign to complete much more Branding power for that .COM Infrastructure. Dominance on the Global Scale is within Verisigns plans as Warren Buffets recent purchase demonstrates. Yes we’re in good company Ron. Gratefully, Shaun Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)