COM Developed ORG Developed NET is Launching
Now, as you read this next post I want you to try to take off your domainer hat for just a minute and then at the end if you want to put it back on and tell me I am crazy go ahead. The question I have for you the reader is should we never of started? Now let me explain.
Recently we at Localtek decided it was time to build a niche destination site for one of the states we are in, the site will be focused on what is the fastest growing attraction niche in the state with a lot of big money players in it with quite a bit of marketing dollars still going in. Seems a good niche to hit.
Now, as I have said before if you think you have to have the .COM or you cannot even start a business then you will never get anywhere, but here I will give you example and you can tell me your thoughts.
When we went to research names for the site the first thing I noticed is that the .COM was taken by a reasonably small player in the specific niche and the .ORG was taken by the official industry outreach group (there is that concept again) but the .NET was reasonably close to expiration, close enough we waited, as luck would have it we were able to get the category defining .NET and decided to move forward.
So, first thought, since the .COM and .ORG were developed should the business never of started?
Anyway, now understand on many niche geo sites like this the exact match search may only be 1000 with much of the search coming from long tail terms around the topic. So is type in traffic a factor? No it is not.
Next up, we researched the .COM version which does rank on the first page of Google and felt confident that even with a moderate amount of SEO and link building in the next 6 months we could overtake the .COM, the .ORG is a different story but for many they will be looking for something more tourist focused than what the .ORG offers.
So, for a name and topic like this the focus for me is less on type in traffic and more on search engine optimization value. In otherwords, the majority of traffic will come from search more so than type ins so I felt comfortable with starting on the .NET even with the .COM and .ORG taken and developed.
So, the question stands again, should we never of started just because we did not have the .COM? Both the .ORG and .COM serve different purposes than what we are doing, should we of just walked away?
Trust me, I love .COM but should a project never start without. I know I have hit this concept several times but the concept still seems to frustrate people. If the overwhelming majority of traffic would come from search (even for the .COM) then I think it is ok to start with the .NET.
Now, if I went by what quite a few people say I should go buy the business that has the .COM before I even start....I do not think that would of happened.....
I’m in complete agreement here. Some of my best domains are .us, .net, .org and other TLD’s. If I only focused on the .com’s I’d miss-out on a majority of my current monthly revenue!!
@Morgan – Thanks, yep, as I say, the preference may always be .COM but if you are developing do not limit your possibilities…
It all depends on your portfolio. I don’t know one domainer with a great portfolio of dotCom, dotNet and dotOrg who would chose anything but their dotComs to develop. Can you make money with a non dotCom name? Of course you can. You can also make a ton of money with a landscaping business working 24-7 under a hot blazing sun.
@David – Very true, of course we all prefer .COM, I will never deny that. My real point here is that people should not limit themselves from starting just because they did not have it. That is what I hear from people so many times.
I love your point about the landscaping, I get the point there:) From a past conversation of ours I know what you are saying.
As always appreciate the comments David. I need to catch up with you again soon.
My landscaping comment comes from a very personal perspective. Michael and I grew up in a lower middle class home in Boynton Beach, Florida. To forge a better life (our Dad never made more than $400 a week), our parents bought properties, fixed them up and rented them out. And I’ll give you one big guess who did 100% of the lawn mowing, weeding and landscaping? Yep, me and Michael – every week from the age of 10 until 17. You have idea what hell is like until you’re fighting off scorpions and rattlesnakes in 95 degree heat with 95% humidity in August in South Florida. And that’s why we laugh when people tell us how much “work” there is in developing domain names.
You know my opinion on this topic.
@David – Wow, now that is a story:) I HATE mowing grass which is why I tell my son he was conceived, I needed someone to mow the grass. Next time he complains I will tell him your story!!!
You are right about putting things in perspective, I look at the hours I put in developing what we are working on and then I compare it to the work my Dad does everyday (well drilling, etc) and I realize that even though there are long days sometimes, it is much more preferable than what others do (your mowing with rattlesnakes for instance).
My little personal story on that which I will never forget, I remember my Dad driving me up to sign the college loan papers and he said “We are doing this so you never have to work like I have”
@George – Yes I do sir:)
I think the value of a site comes from what’s in it, not simply for its name, so i believe you should start your project on a .net
I’m no expert, but correct me if i’m wrong, don’t most people mistakenly think that a dot com automatically means type in traffic? I think type in traffic only exists in a good amount of one word dot coms, and some killer two words dot com, all other coms (the majority) have no type in traffic, so unless someone owns those killer coms, i think it makes no difference. So if anyone has a good project on another tld, go ahead.
I’ve already sent you an email through your contact form.
@Helder – You got it, and yep got your email and will respond a bit later, thanks much for sending.
I will say, and this is something @David understands well is that there is a chance that if you are doing major branding campaigns and relying on type in traffic to that site there may be some leakage to the .COM. I am willing to deal with that though.
In this specific instance the traffic is coming from search (mainly) or PPC (minor) so that is much less of an issue.
You are all basing your business models around Google and how products and customers get connected today. This is not a viable platform for the future.
You can build a site on a mobile app, a facebook or myspace page a blogspot or typepad address and many there are more successful then most domains I know.
Problem is that if you have no budget for dotCOM, you also have no budget to defend yourself against liabilities nor will you be able to sustain yourself when the Global Internet Tax and Licensing kick in of $750 per domain to register then $250 a year to maintain.
Plus the TOS of the CCTLDs give you no legal protections to oeprate these domains in the US- plus eventually the TOS of .net and ,org will be enforced for networks and non-profits alike. If a non-profit files a UDRP against a profitmaker on a .org- adios amigo!
the best CEOs have one eye to the present and one eye to the future.
@Owen Frager – Alot of stuff in your comment so it is below with my comments. As always good to have you around here:)
You are all basing your business models around Google and how products and customers get connected today. This is not a viable platform for the future.
You can build a site on a mobile app, a facebook or myspace page a blogspot or typepad address and many there are more successful then most domains I know.
—-> Owen, I agree completely, but it starts somewhere. In reality the whole reason I start anything with a domain and website these days is for advertising potential, people are comfortable with that. But, and this is something I do not blog about nearly enough, I spend a large portion of my time talking about the impact of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks on how people get information and what decisions they make. And when it comes to mobile apps, you are SOOO right, my seminars actually start with a whole section on the growing use of mobilephones in accessing data. So I am in agreement here wholeheartedly but I have been careful speaking my mind in this area to much:) I know hard to believe:)
Problem is that if you have no budget for dotCOM, you also have no budget to defend yourself against liabilities nor will you be able to sustain yourself when the Global Internet Tax and Licensing kick in of $750 per domain to register then $250 a year to maintain.
—–> Just had a long conversation with a very smart man about a high tax on domain renewals, it hurts to think about it. I am not sure I would agree that not having the budget for the .COM means there is no budget to defend against liabilities. The .COM in this case is owned by a business in the specific niche. Actually if the .COM was available for sale we could of purchased it easily but in this case I would have to buy the whole business…. I do get your point but not sure I would agree.
Plus the TOS of the CCTLDs give you no legal protections to oeprate these domains in the US- plus eventually the TOS of .net and ,org will be enforced for networks and non-profits alike. If a non-profit files a UDRP against a profitmaker on a .org- adios amigo!
—-> To many cctlds to think about, I only really work on one as everyone knows:) I am not sure I would build a major business on a .ORG so no worries there.
—-> I think the major point in your comment though that people do need to understand is that people are changing the way they use the Internet. Facebook to me dwarfs Twitter in its impact on how people do things, and even more so mobile search and apps are even bigger. Search matters but people have to have a holistic approach to anything they do these days. It is not about the domain, it is not about Facebook, it is not about the iPhone, it is really about how you use all of those together.
@George – Spot on. Gotta use what is here right now (search/domains) and plan on how to take advantage of what is coming/almost here/ok here like social networking and increasing mobile apps.
In reality I could start a business without any more than a one page website (heck a good portion of the successful iPhone apps developers did this) but that only works for specific groups of people.
There are still alot of niche markets that the customers are still being pulled forward and even though a small portion of people researching it would do so through an app the large majority are going to use search at this point, my goal is to take advantage of search and Facebook….
Umm im curious about this tax you guys mention, is their a source to the 750 and 250 numbers you guys mention
Ps. SEO, Traffic aside… You can’t make money unless you can persuade someone to pay attention to what you’ve got, and then build a case for its value. That’s copywriting. Few domainers have any clue.. and you’re not going to get results for $10 articles written by non native-speaking hired guns.
@Owen – Correct ,which is why I have in house writers located the same office I am in, one of them a grad of one of the top journalism schools in the nation. I agree with your sentiments there completely. To be honest one of the core goals we have these days is hiring people in local areas we are working. Hiring a local writer is really starting to pay off already. Especially for projects like we have planned.
Another point I think you are correct on is that even though I can find a use for “minisites” when it comes to a full development a different level of quality is needed and many people are really overlooking that these days.
@T – My talk about the “tax” was more just a discussion I had with someone abot the possibility of something happening like that some day.
I would have attempted to purchase the .COM
BEFORE letting my name be publically associated
with the .NET
and if you plan to contact the .COM owner
put your .NET on temp PRIVACY Protection
till after everything is done…
someone sees you have the .NET and you want the .COM
you will then be paying at least triple for it – if they even
consider selling it to you…
if you are unable to obtain the .COM
big deal…
move forward anyway…
if you are commited to your project and confident in
your marketing abilities — you can’t be stopped…
and when you do a visual of the domain
or graphics (banners etc) — Feature the .NET part
of the name in a contrasting slap them in the face
nice way … so they REMEBER it’s a .NET
Good Luck on you project…
~Patricia – DomainBELL
@Patricia – Thanks, yeah in this case there is an actual business who owns the .COM, it is being used so it is not the case of the .COM even being available. Would have to buy the business (not stating the niche or name for competitive reasons).
If I was trying to buy the .COM there is no way I would mention it:) That would raise the price by 5 times!
Thanks though!