Is a .NET strong enough to build a business around?

[Shane]

I recently purchased a very, very strong .net domain which I will be building a business around. Do you guys think it's ok to build around a .net? I'm a little worried about losing some traffic to the .com despite it being used for a completely different topic. I'm thinking if I focus on branding it shouldn't be a problem. Have any of you built around a non .com domain? Have you had any issues?

-Shane

 

[EM @MAJ.com]

I use www.king.net for many years to conduct my business. Its cool, beside the dot com is not forsale anyway. Not to worry about losing traffic to other extension, there are 1900 new extensions coming next year.

Build a business, if you're successful who knows you can buy the com. It's nice to have the dot com, but don't let this stop your dream.

Good luck to you.

 

[Bill F.]

I helped a friend build around a net. The .com is parked and the owner wants 200K, so it's effectively neutralized. If the .com isn't competing against you it should be fine. However, .net comes off a little weak as a brand.

 

[Shane]

@King - Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad to hear you've had success with a .net. I tend to believe each extension has it's strengths and definitely agree with you. 1900 new extensions is a bit insane isn't it... lol

I helped a friend build around a net. The .com is parked and the owner wants 200K, so it's effectively neutralized. If the .com isn't competing against you it should be fine. However, .net comes off a little weak as a brand.

Does it come off as weak to just domainers and web developers or to normal users? I tend to think the average user wouldn't avoid a .net.

 

[Theo]

Have sold many .net domains to end-users, some for thousands of dollars. It depends on the keyword.

 

[Domonetise]

A good example of .net would be celticfc.net, they also own the .com

 

[DNB]

You will always loose the traffic to the main domain, com or cctld.

 

[dcristo]

You can build successful non .com sites. The haters are the ones who can't do it with .com so why bother listening to them.

Losing a bit of traffic to the .com is irrelevant in the scheme of things. I'd take success if given the option every day of the week.

 

[katherine]

For certain purposes .net is cool. If the name is very strong go for it.
I make it a rule to go for .com whenever possible but you have to bend the rules sometimes. Whose rules by the way ?

 

[dcristo]

Such wise words grasshopper.

 

[EM @MAJ.com]

I started my domain name registration site as needname.net, got the .com a couple of years later. Still using the .net because it is more applicable to the business, use .com for email and redirect to .net

And I use ccTLD for country specific business, and redirect .com .net .org

Those are examples of my business approach using domain name extensions.

Hope that help.

 

[Shane]

You can build successful non .com sites. The haters are the ones who can't do it with .com so why bother listening to them.

Losing a bit of traffic to the .com is irrelevant in the scheme of things. I'd take success if given the option every day of the week.

I completely agree with you. I think some people couldn't build a successful website regardless of the extension. I've learned that the domain is irrelevant if your focusing on search engine traffic but from a branding stand point it's much easier with a stronger extension.

For certain purposes .net is cool. If the name is very strong go for it.
I make it a rule to go for .com whenever possible but you have to bend the rules sometimes. Whose rules by the way ?

Sometimes I wonder the same thing. Why do we focus on buying expensive .coms? Most of the extensions will perform well in the SERPs. Seems kind of silly to spend 50k on a domain then budget your marketing and content expenses.

Thanks for all the replies! Would love to see some more examples of successful .net websites.

 

[dcristo]

I've learned that the domain is irrelevant if your focusing on search engine traffic but from a branding stand point it's much easier with a stronger extension.

This is true, although if you choose a suitable extension for the keyword, I think it helps with branding.

 

[Biggie]

Originally Posted by dcristo

You can build successful non .com sites. The haters are the ones who can't do it with .com so why bother listening to them.

Losing a bit of traffic to the .com is irrelevant in the scheme of things. I'd take success if given the option every day of the week.

sure, you don't have to listen to folks who tout .com as king and it's true you may have success with non .com.
but if you build for and in region where .com is king, then success will be limited, based on what you could acheive if you owned .com too.

thus, the loss of any traffic to the .com MAKES it relevant, as pratically every scheme contemplated or devised for the online operation, will be adjusted because you don't own the .com.

or you may have to expense more for publicity and clarity to genral public, that you use .net and not .com.

the unknown factor for the .net owner is:

he/she doesn't know how much traffic they are losing even before they begin.
they don't know how much they lose when they launch
and they don't know how much is lost as they grow.

only the .com owner will know if he/she is watching.

I completely agree with you. I think some people couldn't build a successful website regardless of the extension. I've learned that the domain is irrelevant if your focusing on search engine traffic but from a branding stand point it's much easier with a stronger extension.

the domain is always relevant, especially if you're focusing on se traffic


here's some math for ya
**
if:

(google + gkwt/domain) = (?/rank) = (?/visitors) x (CTR/EPC ) = ($)

**

then....

It depends on the keyword.

Originally Posted by katherine

For certain purposes .net is cool. If the name is very strong go for it.
I make it a rule to go for .com whenever possible but you have to bend the rules sometimes. Whose rules by the way ?

i'll agree for certain purposes, but if planning to develop, don't ignore the realities of your position.

imo...

 

[Gerry]

echoing what others have mentioned...

the name and the word will carry the .net...enter eGoal dot net. The site was just launched less than a month ago, appearance sucks overall, still working on it, but has already shot up to PR2. I have not added adsense or really anything else yet, but do plan to (in the spare time I do not have).

And I have a few other dot net that do well.

If you are going to "start a business" with it, it will be fine AS LONG as the word can carry the name on it's own and does not need tons of branding. or clarification.

 

[Shane]

@Big - I definitely see your point. However, I disagree with the lost traffic statement. If you are counting on type in traffic I'm sure you'd lose a bunch of traffic but I think it's less relevant when you are banking on organic search engine traffic. The unknown factors you mentioned are a very good point. It's always bad to have an unknown when starting a business. I appreciate your response and insight.

@Gerry - I'm glad to hear you've been successful with .NET. I tend to believe quality content carries a website.

Luckily, my domain is 14 years old and already has a PR2 rating. It definitely gives me a little bit of an edge. Have any of you sought sponsorship for a MAJOR company? I've contacted a fortune 100 company about sponsoring some content and events. I can safely estimate I will receive over 50,000 unique visitors per month by the end of my first year. It's also insanely targeted traffic that will make any affiliate reviews very lucrative. This is all new territory for me so any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Melly]

Obviously there are companies who are running off a .net and doing fine. Why they chose to go with the .net will vary but usually its because they can't get the .com. Personally I would not attempt to brand a company without the .com even if the .com isn't competing against me because I feel that my time and money would be better spent branding a similar .com for my new company. Especially when you want to utilize all types of marketing such as billboards, signs etc that will allow people to remember your domain in the event that they need your product or service. Since .com is the most well known domain most people will automatically try to pull up your site that way. Again its a personal choice. I like .net domains for my content sites etc but would never try to turn them in to a business.

 

[Shane]

Obviously there are companies who are running off a .net and doing fine. Why they chose to go with the .net will vary but usually its because they can't get the .com. Personally I would not attempt to brand a company without the .com even if the .com isn't competing against me because I feel that my time and money would be better spent branding a similar .com for my new company. Especially when you want to utilize all types of marketing such as billboards, signs etc that will allow people to remember your domain in the event that they need your product or service. Since .com is the most well known domain most people will automatically try to pull up your site that way. Again its a personal choice. I like .net domains for my content sites etc but would never try to turn them in to a business.

I definitely agree with you Melly. I'm building a business around a content website which I guess I should have mentioned before. I've found an untapped niche with huge search volumes. The top companies spend about 50,000 a month in Adwords to acquire the type of traffic I can quickly get for free.

 

[dcristo]

There's the unknown factor for the .com owner as well. Nothing is guaranteed in this business.

 

[Shane]

There's the unknown factor for the .com owner as well. Nothing is guaranteed in this business.

That's a solid point. I think that is why internet businesses have among the highest failure rate. There are so many variables and which makes it's very difficult to make realistic estimations.