Relative worth of .com, .org, .net, .biz, and .info

[izopod]

THE FACTS: Here is a side-by-side geographical comparison of some of the aforementioned TLDs/ccTLD in question according to the latest registry reports: http://www.icann.org/tlds/monthly-reports/

.info:

36% usa
23% germany
9% uk
3% austria
2.3% canada
2% france

.biz:

48% usa
9.5% germany
7.5% uk
4.5% korea
2.8% canada
2.4% france

.com
According to the registrar they do not have geographical data on dot com registrants. It is safe to assume though the US would have the bulk of them...much like... .biz

.us:

99.9% usa (Duh!! I didn't even need them to do a report)


Analysis: .biz is not "hated" in the us. I guess if you buy and sell names this might be the case. Even still the # of unreported .biz sales are probably in the 99% range for good reason. So we may never know the exact number of sales with this TLD if you are using this to gauge it's popularity.

Rule of thumb: Don't assume anything in the domain business. Lessons learned in the 1990's must not be forgotten. If you remember. Dot com was thought of as a weaker selection then Dot net, however since dot net was reserved for ISps and the like, businesses started to use Dot com. I call this my "Theory of Domain Selectivity" (izopod, circa 2003)

To make a sound judgement on any one of the new TLDs/ccTLDs one must look at HOW the TLDs are being used. Do a look-up for yourself.

Not to impune anyone for their comments relative to any particular TLD/ccTLD, but I do think we should be more transparent. I am going to be honest. I own 4 .biz's that are up and running and 1 .us name that is up. No dot .info's, and 1 dot com. Whether we like it or not we ARE prejudiced towards TLDs based on our economic benefit.

I will say this again. If you truly want to know whether a particular TLD will be successful or not you should find out HOW they are being used!!!! Take dot com for instance. It's being used by everyone, including Universities. That should tell you something about the longevity of dot com (but everyone knew that right )

Even still the internet is evolving. The "paradigm of dot com" could shift benefiting any one of the new TLDs. Especially if more TLDs come out that are specific to a particular populace on the internet.

izopodian philosophy: You can't think outside the box unless you can put two and two together.

izopod

 

[URLtrader]

.com--- 100
.net--- 40
.org--- 25
.us---- 35
.biz--- 25
.info-- 20

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by izopod
THE FACTS: Here is a side-by-side geographical comparison of some of the aforementioned TLDs/ccTLD in question according to the latest registry reports:
.biz:

48% usa

Thanks for those stats izopod. I must admit that 48% of .biz regs coming from the U.S. is a big surprise to me. I guess I hang around too much with resellers who don't like the sales restrictions on the extension.

If those numbers are right then it appears real world businesses here like it much better than domainers. Like I said, my opinions are always subject to change based on sales and new information. I'll keep an eye on what is happening with this extension too.


Actually, .US would not be 99.9% purchased by Americans. A lot of foreign entities who do business in America are buying the extension to aid their marketing here. I don't know what the percentage is but it is significant. I see .US WhoIs records every day and there are a ton of registrants from outside the US.

 

[NamePopper.com]

I'm just thinking out loud so nobody jump me....

The more I think about it - I believe .info's destiny is to become a sister extension to .org

The name itself implies this to be the case. 'INFO' implies an 'information' source. It certainly does not imply 'sales' or 'commerce'. When you want INFO about something - what do you do? You go to the library - turn on PBS - look in the encyclopedia - visit you favorite review site - etc.

However - you hardly ever buy anything from those sources!

So in terms of 'sales & commerce' - I just don't see it happening with .info - and I feel very strongly about that. This doesn't mean the extension won't have value though. Just look at ORG - which is very popular worldwide. However - if people are thinking that .info is a good extension for business & commerce - I think they are fooling themselves. I can say that .info would be the very last extension (of the main ext's we are discussing) that I would ever type in my browser to find products or services to purchase. Even .biz would come well before .info for that purpose.

To research a product YES. To buy a product NO. Absolutely not. The extension makes no sense for that.

P.S. - Like Duke - I reserve the right to change my opinions. If somebody explains why .info is a good ext for business & commerce - then I will gladly give credit where credit is due. I have to say though - it looks like an uphill battle.

 

[dtobias]

That's what's so great about .info and .org (also .edu, .gov, .mil, .int, .museum...)... they're not about selling stuff and making money... there's more to the Internet than people's attempts to get rich quick.

 

[izopod]

Originally posted by dtobias
That's what's so great about .info and .org (also .edu, .gov, .mil, .int, .museum...)... they're not about selling stuff and making money... there's more to the Internet than people's attempts to get rich quick.

I personally thought .museum was a poor choice. I give that TLD a few years before they "discontinue" it.

 

[NamePopper.com]

Originally posted by dtobias
That's what's so great about .info and .org (also .edu, .gov, .mil, .int, .museum...)... they're not about selling stuff and making money... there's more to the Internet than people's attempts to get rich quick.

Very true. Very true indeed!

I also agree with Izopod (about .museum). It seems awkward to me.

 

[toho]

This is my opinion.

.com -> 100
.net -> 8
.org -> 2
.us -> 0.9*
.biz -> 0.6*
.info -> 0.6*

* Note: These worth goes up little by little every year.

 

[DaddyHalbucks]

.US and .BIZ are useless.

.US is just an ugly stepsister to .COM, and all suitors will FIRST hit on the beautiful .COM sister.

.BIZ is worst of the lot, a total waste of money. It just sounds stupid.

 

[cxz]

funb.com Not Available [WHOIS] funb.ws Available Click here to add to cart! funb.us Available Click here to add to cart! funb.net Available Click here to add to cart! funb.org Available Click here to add to cart! funb.tv Available Click here to add to cart! funb.biz Not Available [WHOIS] funb.info Not Available [WHOIS]

 

[NamePopper.com]

Originally posted by DotComCowboy
.US and .BIZ are useless.

.US is just an ugly stepsister to .COM, and all suitors will FIRST hit on the beautiful .COM sister.

.BIZ is worst of the lot, a total waste of money. It just sounds stupid.

Yes - but how do you really feel? Stop being so shy!

Seriously though - if you are saying that .US is useless (even to Americans) then I assume you think all country code domains are equally if not more useless?

Also is it not true.... that if the more attractive sister is already spoken for and not available to 'hit on' - that you would then rather 'hit on' the less attractive sister - than to go home alone to 'hit on' your groin?

 

[backslash]

Originally posted by NamePopper.com

Also is it not true.... that if the more attractive sister is already spoken for and not available to 'hit on' - that you would then rather 'hit on' the less attractive sister - than to go home alone to 'hit on' your groin?

LOL! :laugh:

Seriously though, this discussion has been great - my perceptions have shifted slightly as people have raised some good points and the discussion has forced me to think hard about why I feel the way that I do.

If you already have a good .com domain name then you've got a winner. If you are looking to add a *new* domain name to add to your portfolio then I think that the potential pay-off for .info and .biz (and .us) is high - relatively low cost to acquire decent names and more room to improve.

BTW there are still good 3-char and popular search term .info names available. I've hit my domain name quota for the time being but will surely add to my portfolio soon.

Next on the list: IDN's

Cheers,
Jarrod

 

[dtobias]

.BIZ might be thought of as "an ugly stepsister to .COM", as it has no particularly logical purpose for existence if the DNS namespace is thought of as a rational taxonomy; why have two different TLDs for general business and commercial entities?

However, .US is a different sort of animal altogether. It's a country code domain, and as such part of a different and parallel taxonomy, slicing up the world in a different way.

On the one hand there are the gTLDs which divide things on the net by type of organization or activity -- .COM, .ORG, .EDU, etc., reflecting whether the site is (purportedly) commercial, noncommercial, educational, etc. (except when ignorant people and those who pander to them abuse the namespace, like by putting a noncommercial site in a .COM domain).

On the other hand there are the ccTLDs which divide things by what country they're in, like .US, .CA, .UK, .DE, etc., for the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany, except when they're abused by those seeking to make a buck by "repositioning" .TV as a domain for television and .LA for Los Angeles.

Thus, which sort of domain to use should depend on whether you're more interested in emphasizing what sort of site it is (commercial or not, etc.), or what its geographical location or target market is.

 

[dvdrip]

I totally agree with DomeBase.
.biz is the worst domain. Even country domains like .co.uk, .us, .de are better.

Originally posted by DomeBase
My estimate in current market for these six:

.com = 100
.net = 30
.org = 25
.info* = 20 (higher for prime generics and lower for non-words)
.us* = 15
.biz = 5 ?

*most likely to increase in next year

 

[zouzas]

lets face it com was the first on the scene and thus the only one to grab net came along and had no identity and still doesn't org for the non profits what nonprofit is going to pay a ton of money for a name?
so then comes Biz. and info biz a big mistake which has to be branded and that takes years to brand info but its just that for information really not for business,,,,,,
then comes the good old US no branding need there everyone knows US how many times in the day do you hear US or see the letters US,,,so for extensions sure coms on top but it had 12 years to brand it self US doesn't need branding only awareness it exists ,,
The question is how much does com become diluted from the arrival of US,,,

 

[DomeBase]

Originally posted by zouzas
The question is how much does com become diluted from the arrival of US,,,

The value of .COM is already being eroded by .COOP.



























:laugh:

 

[izopod]

Originally posted by izopod
If you truly want to know whether a particular TLD will be successful or not you should find out HOW they are being used!!!!

Originally posted by izopod
Rule of thumb: Don't assume anything in the domain business. Lessons learned in the 1990's must not be forgotten. If you remember. Dot com was thought of as a weaker selection then Dot net, however since dot net was reserved for ISps and the like, businesses started to use Dot com.

Originally posted by izopod
Whether we like it or not we ARE prejudiced towards TLDs based on our economic benefit.

I'm sure Dot-Com-Cowboy would have to agree with that last one.

Izopodian Philosophy: Advice can be taken two ways: 1) Literally or 2) After careful examination.

 

[Sharpy]

Originally posted by DotComCowboy
.US is just an ugly stepsister to .COM, and all suitors will FIRST hit on the beautiful .COM sister.

I have a book called "Famous Last Words"

Here's an example "why would anyone want or need a computer at home?"

Yours ranks right up there DCC lololololol

 

[izopod]

Originally posted by dvdrip

.biz is the worst domain. Even country domains like .co.uk, .us, .de are better.

Everyone keeps saying .biz is the worst, etc, etc. without any reason why other than it "sounds" bad.

To me .de "sounds" really bad, and ".co.uk" sounds even worse. They even "look" bad to me. However they are both very popular in their respective countries, especially .De (as in Cool-Mo.DE) A good .de name I bet would carry a handsome price tag with it.

I will say this again, the new TLDs will become popular because of how people will USE them. One side note: ccTLD's are much different then gTLDs---A dot US vs Dot Com argument only works in the US, if you believe it could dilute the dot com TLD.

To recap:

.info--most likely will be used by people offering specific info (duh!). A cursory glance at Google will support this claim:

site:.info -dscsidwnmdasjnasaijrkfdsdsn (cut/paste into google)

.biz--most like will be used by businesses (duh!). Right now based mostly in the US.

site:.biz -dscsidwnmdasjnasaijrkfdsdsn (cut/paste into google)

 

[dtobias]

It's not really true that ".com was first on the scene"; actually, the .com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, and .mil domains were introduced simultaneously in 1985 (although .net was absent from the earliest proposal in 1983, it was added by the time domain names were officially introduced). .int followed in 1989, and was the last new TLD (other than country codes) to be introduced until 2001. .biz, .info, .name, .museum, .coop, .aero, and .pro were added to the root in 2001-2002, though .pro has yet to open registrations.

Some country-code domains were introduced in 1985 along with the TLDs; the rest have trickled in over the years. Iraq's .IQ has yet to be activated.

Technically, ".CO.UK" is not a TLD; it's a second-level domain within the country code domain .UK, along with its siblings .ORG.UK, .GOV.UK, etc. Some other countries similarly subdivide their ccTLD namespace, like Australia with .COM.AU, .ORG.AU, etc.