Is it worth buying .co.uk domains anymore?

[TinkyWinky]

IMHO all the new suffixes (.xxx through to .wales) serve a number of very worthwhile causes :

To :

a. confuse average joe - surfer / punter
b. put cash in coffers of speculators with cash who grab the best ones
c. put cash into ICANN, Nominet et al. who god help us need the money
d. raise cash for parking companies as more end up being parked
e. choke up the internet with more rubbish MFA sites on exact match domains
f. blackmail big companies into buying more and more useless domains they will have to 301
g. ensure more and more sh1t tv campaigns where platsic actors spout the domain name 15 times in 20 seconds.

I could go on... sorry .co just for me shows exactly why there should not be more and more tlds relseased. Enough already.

If someone wants a domain bad enough - then pay for it. Either that or get creative!

Although I may reconsider a couple of points above if .con was set up .

TW

 

[newguy]

New extensions, penguin updates and the economy in general may have slowed the domain market a bit but I think you'll always get a good price for the right name.

 

[BG]

My thoughts...

Hi Guys,

The new extensions which are coming out will simply make the registrars big bucks overnight, and rightfully so imo as they would have put some big bucks down dealing with the application process, some would have teamed up with various government bodies or associations depending on what TLD they were going for (helps with the validity of the application and gives it greater strength for approval), plus they then have to prove they have the funds and capability of creating the infrastructure to handle such TLDs, plus be in a position to handle charge backs and various other admin tasks.. you're talking a couple of million before even launching...

With the above in mind i personally think that ".COM" will always always always be king, yes you will have some monster sites created using these new TLD's such as .music which will probably create a platform for artists and sell sub domains etc, however these types of extensions have been around for years and many have failed... and when i say failed i dont mean failed at making money... I mean failed because people in the masses still are not using them to brand their companies, they still use .COM - The best example i can think of would be .TRAVEL - It's a great tld yet you dont see travel operators switching over to it, nor do you see Golf players of professional athletes changing over to .PRO ...

The people who manage to get their hands on the cream of the crop TLD's like .MUSIC and .SPORT will be the winners as i can see such extensions working if they house the right content for users on them however, only a few TLDS will be truly successful imo and become killer brands, again i dont mean success in terms of making money as i believe they will all make money to a degree... I'm talking about becoming part of our search, becoming part of peoples conversation, changing peoples mindsets over that of .com and so on... thats when you know its a hit imo...

For me all these new extensions are great for those who cant get their hands on the ".COM's", thats all they are, second rate domains which will help serve a cause and make the registrars more money, simples and not rocket science.

I also think that in the next 5 to 10 yrs domains will play less of a key-role as more and more people will be using mobile devices and become very lazy in SEARCH due to having > The Insurance App, The Restaurant App, The Travel App, The Hotels App and so on.... Give it time and Google will start displaying APP listings above search, its inevitable imo.

I think their is only a short time left for people to keep riding the seo gravy train and whacking up loads of mini sites, with google moving the goal posts and making changes whenever they please, the best bet and only bet imo is create a good solid site and build it in to a real business, forget about loads of eggs in many baskets and start creating a proper foundation which will be your home for the next few years... these are the types of sites which will keep you in business long term imo.

Sorry if I've gone on a bit, gone off the rails or got various words mixed up etc... i have a soon to be 4yr running around and a 10week old playing on her jungle gym whacking her feet on a piano, lol, not the best environment when trying to think serious thoughts, lol

Just my 2pence anyway... i know what i was trying to say in my head but whether its come out the same is a different matter :OP

Barry
Ps, i cant be assed to correct typos or grammatical errors as i'll be here all night

 

[Edwin]

http://www.webmastering.co.uk/uncategorized/the-new-brand-tlds-are-destined-to-fail/

 

[retired_member34]

I think their is only a short time left for people to keep riding the seo gravy train and whacking up loads of mini sites, with google moving the goal posts and making changes whenever they please, the best bet and only bet imo is create a good solid site and build it in to a real business, forget about loads of eggs in many baskets and start creating a proper foundation which will be your home for the next few years... these are the types of sites which will keep you in business long term imo.

This. I for one will be pleased, having spent too many years watching Google play whack-a-mole with crap sites - why the hell can't they fix the 301 problem? I also think it will erode the value of many EMDs, apart from the major "I don't give a damn who I buy from just make it cheap" type purchases (finance, insurance etc) but at the same time dramatically increase the value of good short brandable dictionary words.

Would they go for a .uk? Who knows, but why not? Everyone with an actual stake in a real site would purchase the extension for their site in some sort of sunrise mechanism, the incremental cost to them would be low. The only people it would affect dramatically are the portfolio owners, who would either have to try to purchase the equivalent .uk and double their registration costs, or face that the value of their emd would be diluted due to a near copy domain being available elsewhere (emd.co.uk and emd.uk).

 

[solaris]

I think their is only a short time left for people to keep riding the seo gravy train and whacking up loads of mini sites, with google moving the goal posts and making changes whenever they please, the best bet and only bet imo is create a good solid site and build it in to a real business, forget about loads of eggs in many baskets and start creating a proper foundation which will be your home for the next few years... these are the types of sites which will keep you in business long term imo.

Yes I think domainer monetisation sites are increasingly endangered.

But why should an end-user spend a six figure sum on an aftermarket domain when they can just set up their own extension? The new extensions might unexpectedly hurt the high priced domains, putting an unofficial ceiling on prices.

Building a site on these new TLDs could be risky if they go bust, have financial difficulties, or get taken over. The real money will be in owning a registry, not speculating on individual names.

Also if an extension gets widely used for scams or malware...

 

[JMOT]

Barry is 100% right...except the super app he's talking about IMHO is Facebook.

 

[websaway]

Anyone looking at the .TV extension will gain some perspective on the whole issue of new ones.

 

[sdsinc]

I also think that in the next 5 to 10 yrs domains will play less of a key-role as more and more people will be using mobile devices and become very lazy in SEARCH due to having > The Insurance App, The Restaurant App, The Travel App, The Hotels App and so on.... Give it time and Google will start displaying APP listings above search, its inevitable imo.

Thoughtful post but I'm more optimistic.
In the early days of the WWW people were already writing off domain names because navigation would take place through the search engines.
But TLDs remain essential for branding and advertising.. it's the online extension of your business card so I don't think they will become irrelevant but I see more diversity in the ways the access the Internet (ie mobile apps).

http://www.webmastering.co.uk/uncategorized/the-new-brand-tlds-are-destined-to-fail/

Very nicely put, as usual

But why should an end-user spend a six figure sum on an aftermarket domain when they can just set up their own extension? The new extensions might unexpectedly hurt the high priced domains, putting an unofficial ceiling on prices.

Even though the cost of launching one's own TLD should plummet in the coming years, it won't be a proposition for everyone. Few corporations will be able to afford the cost or justify the actual need... anyway, they are already branded on .com...

I think it's bad news for the struggling TLDs like .mobi .biz .travel or .whatever that never got any traction from end users. They are going to be in competition with myriads of other extensions that might even get better promotion. It's a lot of new extensions vying for a share of the same pie that isn't growing, because end user demand is not there. But remember, it's not about meeting end user demand, it's about making money. Just think of the useless defensive registrations that will be made.

Back to .uk, I don't know what will happen. But it won't be the first time a country and an extension disappear. Worst-case scenario is a bulk transfer of your .co.uk to .eng or .scott, depending on your allegiance

But the branding power of .co.uk would truly be wiped out.
As always, diversification in investments is essential.

 

[ratboy]

I think their is only a short time left for people to keep riding the seo gravy train and whacking up loads of mini sites, with google moving the goal posts and making changes whenever they please, the best bet and only bet imo is create a good solid site and build it in to a real business, forget about loads of eggs in many baskets and start creating a proper foundation which will be your home for the next few years... these are the types of sites which will keep you in business long term imo.

Barry I think this business model is already dead.

Interestingly I'm seeing more and more domainers (myself included) moving into a solid *real product* business plan with long-term aspirations. Good advice.

In terms of new extensions... I think as long as the BBC stays on .co.uk we are safe. People understand it, trust it and as more and more "spam" extensions before commonplace I think Google will trust it more too.

• Google is going local. (.co.uk wins)
• Google is supporting proper businesses (.co.uk wins)
• Google likes older *trusted* websites (.co.uk wins)

 

[rob]

Ratters makes a good point.

However there are a few domaines who lucked out getting a few nice names and now think they are bill gates Expect a few to lose a wedge!

 

[doodlebug]

Too bad cayman islands got .cym.
[/URL]

Who got spunk.cym
If you know anything about Wales cym is pronounced cum

Anyway don't worry about it Julian etc. .cymru, .wales, .eng will be like .us, it won't be very popular and as for .uk as far as I am concerned .co.uk is far to established and think of all the paid for marketing where a company is using .co.uk.

I will lose no sleep over it, now Julian get out from under my bed and stop trying to scare me :shock:

 

[cc976a]

Old habits die hard. The search engines like everyone else will have to still play to the Market - who do not give a damn on extension / affiliate / MFA / social popularity etc... as long as they get the results they want.

Google is not trying to screw over affiliate sites, just what's the point of directing the visitor to one site for you to direct them to another. Makes sense for Google to send them there direct - but where your affiliate or adsense site adds value to the searcher and the phrase typed in why wouldn't Google want to display you - unless they were trying to concentrate ads on that Market.

Let's face it

- Google will be around for 5-10yrs+ still;
- Other TLDs will never take off;
- .Org.uk will never make it as a viable commercial alternative (no matter how much we want the average user to recognise it, or want big businesses to build big brands and create a snowball);
- England will win EURO

OK up until the last one it was believable.

Realistically the problem in the engines is too much crap, and too many sites exploiting rules and exploiting Google. No wonder they're clamping down.

IMHO lots and lots of cash to be made in affiliate, automated / recurring service or software fees and even MFA sites. You just have to have the vision, passion on the subject - and a good guy or girl in India to create it all (and Jamie to write your content - free plug there!)

One way to free up lots of domains, stop the need for extra TLDs, and reduce the crap is to increase the price of a domain. Something which frees up potential and makes sure whoever buys them / renews them has an intention or generically they have a worth. Let's say £100-£200.

I know this is damning for any portfolio holders - but a lot of crap would drop, more commercially brandable names would become available and allow us to build better businesses (even niche businesses) with better branding.

9 million parked, unused and ridicuously overpriced domains (on a lot of occassions) on SEDO is criminal.

 

[julian]

imho all I can say is there are some people out there with some bloody big bollocks to hold on to what they've invested small fortunes in.

Domains might be the new land but what happens when your land gets taken over by the council.

 

[websaway]

imho all I can say is there are some people out there with some bloody big bollocks to hold on to what they've invested small fortunes in.

Domains might be the new land but what happens when your land gets taken over by the council.

nokta sent an email this morning selling there wares, I notice cats dot com is $15,096,600 and arcade dot com at $16,492,875
So just waiting for things to bomb out and I'll make an offer of $500 each.

Dream on.

 

[solaris]

Domains might be the new land but what happens when your land gets taken over by the council.

They turn around and charge you for the use of it, and they pay a private company to manage it for you, and the work gets done by people on work experience. Great deal for you the taxpayer.