The .UK revolution

[RB5]

yeah I don't really get the "trust" argument really. I understand them not knowing about the simpler .uk, but that's not trust

Surely not knowing about something is a barrier to conversion though? If it's something that gets noticed and gives even a second of hesitation then there's less value in the .uk than .co.uk?

I don't think the user would give a jot, the trust thing has been peddled by anti .UK naysayers for years and if you oppose? Well lest you be ready to be smited down like the foul beasts we are for daring to change our nameservers to point at dot UK. But.. we see plenty of people doing just fine using a .UK (like they said all the lights would go out if Brexit went ahead and here we all are).

If anyone can post a story about how a business ended up in ruins just because they used the dreaded .UK extension please do so because I haven't heard of any...

I wouldn't say .uk vs .co.uk is make or break for a business though, it's simply one of many factors to the business overall.

 

[webber]

should I be worried if somebody else is already operating with the .co.uk name ?

While I agree it's an important factor to consider, I don't think it's necessarily a deal breaker.
Again, see my previous example, where they rank 6th in Google (if you ignore all the ads) while their .co.uk competitor isn't even in the first 10 pages. So if most people access the web through Google, I think they are doing pretty well.
Obviously this is just an example that happens to be favourable to .uk, we probably can't generalise.
I'm also well aware that I'm subject to confirmation bias too

 

[m4c]

I had this opportunity within the last year. Brand is called Mix, with both mix.co.uk and mix.uk owned.

I personally do not believe the .uk variant is anywhere as trusted as .co.uk by the general public.

Perfect example

- surely it’s up to ‘us’ who are in a position of knowing there is a choice, to lead with the .uk domain - every instance of people seeing it advertised / branding use, is one more step towards building that ‘trust’ and awareness.

 

[James]

.uk usurping .co.uk will take another decade or so I guess.

But I also anticipate a paradigm shift, with blockchain alternatives starting out as memorable NFT wallet addresses + additional functionality added later on.

 

[RB5]

Perfect example

- surely it’s up to ‘us’ who are in a position of knowing there is a choice, to lead with the .uk domain - every instance of people seeing it advertised / branding use, is one more step towards building that ‘trust’ and awareness.

As a small business owner, it's not my job to grow the visibility of .uk domains. My job is simply to ensure the business is as stable and as profitable as can be, which the .co.uk offers more of for me right now.

Until there is a clear incentive to being on .uk I'll be aiming to build on .co.uk.

 

[JMI]

.uk usurping .co.uk will take another decade or so I guess.

But I also anticipate a paradigm shift, with blockchain alternatives starting out as memorable NFT wallet addresses + additional functionality added later on.

Please expand. Do you mean a domain ending in something like .eth pointing to a wallet?

 

[cloud]

I don't think it matters as long as you own both variants. Most people don't look at domains, they type the name or product name into Google and couldn't give two hoots about the domain.

 

[dee]

I tend to agree, especially now with proliferation of things like .io etc, people dont really care if they are landing via a search. However, and I may be wrong, but isn't there an advantage in local search to have a local extension ? Has anyone done any research on co.uk vses uk on that ? Google says it doesn't care and it's all about content.

I personally like th uk as its punchier

 

[Paullas]

I am monitoring daily what hits my domains are getting and i am seeing the .uk's are getting more visits than .co.uks

 

[webber]

I am seeing the .uk's are getting more visits than .co.uks

It probably depends on the domain, any backlinks it has, etc...
I do have one pair for which the .uk far exceeds the .co.uk traffic for some reason. None have any backlinks.
In fact this .uk is my most accessed domain in my portfolio (bar seo domains)

 

[JMI]

I think the biggest issue is for established .co.uk brands who may never (see the need to) switch. Take glassesdirect/co.uk tv advert

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This is not a failure of .UK, rather than there not really being a business case to justify the change.

 

[dee]

I think the biggest issue is for established .co.uk brands who may never (see the need to) switch. Take glassesdirect/co.uk tv advert

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This is not a failure of .UK, rather than there not really being a business case to justify the change.

I suspect it will get to the point where the two coexist. I guess it doesn't matter if your traffic comes from search anyway ?

 

[cloud]

I just saw an advert on TV for advancedhair.uk.

I basically never watch the idiot lantern, especially not adverts, so I was surprised to catch an ad with a .UK on it.

 

[martin-s]

Very rarely part with any domains, but sold one via Uniregistry recently which completed today. Followed up with a "would you like the .uk?" and the answer?

Literally "In a word no"

 

[cloud]

Very rarely part with any domains, but sold one via Uniregistry recently which completed today. Followed up with a "would you like the .uk?" and the answer?

Literally "In a word no"

Probably a domainer?

 

[martin-s]

Probably a domainer?

No - end user and they've already put the website live

 

[cloud]

No - end user and they've already put the website live

Question is, what rationale is there for not wanting the .uk.... they know so much about it that they'll never need it and even if they did they wouldn't want it anyway? Makes no sense...

They don't want the protection for £25 extra.... £5? They didn't even think £5 would be reasonable for the peace of mind? They didn't even ask what that price was for said peace of mind? Mindless.

 

[CreativeMix]

Question is, what rationale is there for not wanting the .uk.... they know so much about it that they'll never need it and even if they did they wouldn't want it anyway? Makes no sense...

They don't want the protection for £25 extra.... £5? They didn't even think £5 would be reasonable for the peace of mind? They didn't even ask what that price was for said peace of mind? Mindless.

Never feed a troll

He states that he rarely sells domains and then uses his own limited experience to suggest .uk is a dead duck that nobody wants. This fella's obsession with hating on .uk is so strong, he won't even allow himself to point his businesses .uk to the .co,uk that it trades from!

 

[lazarus]

Literally "In a word no"

Despite being a domainer. I just can't wrap my head around why someone doing business in the UK wouldn't also want the .uk even at very least, for redirection or future-proofing & protecting their brand. It makes no sense to me on so many levels. I can only put it down to just being a poor business decision. Might just be a handful of cases as I get a fair few inquiries from end-users about .uk's

 

[jasman]

Some end users have no sense of vision when it comes to their online presence. There have been a few times when I noticed a surname domain or EMD matching a business whose owner(s) I know and when I tip them off they reply that they already have <surname>ltd.co.uk or <surname>cambridge.co.uk etc so they don't need any more domains.

It's a bit like someone being told that a relation has just died and they are eligible to put in a claim on their estate which comprises of a property in Mayfair, but they decide not to bother on the basis that they have a little cottage in the country that they are happy with.