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Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

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Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#11

Post by dasil003 »

tomku wrote: post #10

I'll add another reason: People will mistakenly go to .com in droves, regardless of how easy it is to remember or how clever the domain/TLD split is. Having a cute short url is trendy, but it doesn't mean you can avoid the .com if you actually want people to find your site reliably. I'll also add that visiting http://voo.st/ is giving a "Domain Available" page for me. Completely inexcusable that their error state is…

I think this problem is rapidly diminishing over time as people just google everything.

Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#12

Post by tomku »

dasil003 wrote: post #11
tomku wrote: post #10

I'll add another reason: People will mistakenly go to .com in droves, regardless of how easy it is to remember or how clever the domain/TLD split is. Having a cute short url is trendy, but it doesn't mean you can avoid the .com if you actually want people to find your site reliably. I'll also add that visiting http://voo.st/ is giving a "Domain Available" page for me. Completely inexcusable that their error state is…

I think this problem is rapidly diminishing over time as people just google everything.

It's still better to have the .com anyways, because then you aren't potentially competing on SEO with someone else with the same brand name and a "better" domain to use it with. Like it or not, .com domains are the de facto namespace for consumer-facing products and having the .com for your brand up for sale or already taken is just asking for problems.

Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#13

Post by freehunter »

Why is it that halfway down the page, while I'm getting into the meat of the post, a banner pops down from the top blocking the text I'm reading? I like to keep my current line right at the top of the page, so I have to scroll back up. Then it disappears! Frustrating.

Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#14

Post by freshhawk »

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #7

Depends which. My site's at .me, which, being well hyped and having over 100,000 domains, is probably not going to go down soon.

That is definitely different. I understand the catchy headline and the grouping together of newer tlds but it's unfair.

The headline should have read "do at least a modicum of research into a company you are about to tie your entire brand to before you do so".

This doesn't apply to a lot of "cutesy" two letter tlds and it does apply to a lot of things that aren't tlds (whatever fly-by-night/about to get aqui-hired SAAS startups you are considering using as core pieces of your business)

Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#15

Post by freshhawk »

tomku wrote: post #12
dasil003 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this problem is rapidly diminishing over time as people just google everything.

It's still better to have the .com anyways, because then you aren't potentially competing on SEO with someone else with the same brand name and a "better" domain to use it with. Like it or not, .com domains are the de facto namespace for consumer-facing products and having the .com for your brand up for sale or already taken is just asking for problems.

Do you have any sources on SEO benefit to being a .com instead of a .net/.co.uk/.me?

I know .edu's get a bump and I wouldn't be surprised if .com's did as well but I've never had that confirmed.

Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#16

Post by phillmv »

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #8
lotyrin wrote: post #6

Yeah. Also, if your TLD belongs to somewhere with a less than stable government, who knows if they'll just stop caring about you. And, a portion of your users will always try to go to whatever.com instead of whatev.er, the worst part is you have no idea how many, but the guy that's parked the domain probably does. As you grow your business, traffic to the .com domain will only increase, you'll eventually want to buy…

E.g.: bit.ly became bitly.com, although that seems like a branding decision (with the whole "social link discovery site" thing)

Also, Libya.

Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#17

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

phillmv wrote: post #16
TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

E.g.: bit.ly became bitly.com, although that seems like a branding decision (with the whole "social link discovery site" thing)

Also, Libya.

Yes, the Qaddafi association probably isn't doing them any favours.

Re: Beware cutesy two-letter TLDs for your domain name

#20

Post by tomku »

freshhawk wrote: post #15
tomku wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still better to have the .com anyways, because then you aren't potentially competing on SEO with someone else with the same brand name and a "better" domain to use it with. Like it or not, .com domains are the de facto namespace for consumer-facing products and having the .com for your brand up for sale or already taken is just asking for problems.

Do you have any sources on SEO benefit to being a .com instead of a .net/.co.uk/.me? I know .edu's get a bump and I wouldn't be surprised if .com's did as well but I've never had that confirmed.

I don't know that there is one, I just meant "better" from a branding perspective. Interesting question though, I'd love to know if there was TLD-specific bumps.
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