Predictions on Domain Name TLD Popularity
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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As you must have noticed, good dot com (.com) domains are scarse forcing many to purchase these domains in the secondary market and almost always pay more than $100 per domain. So, we all know how good the .com TLD is.
A few years ago, there were fewer TLDs. Life was simple and straight forward.. Now, between the country-specific and industry-specific TLDs there are hundreds of TLDs to consider when shopping for a domain name. This can be confusing especially for newbies.
Let me talk a little about the most famous TLDs and share my future predictions, for the next 10 years to come, let’s start:
Here’s a rundown - in descending order of desirability. Something to consider before you go ahead and register the domain for your next awesome site!
- .com
The granddaddy of the Internet boom, .com is the TLD to have - assuming it has not already been taken. In other countries, like the UK, the .co.uk TLDs are as close as you can get to a .com without buying a .com
- .net & .org
uh, the old .net and .org If you can get these you should. These are not as popular as .com and may not always work for your website, but for certain applications or audiences a good, short & easy to remember .net or .org address can be very effective.
- .co.uk, .org.uk, .co.nz, .co.in …
The country-specific commercial domains can be useful. I don’t own any of these though. In some countries (not the U.S.) these domains are the 2nd best thing after .com, .net and .org
If your target is country-specific like the UK, a .co.uk domain has a similar level of saturation in the commercial sector as the global .com and will do
- .us
Made popular by del.icio.us, the .us TLD is great for those targeting a primarily US-based market, but lacks the appeal of a good .com
Many good domain names exist in this TLD, so far is has been lagging in popularity behind .com, .net, .org. I wont bet on this domain picking up steam though.
- .biz, .info
These TLDs are lagging in popularity. Personally I like .info more than .biz and believe that it will gain in popularity. I see .biz becoming one of these useless TLDs that I wont invest in.
- .eu
Although not in widespread use, the newer .eu domain is limited in usefulness to countries within Europe. Now what word should pop into your mind? how about Niches? If your business is exclusively European and serves that region, then an .eu TLD is short and easy to remember. Due to the existence of the European Union I predict this domain to continue to gain in popularity in Europe.
Brand new, released in 2008. I predict this TLD to increase in popularity quickly in Asian countries and for Asian related services. Right now gold.asia is worth $47,000 and buy.asia is going for $73,000 while discover.asia tops the list at more than $100,000 worth.
.me
Good for individuals. I am not that familiar with this TLD. The chances it may continue to increase in popularity are 50/50. One day each human may end up with MyName.Me we shall see. If I own MyName.com though why would I want a .Me? I would only if it becomes a trend and if everybody started using this domain for their own portfolio web sites.
Some see this as a competitor to the .me TLD. It’s intended for individual use, .name hasn’t really caught on yet. I do not predict that it will, this TLD shall lack in popularity/awareness of other TLDs.
I do not live in Japan, but I believe this TLD continues to gain in popularity. The newly released .Asia TLD will take away from the .jp (and other Asian country TLDs) popularity however.
.mobi
This TLD has gained in worth quickly, but not as much in popularity for good reason. Any website no matter what TLD it uses can and should have a mobile version.. So, if people are familiar with CNN.com but they use an iPhone or some mobile device which URL would you think comes to mind? I think the .com one. Plus, as mobile devices get better they will allow browsing the Internet like a computer, so they can get to all the TLDs. I don’t see a case for a .mobi TLD
.fm, .tv, .cc
Some country codes have gained limited acceptance in niche areas, not in the areas they were intended for. For example, the Federated States of Micronesia (.fm) is used by some music sites, Tuvalu (.tv) for TV sites, and to a less useful extent, the Cocos (Keeling) islands (.cc).
I have to say that .tv and .mobi fall in the same bucket. .tv also did gain in worth but not much in popularity; .fm and .cc are really worthless.
Remember,
A good domain is defined by many other factors besides the TLD. Also, when thinking about the TLD you have to keep in mind their people friendliness. Consider the following about non common TLDs:
- They can confuse visitors
- They’re more difficult to remember than .com
- They can make you look less reputable than you actually are
These are the exact reasons why a .com is the best choice. If you can get a .com TLD then by all means do get it.
I believe that search engines prefer .com TLDs and the other common ones, even though in they say they treat all TLDs equally. But think about it, search engines are good at rewarding famous websites, to be famous your domain name should be memorable, a good common TLD certainly helps your domain name.
