I wish I had taken ccTLDs and IDNs more seriously
August 18, 2008 by Rick Latona
True global brands need a .com extension. Clearly there are obvious exceptions but for the most part, if you want to market to the world, you need a good .com. However, with all the patting on the back old-school domainers like to give themselves, you have to admit, we should have registered more country-code top-level domains and internationalized domain names.
I think this is especially true for those of us that resell our names. While I was in Spain this summer, I couldn’t help but notice that most of the small and medium businesses I saw had .es ccTLDs. Many large companies marketed ccTLDs locally as well. If only I had registered 100,000 of them to sell at 1000-10,000 Euros a piece!
The Domain In Spain Falls Mainly On The .es Extension
Instead I sat there comfortably fooling myself that .com was all that would ever matter.
This does not mean that I’m going to start buying $50,000 ccTLDs and IDNs so please don’t try and sell them to me. I just wish I had had the foresight to have gotten them early.
Time and again I am hearing stories about IDNs’ revenue growing year in and year out while revenue in most other extensions are falling. This of course, is especially true in Asian countries where businesses must adopt and promote an IDN because otherwise the masses wouldn’t understand the meaning of the name.
This almost makes me think .mobi names have a chance. Almost.
Let me repeat that I’m not a buyer on these names at big dollars. I just think hand-registering them makes a lot of sense. As does hand registering other extensions like .mobi, .name, .asia, .info, .me, etc. Hand register the hell out of them and sell them to end-users down the line.
More than anything I like the ccTLD names and I’m kicking myself in the ass for not having more of them.
Fortunately, there are still many opportunities left for everyone.
**Added after post went live** One thing I forgot to mention is that we are noticing it is easier to get a website ranked in Google.ccTLD if you have domain.ccTLD. In other words, Our aeiou.com customers are reporting higher traffic on their ccTLD names from the respective countries.
Regardless, American domainers might not be inclined to buy other ccTLDs except they have some agents in those countries who could really market the names for them. Yes TLD diversification is good but instead of kicking your self in the butt I would start from home (dot US). Personally, I have few .US, and I think this is one of the most overlook cc. Think of Ron Jackson who has been talking passionately about US cc. He is very optimistic that .us is going be huge in the near future.
So, Rick, perhaps you have “acres of diamond” (.us) seating in your backyard. Why not explore that? - before you explore other extensions, es etcs
.us is the country code of the United States only in a very technical sense. Personally I think there are very good reasons why it hasn’t done well. Not comparable to .co.uk, .de, .ca etc.
Great post Rick - other country code domain name ext. are the way to go as well (not only .com’s)
I have some cash.ph commerce.ph banks.ph loan.ph from my own country, hopefully this will gain million $ value in the next 10 years. Only time can tell.
EM @KING.NET
I have always liked ccTLDs and with Internet penetration having now reached critical mass, allowing people to find a local provider of just about any product or service online, the various local ccTLDS are more attractive than ever. The same can be said IDNs which have many of the same characteristics of ccTLDs in that they identify a domain as being local (with respect to language in the same way that ccTLDs are local in terms of geography. Over the past year or two I’ve noticed an increasing number of aftermarket sales for .es (Spain), .fr (France), .ca (Canada) and many others (along with the long-time .de and .co.uk powerhouses).
With respect to .us I do like the future prospects for the American country code and have a large portfolio of them, but I would have to temper Seyi’s characterization of how I view them. I don’t think I have been talking passionately about .us, but when asked about it I have said that I see a lot of potential there. .Com is so popular that many small to medium sized businesses have no chance to get a keyword or phrase relevant to theur business in .com. If they are US businesses I think the most logical alternative for them - as it is for businesses in other parts of the world - is their local country code. My .us sales have increased slowly but steadily every year (in both number of sales and average value of each sale) since I started buying them in the spring of 2002 (shortly after the US government opened the extension to all American citizens.
I have never said, nor do I believe, that .us is going to be “huge” in the “near future”. It takes many years for recognition of non .com extensions to develop. .US may reach a “tipping point” where it has achieved enough recognition that adoption will accelerate (much like what we have seen with .ca, .es, .fr and others), but no one knows when or if that will happen. I personaly think that it will happen, but if I had a truly reliable crystal ball I would be at the horse track right now rather than writing this post. You basically have to go with your gut instincts on how things will play out over time. I see .us as a good common sense long term bet for appreciation. The cost of entry is low and if the pattern we have seen in other countries repeats itself in the States, the rewards could be significant.
As an American, if I cannot get the term I want in .com, I see .us as my next best option. Unlike .net (which would be most people’s preferred alternative) the .us extension imparts a valuable message in the domain name by telling surfers where you are based. Many countries have looked to their local cTLD first because they want to buy locally and there is also an apsect of national pride there. To a large degree, people around the world are the same, so I think Americans - when increasingly forced to look for an alternative to .com due to the scarcity and expense of names in the gold standard extension - will increasingly give serions consideration to their .us extension.
You can still get good deals on .us names, they don’t seem to have taken off yet compared to .es, .ca., .de, .co.uk. While other countries were quick to adopt their country code extension, the USA was already heavily into .com, so .us has been much slower to take off there.
@ Ron Jackson: Thanks for the clarification/great insight. I didn’t mean to misquote. I have red several favorable reports partaining “dot US.” Your name just happened to be the first that came to mind. At least, I was right sort of that you are one of the experts that have visions for US cc. Based on personal research, I will take those words and make them mine: “I’m very optimistic that .us is going be huge in the near future.” And five years from now people will quote me on this.
I’ve just added to my original post another bennifit of cctld names. Search engine traffic.
Dear Rick,
Its very interesting to see how you and Elliot silver are talking about TLD domains. The online world is moving wide and deep meaning that if someone is looking to launch a biz in UK you would want a .co.uk similarly if one wants a biz in India one would want to have a .IN domain. Hence I own some .co.uk and .in domains. True that.in domains are not fully utilized but I think in the near future they will take off. Some of my .in domains are Webincome.in, Mobileminutes.in, Banglorerealestate.in, toddler.in, sinus.in and for some of my .co.uk I own Fluseason.co.uk, Pulmonologists.co.uk, Endocrinologists.co.uk, Gasolineprices.co.uk, CommercialLisitings.co.uk, RealestateForeclosure.co.uk…In addition, obviously I own the mater.com-AspenAttarctions.com, Nevadamove.com, MacauFares.com.
Kindly advise me if I am on the right track…Looking forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Salman
Rick, how much money is enough? I would bet that your domain portfolio is one of the top 10 in the world even after all the great names you’ve sold so far this year. There’s a million little guys that would give their left pinky finger to be where you are. Quit it already with the perfectionism.
Yes, Seyi, I understand - no problem with your enthusiasm for .us, just wanted to clarify. I do intend like the long term prospects for .us and I have put a sizeable bet on their future.
I like being able to get high-performing one-word keywords without breaking the bank. I think this is why ccTLD’s are getting more and more popular, especially ones with generic meaning, such as .us and .me.
I love .com, but for the small domainer who missed the .com boat, getting into the ccTLD game just makes sense.
I’m glad to see avid dot commers coming around and realizing that there are alternatives out there.
I am receiving type-in traffic on several hundred of my parked IDNs across 6 different languages. And they are all either DOT COM or DOT NET extensions. That’s right, IDNs with DOT COM and DOT NET extensions. DOT COM / DOT NET and IDNs are not mutually exclusive, as many people would have you believe when they are commenting about IDNs.
I actually have very few ccTLD (IDN or ASCII), less than 20 altogether. In most cases, the value proposition isn’t there for me as a “parking” domainer, as the ccTLD reg fees / renewal fees can often cost quite a lot more than DOT COM or DOT NET fees, and you will likely operate in the red for many of the IDN.ccTLD domains (except the tier 1 stuff).
I also have IDN.COM minisites that rank on page 1 in country-code googles, and sometimes earn $15-30 a day. Every country-code google uses their own extension weighting preferences - it’s not one-size fits the whole world. In some country code googles, DOT COM / DOT NET will never rank well - in others, no problemo.
You are all welcome to join idnchannel.com if you want to learn more.
Travel helps, but it is not really necessary to travel to understand the value of cc tlds. Open Financial Times (readily available anywhere in the US), what do you see? Sure, some .coms here and there, but mostly co.uk and org.uk! And lately - .tv. (From what I hear from my British friends, tv is advertised left and right in the UK).
In Russia, com is virtually non-existent. .ru is king (or czar, if you will), with .net (for whatever reason) in the second place. When I mention .com, people stare at me - what’s that supposed to mean? No kidding.
Bottomline - com is mostly an American thing, not even global.
[...] http://www.ricklatona.com [...]
Guys,
Sorry I had a typo…Correct spelling of my domains-CommercialListings.co.uk and AspenAttractions.com. I also own CommericalRealestate.co.uk and RealestateForeclosure.co.uk.
[...] http://www.ricklatona.com [...]
I am visiting family in India and always look around for ads that show web addresses. There is no doubt that .in and .co.in are being used in India more now than ever by small and large businesses. This is a change from 2 years ago…believe the names are penetrating into small businesses.
We had some locally made candy sitting on the table and I noticed the web address of the maker on it…Bharath———.co.in.
In India particularly English is the business language that links the country to the outside and inside world…I am convinced premium english word .in/.co.in will be quite valuable in the near future. I wish there is more Cable Broadband penetration…looks to me that will truly open up the Indian Internet usage…
Rick,
Nice well thought out article, right on the target.
Enjoyed reading it. Even blogged about it.
Thank you for your insights.
RKB.
Good post. To anyone living here in Europe, it has been quite obvious for many years that in the majority of countries, the ccTLD far outranks .com as the default type-in and business brand TLD. However, many countries had restrictions for registering until recently. Many countries still have restictions regarding resale.
What you say about ccTLD and Google rankings is absolutely true, and this has also been apparent for quite some time. It is far easier to get high rankings using the ccTLD domain name than the corresponding .com or some other gTLD. That’s why it’s a solid strategy to acquire these names for development purposes, regardless of resale restrictions.
I have been happily hand registering single-word category killers in European ccTLD’s for some time. Almost invariably, the type-in traffic is substantial from the very first day of registration, and the SEO advantage is obvious.
It’s still not too late: there are lots of great hand regs to be had. Europe is lacking behind the USA in recognizing the importance of type-in traffic and a memorable domain name for businesses, but it is obvious that the same thing will happen with ccTLDs as happened with .com - sure, the markets are much smaller, but they are still vital markets and there is plenty of money to be made.
If you want to benefit from the search engine advantage of having a ccTLD domain you would also need to obtain hosting from the country in question the domain extension relates to.
So if you have a .ca domain you would want to have Canadian based hosting, thus the servers physically residing in Canada to obtain maximum effect.
I have to give a lot of credit to Rick for what looks like contrition in a mild sort of way!
It really show’s he certainly know when to change strategy once you know what you previously did not know. Let me try and put it this way, it looks fairly obvious to me that unless US based Domain Investors travel out of the United States, it is very unlikely they would understand the value of ccTLD’s. The United States is a massive country and the largest global economy, hence I suppose, no reason to look beyond US borders. However this will ultimately prove to be a very grave mistake! For instance the last Domainer Auction held in Paris were really trying to flog english speaking names at a domain auction they themselves called “Foreign Domain Auction” it really showed where the fault lines were.
I pointed out on Andrews, blog on Domain Name Wire.com recently, with respect to .ME that it would not hurt to at least hold just a few of these as part of your domain diversification strategy. I also drew a correlation distinctively to the stock market, and that is, a Fund Manager will always diversify into global equities to maximize returns and would never just invest strictly in US equities or the US Dollar. That would be financial suicide and a very one dimentional strategy for obvious reasons. The domain market is very much like stocks with various countries taking different perspectives and setting intrinsic values. Infact, I can tell you there is a lot of international arbitrage domain opportunities only just emerging…this is just the very beginning of what will amount to an extremely explosive global domain aftermarket when everyone wants in because lets just say peak oil has changed everything forever! So once again, I strongly encourage all domainers to take a step back and think like a “Fund Manager” …your pensions rely on it and soon our aftermarket industry will be the same!
Well done Rick!
Robert, I was in Paris and I know exactly what you mean.
Germans aren’t going to buy dusseldorfgermany.de because 1) it’s spelled düsseldorf, not dusseldorf, 2) they already know that düsseldorf is in germany, and 3) germany is called deutschland in german. The germans who were sitting in front and behind me were bursting out in laughter when this one came to the screen.
And what about FurCoats.in? I really wonder how many Indian woman are buying fur coats while living in one of the hottest countries on earth.
There were prime IDN geo domains and others submitted to the auction, but none of them were included because FurCoats.in was more important.
.
My teachers always told me that travel was educational, not because of the facts you pick up but because of the perspectives you gain. I think it applies here… in more ways than obvious.
As a search marketer, I see value in DusseldorfGermany.de not because of its appeal to Germans, but it’s appeal to Google. Searchers in the US planning their travel will indeed search “Dusseldorf germany” which is an exact-match. The ccTLD aspect is not so obvious, but present. Certainly a competant search marketer/SEO knows what do do with that domain, when monetizing the travel and destinations market. There is a strategy component and I am very happy to hear the people were laughing at how absurd that name appears to be (to them). That keeps the price low and the competition entertained… just how I like things.
Hey guys, I just wanted to write a quick note about ccTLD. After nearly twenty years travelling the world i have seen a dramatic increase in people using their local ccTLD. Growth in the UK, Germany and China have been very high but I believe that to be successful you need to get in before others have caught on. That is why i see massive upside to Indian domain names especially .in. With over one billion people and the economy growing at a rapid rate there is huge potential here, sure it won’t be for years to come but definately worth searching for some top level domains now and holding onto them. In doing business in India, it seems like there is massive funding going on for infrastructure especially in cities like Mumbai where they are developing the city for the Commowealth Games in 2010. There are plenty of goo .in domains still out there so get in there before everyone else really catches on!
Hey Rick it’s time to invest in .it domains!
Rick…please stop! For years now people in Australia have regarded the .com extension as the be-all and end-all of the internet, which has left a significant number of local domain names just sitting unregistered, ripe for the picking.
Now auDA (the governing body of the .au domain space) has lifted their restriction on .au name trading there is a glut of good names on the market, but still a general apathy towards .com.au extension and .net.au names fair even worse!
Eventually, people in Australia will realise that the US is not the centre of the universe and .com TLDs are really worth no more than any other domain extension (less at face value, in fact), particularly in view of the increasing trend by the search engines to favour local sites over global ones.
Please do not spoil our fun by turning your attention to our lowly extensions. We’re doing quite okay on our own, thanks
On a more serious note, one of the things that I think auDA has done well is to protect the au TLD against anti-competitive foreign investment. In order to register a .com.au domain name you must have an Australian company or business number (available to foreign companies with local presence). Why other governing bodies around the world have not done the same is a failure of basic national economic security, IMHO.
–
Paul
http://www.domain-parking.com.au
well the travel industry has a separet .travel tld which is not such a boost. the cctlds are big boosts, if you want to do good in your native country. I have seen it myself, that good cctlds are better than dot coms, but then the traffic from the cctld always goes on a good flight to dot coms. It is important to have the dot com extension of the cctld too.