Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Domain Names : ".net" is ok when you can't get the ".com"?

[DeluxeHost]

Only curious of your opinions if it's ok to go with the ".net" for your business if the ".com" is unavailable?

I currently have a ".net" I'm considering using. I contacted the owner of the ".com" (currently a parking page) and the owner wants $2000 usd for it. It is so not worth that much.

I had noticed that a number of users here use ".net" anyway to reflect that your business is on the internet (or maybe you also had trouble securing the ".com").

Thoughts?

[relichost]

Hi

In all honesty it doesnt matter what your domain name is as its an advert for your offering/service unless of course you are offering the same service as the same named .com domain.

For the UK we also have .co.uk and theres lots of dicusions about having .co.uk, .net and .com for a brand to be succesful

Good luck

[Alfa]

It doesn't matters but I would still recommend using a .com

[madchas]

Nothing wrong with using a .net, but keep an eye on the .com

I picked up a .info because the .com was a parked page. Eventually they let it go and it went back to the pool.

I now own both.

[DeluxeHost]

Originally Posted by madchas

Nothing wrong with using a .net, but keep an eye on the .com
I picked up a .info because the .com was a parked page. Eventually they let it go and it went back to the pool.
I now own both.

Now that was lucky that you picked up the ".com"

[madchas]

Originally Posted by DedicatedNode Bryant

Now that was lucky that you picked up the ".com"

Guess they weren't making any money with it

During the redemption period I had about 6 different places contact me trying to sell it to me, haha.

I saw they other day that all the extensions are free, but I got the ones I want, at least for now.

[Aniqa]

Make a counter offer and see if they accept it. Otherwise, go ahead with .net, it won't kill your site.

[stub]

What are you going to do with the .info domain?

[V7Host]

If the .com website is active then I would avoid it if possible.

Would cause confusion(esp. if your companies are called the same or something similiar) and not worth it imo.

For example if your company was called mycompany, the first domain customers would think of trying is mycompany.com, thus providing free advertising for the the .com domain.

[Openprovider]

Hello,

The tld in itself will not get you visitors unless it is a very generic name. In that aspect it does not matter if you have the .net instead of the .com. You will need to brand and market it anyway in order to get customers.
Lately .co has become very popular as an alternative for .com
When you are based in Europe you could consider a .eu domainname as well.

[jmccormac]

Originally Posted by DedicatedNode Bryant

Only curious of your opinions if it's ok to go with the ".net" for your business if the ".com" is unavailable?

If you are a retail operation, then the .com, or indeed any .com is preferable to .net.

If you are in a country market with a strong ccTLD, the the ccTLD should be used before .com.

The .net is very much a third or fourth choice for most markets.

Regards...jmcc

[jmccormac]

Originally Posted by Openprovider

Lately .co has become very popular as an alternative for .com

I don't think that it has and it will always leak traffic to .com as people will instinctively think .com when typing. It is a very dangerous choice unless you've got the .com version of the domain.

When you are based in Europe you could consider a .eu domainname as well.

If you are targeting an EU wide market, perhaps yes. But as a country level brand, forget about it. The .eu is really not a ccTLD as such and it is more of gateway TLD for businesses trying to access the EU market cheaply.

Regards...jmcc

[bruc]

Back in about 1998 I had to get a .net instead of the .com. I also talked to the owner of the parked .com and he was asking $2600.00 for it so I got the .net and the .org.

I think at one time the .com was a private owned search engine that failed...long time ago.

The .net and the .org now have a high pr ranking and the .com is now on the market for $3600.00. If he offered me the .com for a reasonably price I might would buy it and just point it to one of the other domains and do nothing else with it.

[Yujin]

Originally Posted by DedicatedNode Bryant

Only curious of your opinions if it's ok to go with the ".net" for your business if the ".com" is unavailable?

I currently have a ".net" I'm considering using. I contacted the owner of the ".com" (currently a parking page) and the owner wants $2000 usd for it. It is so not worth that much.

I had noticed that a number of users here use ".net" anyway to reflect that your business is on the internet (or maybe you also had trouble securing the ".com").

Thoughts?

It's not the domain extension -- IT'S YOUR PRODUCT.

[jmccormac]

Originally Posted by bruc

Back in about 1998 I had to get a .net instead of the .com. I also talked to the owner of the parked .com and he was asking $2600.00 for it so I got the .net and the .org.

I think at one time the .com was a private owned search engine that failed...long time ago.

The .net and the .org now have a high pr ranking and the .com is now on the market for $3600.00. If he offered me the .com for a reasonably price I might would buy it and just point it to one of the other domains and do nothing else with it.

Yes but as Yujin pointed out, it is all about brands. You've built a brand on your .net whereas the .com is just a domain name. The domain market has shifted over the years as each country's market (excluding the US which doesn't use its .us ccTLD as much) so that the core market for a country is .com/.cctld. Those two TLDs will take between 70% and 90% of country's domain footprint with the .net around the 10% mark. In market terms, it really depends on what the users remember - do they think in .com or .cctld. The simplest way to do it is to look at TV advertising - do they have .com or .cctld websites listed? You won't see many .net or other smaller ccTLDs listed. If there are more .com websites in those adverts then it is better to use a .com as this is what people are used to remembering. If it there are more .cctld websites then use the .cctld because, again, this is what people remember. Good marketing means having people remembering your product and the website address correctly - make it easy for them.

Regards...jmcc