How popular are the .net.au domain names

[snoopy]

How do you propose auDA could spend money to create more desirable com.au domain names?

In terms of your analogy, if the old lady can only source enough ingredients to make a dozen chocolate cupcakes, but she can also source ingredients to make a dozen of the less popular vanilla, shouldn't she make both? Maybe the vanilla are much more profitable? Maybe she makes as much money from the three vanilla cupcakes she sells as she does from the dozen chocolate. Who knows?!

She should stop making Vanilla and make more Chocolate. It is all about trying to make something work when in reality nobody really wants it. Instead of trying to push the losers they'd be better off pushing the winners.

You're assuming she has access to more chocolate and that she's not benefiting at all from offering vanilla as an alternative.

I'm guessing this lady was not exhausting the worlds supply of chocolate in her kitchen.

adding the net.au space effectively doubles the availability of desirable names. All that's different between the two is your (and most peoples') perception, which is what auDA should attempt to change. I totally accept the problems with branding and the confusion of having two different websites using the same name on two different 2LDs, but, functionally, the two 2LDs are identical.

It does not double the availability of desirable domain names, because .net.au is not desirable.

The difference between .com.au and .net.au is that .com.au is the default extension in Australia. It is the A4 of domain world. Doesn't matter why people use it, the fact is they do.

AUDA is wasting their time trying to change anyone's perception because what most people think is "right". If 99% of people thinking chocolate is better than vanilla then give them chocolate, no point trying to convince them vanilla is better.

 

[snoopy]

How do you propose auDA could spend money to create more desirable com.au domain names?

Firstly I don't think AUDA needs to promote any extension, much like Verisign has never really promoted .com. The promotion is being done by just about every company in the country, it costs AUDA nothing and is highly effective.

But if AUDA is going to spend money on this kind of thing it should go where the money actually is. Good example is .id.au where they spent significant amount of money creating and advertising something that nobody wants. If something had sold badly year after year other companies wouldn't start promoting it over promoting successful products.

 

[nt81]

Ermagerd, where can we get some new TLD's? Won't someone please think of the TLD's

 

[Liquid]

How can you say that nobody made money of Vanilla

.com.au = Chocolate

.net.au = Vanilla

 

[auAppraisals]

Firstly I don't think AUDA needs to promote any extension

I agree, but it appears they do need to educate people about the differences (or lack thereof) between the extensions (these two in particular).

However, you did say:

All the budget spent promoting .net.au should be going to what people want, .com.au.

...and I'm just not sure what you mean?

I would say that "what people want" is the opportunity to hold the most relevant domain name for their particular requirement, irrespective of the extension. Sure, in retrospect, maybe there should have been a clearer differentiation between com.au and net.au, but it's too late to argue that point now.

It does not double the availability of desirable domain names, because .net.au is not desirable.

So you wouldn't consider homeloans.net.au a desirable domain name?

The difference between .com.au and .net.au is that .com.au is the default extension in Australia.

Absolutely, historically, businesses have favoured com.au over net.au, but that doesn't mean that there is no value *at all* in the latter.

If 99% of people thinking chocolate is better than vanilla then give them chocolate, no point trying to convince them vanilla is better.

...unless there is no chocolate left, and then they might prefer vanilla to nothing.

 

[snoopy]

I would say that "what people want" is the opportunity to hold the most relevant domain name for their particular requirement, irrespective of the extension.

No, they want .com.au and they want the most appropriate keyword/s for their business in .com.au. The vast majority of people choose extension first, keyword second. That can be seen in registration statistics. Even the word "choose" isn't quite right because they don't think "what extension do I need", they think "I need a .com.au, what is the best I can get".

So you wouldn't consider homeloans.net.au a desirable domain name?

It is worth something, but only because of the immense appeal of the keyword, the extension is a massive value sapper for it.

 

[nt81]

 

[auAppraisals]

It is worth something, but only because of the immense appeal of the keyword...

Thank you.

 

[Horshack]

I'm sure I've seen quite a few good keyword term .net.au domains for sale on this website recently and there doesn't appear to have been any interest. There's a heap of web design/domain professionals on this forum and if they don't see value I wonder who is going to. Maybe those sellers could enlighten us on their response. Maybe a lotto ticket would be a better investment than paying for a .net.au domain name.

 

[nt81]

I think the crux of it is, people are selling names. Some are great and some are less desirable.

If you have value (site) attached to that domain, it changes the whole game. So you can't write off the .net.au unless you are strictly a domainer who can't see past the potential of it being a package. For me, that is the issue. Because i'm not a domainer.

 

[auAppraisals]

...you can't write off the .net.au unless you are strictly a domainer who can't see past the potential of it being a package.

I couldn't agree more. Everyone here accepts that com.au domains are the default/go-to/more desirable extension for businesses, and therefore command higher resale value. But if you're a new business, or launching a new brand, and [your preferred domain name].com.au is already gone, what options do you have?

You can register joesmithplumbingsydney.com.au, but I believe joesplumbing.net.au is a better choice if your name's Joe and you're a plumber and you're building a business and not just a domain name portfolio.

Sure, joesplumbing.com.au is probably even better given the current preference for that extension, but if it's already registered, what are the alternatives? The net.au extension has to appear somewhere on that list, surely?

 

[findtim]

this is a rant so feel free to skip past.

IMAGINE what would happen auda bring in just .au , and then say that the longest holder of a domain gets first dibs at the new domain ?

what happens to all those drops you are now buying ? next to worthless as the .au takes over the .com.au

so lets sell heaps of $1 .net.au to people now

ORRRRR because so many .net.au's have been sold for already taken domains auda says "well you both will have to bid"

i don't like it and i feel there is an undercurrent here.

tim

 

[nt81]

 

[snoopy]

I couldn't agree more. Everyone here accepts that com.au domains are the default/go-to/more desirable extension for businesses, and therefore command higher resale value. But if you're a new business, or launching a new brand, and [your preferred domain name].com.au is already gone, what options do you have?

You can register joesmithplumbingsydney.com.au, but I believe joesplumbing.net.au is a better choice if your name's Joe and you're a plumber and you're building a business and not just a domain name portfolio.

This is one of the standard argument is favour of new/alt tlds. It is not accurate though because the businesses rarely "have" to choose a 4 word .com.au. In .com that isn't even the case.

Most of the time businesses use two word domains, sometimes three, rarely more than that.

Sure, joesplumbing.com.au is probably even better given the current preference for that extension, but if it's already registered, what are the alternatives? The net.au extension has to appear somewhere on that list, surely?

Its a bad sign when the example is actually available.

 

[findtim]

but I believe joesplumbing.net.au is a better choice if your name's Joe and you're a plumber

totally disagree, its a waste of time, better to think of something else

tim

 

[Liquid]

I see this as being like the classic view of gold and silver.

.au = Platinum
.com.au = Gold
.net.au = Silver
org.au = bronze

Going back to its original intended proposal

net.au
"For commercial purposes. Includes commercial entities, currently registered and trading in Australia, as well as commercial products and services. Almost all of the domains in this domain type tend to be net/communications related."

Source

 

[findtim]

.net.au = someone sat in an office " way back when" and made a decision to try and tell australians what to register, they didn't agree and the numbers prove it.

the "platinum" is yet to come, it is when you have an ocean view and the council decide to sell the land in front of your house to a developer who then builds a 10 story block of units ( just look at the gold coast and the bank accounts of the councilors )

tim

 

[Rhythm]

Snoopy, findtim et. al.,

Have either of you ever actually registered, developed, SEO'd or sold a .net.au?

 

[findtim]

i own most of the .net.au's of my premium domains and premium is IMO only and i don't need or care for appraisals on them.

other then that i don't even look at .net.au

so that ratio = @ 1% of my folio

i'd rather register a reverse domain then a .net.au eg: dubbodentist, dentistdubbo

and my purpose for registering the .net.au is not to sell, its to cover my brand.

tim

 

[eBranding.com.au]

Snoopy, findtim et. al.,

Have either of you ever actually registered, developed, SEO'd or sold a .net.au?

Actually I registered a .net.au domain last week (so now I have 2 of them ). It was free through VentraIP for existing customers.

Was it worth a minute of my time to register? Possibly. Will I buy any more for $1 each? Probably not.

The domain I got was SciFi.net.au. I ran one of my lists and it looked like one of the better ones available... but somehow I still have buyers remorse and I didn't even pay for it!