The rising popularity of .Com in Australia

[snoopy]

Top 50 sites in Australia

2009

.com.au - 15 sites (30%)
.com - 28 sites (56%)

Alexa Link

2017
.com.au - 11 sites (22%)
.com - 33 sites (66%)

Alexa Link

In my view this is a significant changes and I believe the Names Policy Panel 2015 got it wrong in arguing new tlds were a major threat, the threat is .com. This trend isn’t really due to local sites choosing .com (from looking at the actual sites in the ranking), it seems to be that Australian’s are spending more time on overseas sites.

That said I think the younger generation is going to be growing up more and more with .com and it will spillover to a greater usage of .com with local sites. Banks & Telstra have already led the way with this, then there is sites like the AFR who now redirect the .com.au to the .com. I personally feel it will be more and more the norm for local sites to choose .com.

It needs to be easier for the teenagers in bedrooms to choose a .com.au otherwise the market will continue to stagnate. We are like the UK (no growth) but worse because the red tape level is much higher.

The ABN restriction needs to be lifted to give .com.au broader appeal.

 

[findtim]

snoopy can you post the list of domains you got your figures from, i think your post would be more accessible if we knew the domains.

i mean if the top .com's are ebay, amazon, etccccc then the weight of the argument tilts as australian companies don't have the funds to market against them which would have nothing to do with popularity really.

just asking for more info thats all and my results may differ from yours.

tim

 

[snoopy]

They are all on the links Tim (the alexa links above). I can post them but it is 100 domains total. The change at the top end is due to overseas sites becoming more popular but I think .com.au also faces a switch, with banks, telstra, media outlets gradually making a switch over time. The is a long and slow process.

I do wonder about the the CBA's recent acquisition of CBA.com for example, is that going to be another big company lost to .com eventually?

The biggest thing AUDA can do something about though is young people not even having access. Those people are the future. They start building websites well before they tick AUDA's boxes so they won't even be part of the switch because they have to start on .com in the first place.

 

[findtim]

thanks, i get your point and whilst your assumption may be true? the list doesn't give it cred.
tim

 

[Lemon]

Statistics from Alexa have always been questionable IMO.

 

[snoopy]

Statistics from Alexa have always been questionable IMO.

Which stats would you like to use?

 

[Scott.L]

Which stats would you like to use?

We know Australia has approx 3 million .au registrations now if we were to compare that stat to how many .com registrations are owned by Australians and what ratio of domains are actually utilized by those extensions by Australians then - that's the question.

 

[snoopy]

An interesting one,

How it was,

http://web.archive.org/web/20000619093052/http://afr.com.au:80/


How it is now,



http://www.afr.com.au

 

[snoopy]

We know Australia has approx 3 million .au registrations now if we were to compare that stat to how many .com registrations are owned by Australians and what ratio of domains are actually utilized by those extensions by Australians then - that's the question.

Where is the data though? Are we supposed to discuss data we don't have and can't possibly ever calulate?

 

[Scott.L]

Where is the data though? Are we supposed to discuss data we don't have and can't possibly ever calulate?

Exactly, its been my frustration for years. I tried years ago to get that data and realized it wasn't possible due to registries unwilling to provide registration stats on localized populations.

 

[snoopy]

Exactly, its been my frustration for years. I tried years ago to get that data and realized it wasn't possible due to registries unwilling to provide registration stats on localized populations.

The lack of publication of the .com.au zone file is a problem in my view. This effects all sorts of stuff, like calculating the extent of the UBU problem for example.

Even if the data was available though it would be very difficult to calculate "usage" or define what it is. To me everything known does point to decline in .com.au usage. I think this can be particularly seen from the low levels of growth (which may now be zero after subtracting UBU's). That said I am heavily biased towards .com but the stats just don't look good.

Whilst AUDA has wasted time on the .au proposal, changing the name of the organisation and defending the deletion of minutes they have failed do anything for .com.au which is the main game.

 

[Shane]

I'm not convinced about Australian businesses switching to .com.

Sure there are some, like many of the banks using .com, but these are global businesses rather than purely Australian focused.

Personally I'd love to have traderisk.com just to have it, but I'd never switch our website and emails over to the .com.

For household names, or those targeting a global audience, using the .com is awesome if you can afford it. But for smaller businesses using the com.au is an important way of identifying that you're an Australian business.

 

[Shane]

But for smaller businesses using the com.au is an important way of identifying that you're an Australian business.

Or an UBU...

 

[snoopy]

I'm not convinced about Australian businesses switching to .com.

Sure there are some, like many of the banks using .com, but these are global businesses rather than purely Australian focused.

Personally I'd love to have traderisk.com just to have it, but I'd never switch our website and emails over to the .com.

For household names, or those targeting a global audience, using the .com is awesome if you can afford it. But for smaller businesses using the com.au is an important way of identifying that you're an Australian business.

I think there is two ends to this.

Larger companies switching, either for prestige (Telstra, AFR) or because they are more global (banks, BHP etc).

Then at the opposite end of the spectrum you have people who might want to use it but cannot register a name easily because of red tape. <-That is where AUDA can do something.

I think both of those classes are growing leaving only the middle. What I think is also happening though is that it is far more acceptable to just use a .com because so many other companies do. Look at the advice to recent The Age/SMH price gouging story "just buy a .com" was the advice of many.

 

[findtim]

i've said it since day dot, if you have an "inbound" business like a gold coast resort then go the .com, if you're dubbodentist its .com.au all the way.

not even the dubbodentist reads the age ! i'd like the stat on the % of people who own a domain name to newspaper subscribers !
don't own a domain = 70% read a newspaper
own a domain = 5% read a newspaper
once you own a domain or about to ( and thats who we are talking about ) you kinda know that newspapers are DEAD as an information source choosing only to drag up and filter their own agendas.

people stopped reading newspapers when their fish and chips stopped being wrapped in them.

was the advice of many.

many? WHO ?

tim

 

[snoopy]

i've said it since day dot, if you have an "inbound" business like a gold coast resort then go the .com, if you're dubbodentist its .com.au all the way.

I think it is going well beyond that, with local non tourism companies using .com addresses. For something like dubbodentist I don't think it is going to make much difference which they choose but if it is a university student starting Johns Computer Repairs from a dorm room, a .com.au may not even be a possibility.

many? WHO ?

tim

Eiger from the Gold Coast, Stephen from Sydney and Outraged. 3 out of 13 comments all with much the same advice. This is a the everyday people speaking in my view.

http://www.smh.com.au/small-busines...n-name-owners-ripped-off-20170807-gxqpzs.html

eiger3970 Gold Coast,Aug 9 2017 at 10:48am
.au domain names have always been a rip off. I suggest buying a different domain name like .com, .net etc.

Outraged Aug 9 2017 at 7:19am
This is actually the sort scandal the SMH should follow. I chose not to get a .au domain name solely on price.
$150 for com.au $50 for .com

Stephen Sydney,Aug 9 2017 at 11:42am
There is no commercial or technical disadvantage to owners in Australia of websites that do not have a .au domain. Go to GoDaddy or even Google to register your domain name for about $20 pa. With Google, you also get a distinct advantage. Your domain name is indexed higher in searches on Google.

 

[ttfan]

It's funny how all 3 of the people in your example use an (arguably) flawed argument/reason for their opinion. I don't think that voids your point though, as unfortunately most people are not well enough informed to decide one way or another.

 

[snoopy]

It's funny how all 3 of the people in your example use an (arguably) flawed argument/reason for their opinion. I don't think that voids your point though, as unfortunately most people are not well enough informed to decide one way or another.

Regarding the price stuff I think it comes down to the legacy of MelbourneIT's pricing, much higher than say Network Solutions in .com. Also the 2 year rule which makes it more expensive.

Registrars like to talk about "per year" .com.au pricing to make it look cheaper, but that is just garbage from them. The price is too high and the rules need to change. If I paid my web hosting 2 years upfront I'd get some enormous discount because they know most people will abandon it within 12 months.

What I get from those responses mainly though is everyday people see .com as the clear alternative to .com.au. You choose one or the other. Whilst some will see the local benefit a good % won't.

 

[findtim]

"With Google, you also get a distinct advantage. Your domain name is indexed higher in searches on Google." what an absolute load of CR*P.

please show me where that has been written or said by an employee of google !

tim

 

[Scott.L]

To me everything known does point to decline in .com.au usage. I think this can be particularly seen from the low levels of growth (which may now be zero after subtracting UBU's).

I could just as easily say that the perceived decline is normal, more businesses (or registrants) are becoming smarter (savvy) to domain names and so they are becoming increasingly more aware about what is useful and useless.

.