The release of the new .co domain name a few weeks ago was pitched as “the next phase in the growth and development of the Internet.”
“The .co domain will create new opportunities in global commerce, content development, social media and other forms of interactivity, which will enrich the overall Internet experience for everyone,” Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet told itpro.co.uk just after the new domain went on sale.
Early adopters include Twitter, which has bought up t.co for a service that will protect users from harmful activity.
At the same time, companies such as Masternet2000 are using the release of .co to try to make some quick cash, buying up names such as rightmoveoverseas.co, findanewhome.co, mouseprice.co and vebra.co and offering them up for sale.
But not everyone is convinced that investing in one of these new domain names is a good idea. globaledge.co.uk argues that using a .co domain will “make everyone ask a clarification question when you mention your website or email address to them,” adding that “People who are aware of you will type in .com and .co.uk instead of .co so you will lose traffic and lose customers.”
These criticisms are worth considering, but if you’ve always had your eye on a particular domain name that wasn’t available in the .com world, the release of .co could be your opportunity to pounce. The keys to succeeding will be in keeping your online branding clear and consistent, and ensuring you have a solid SEO plan in place.
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regarding the comment of people will ask for clarification on a .co extension. Maybe the point made might be correct for the next year or so. but in time as the .co extension becomes more widely used you will find that it becomes one of the pack and prove itself to be a great tld extension.
You have to look at the positive of this domain extension. It is only three characters long vs .com which is four or .co.uk which is six or even .com.au which is seven. The short punchy domain names will stand out and be far easy to remember.
There is a real value to this domain extension if you can get a good name.
Exactly right Deon. My company had a hyphen in the past and I’d much rather tell clients to use a “Dot-CO” than explain what a hyphen is. “Dot-CO” (rhymes with “Oh”) has a great ring to it too and I think it will go mainstream over the next couple of years.
The $30/year price will keep the most egregious of domain hoarders from scooping everything up. For those willing to develop their domains into websites, .CO is a great opportunity.
Masternet2000 have not purchased the .co domains to make quick cash we have invested in what we think will be valuable cyber real estate over the next few months and years. Just as real world real estate investors have dome for years. A number of the domains registered will be used for our own current and future projects. However like any business we are always willing to look at the option for sale of our virtual real estate to any interested party. A full list of the .co domains and a number of others can be found at our http://www.masternet2000.co site. This includes other domain suffix’s we hold as well including .tv .co.uk .com plus others. With domains ranging from Skynewsbusiness.tv ,yotels.co, radarhomes.mobi and many more.
We are pioneering the .co era along with many other top websites from Twitter, Facebook and Google to new startup sites. The .co era has arrived and with Google now classing the .co as a global domain in its searches along with .com it is well placed to lead the web into a new era.