Are .uk.com domains really that bad?

[DomainM]

I have the opportunity to purchase a relevant single word .uk.com domain for my project, but I can't decide whether it is a wise move. I'm not normally a big fan of the sub-domain, however, the domain in question is perfect for my project and would replace a two-word .com name with a single word geo name.

Are .uk.com domains really that bad?

 

[JMI]

imho with the exception of hotels.uk.com who had an early start and is very well established in serps, I personally feel that any new service using a .uk.com is demonstrating to me straight off the bat they probably are quite desperate and inept in being able successfully register a credible tld for the business... it's 2017, to resort to a .uk.com is a bit naff, it was all the rage in 2003, at least 'company.guru' is a bit new and funky even if it is probably doomed in few years. This doesn't mean the service offered won't be any good, but what about the future issues of building a business around such an extension? Now don't let anything I've said put you off about .uk.com, I've been wrong before.

 

[martin-s]

I'd find another name, no matter how "good" a uk.com appeared to be.

 

[DomainM]

To add more detail, it's:

Surname.uk.com vs Surname+Service.com

I've been using The .com for 10+ years but have obviously always wanted my own surname.com or .co.uk. Neither are available to reg or purchase from their existing registrars.

 

[Edwin]

They are not domains.

They are only subdomains of uk.com which means you are completely dependent on the whims of the owner of uk.com.

If they decide to increase the price to £1,000 a year, or to get out of offering subdomains entirely, there's no comeback because unlike cctlds or new GTLDs there's no oversight further "up" the food chain.

And it could happen... 8 other subdomains offered through Centralnic are being switched off, which means every single site built on them will have to move (without the ability to 301 redirect ie they start from zero from a SEO point of view)

See this news article from yesterday for more details...
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/02/sun_sets_on_eight_domain_names_managed_by_centralnic/

 

[martin-s]

Having your surname domain is a nice to have, but it isn't worth having a bad extension just to make it a driver for your branding.

 

[DomainM]

Thanks for the feedback, it is reassuring to know that my hesitation is valid. I really don't fancy the necessity of explaining my domain every time someone asks for my email or website.

 

[willbon]

Had my finger's burned with a .gb.com... another subdomain revenue maker on .com. ....gb.com are now sunsetting and will soon no longer exist...
Have to say I feel the same about .uk.com...

 

[Kazzia]

What do guys think of the value of the Hotels.uk.com business? What about the top 10 keywords on Earth like RealEstate dot uk dot com?

 

[RobM]

uk dot com is not an extension. Why spend money building a brand on something that might disappear tomorrow?

 

[davedevelopment]

I have the opportunity to purchase a relevant single word .uk.com domain for my project, but I can't decide whether it is a wise move. I'm not normally a big fan of the sub-domain, however, the domain in question is perfect for my project and would replace a two-word .com name with a single word geo name.

Are .uk.com domains really that bad?

Yes they are. Next!

 

[StoneRoses]

I wouldn't build my brand on a uk.com for pretty much the reasons already given, I see the odd one on vans on my travels and every time I just think .'why?'

 

[Murray]

I wouldn't build my brand on a uk.com for pretty much the reasons already given, I see the odd one on vans on my travels and every time I just think .'why?'

I feel the same when I see @gmail or @outook email addresses on advertising/vans when they do have a domain

Also the odd trend of just putting a social media logos on displays with no @ or url

 

[Ben Thomas]

I have to say, reopening a 3 year old thread to discuss uk.com viability is a new one. I don't know a single person who would bother wasting the registration cost (which is quite high anyway usually) on a uk.com.

 

[RobM]

Lol didn't notice this thread was so old. So they're still worthless after all these years What a strange thread to resurrect.

 

[domaineer]

uk dot com is not an extension. Why spend money building a brand on something that might disappear tomorrow?

I agree and definitely wouldn't advocate building a brand on a .uk.com subdomain...

I don't know a single person who would bother wasting the registration cost (which is quite high anyway usually) on a uk.com.

... but if no "proper" domains are available for your preferred keywords, then a .uk.com name can still work well for PPC-based affiliate marketing (it looks like a .com and the .uk element resonates with users).

Should the .uk.com subdomain offering ever be discontinued, then either the PPC activity can be turned off and the project ended or, if a real domain has since become available and you have acquired it, activity can be switched to that instead (which can obviously also be done following acquisition, and the .uk.com name disposed of, even if it's still being supported).

 

[RobM]

Do you have an example of one?

 

[domaineer]

More than one - and from experience. But none that I'm open to sharing, sorry.

Just looking to share the learning for the benefit of others.

 

[RobM]

Well as I've never seen a uk.com come up in the search results for any keywords over the past decade I can only deduce that everyone is keeping them secret Don't see how that's good for PPC though. There are now hundreds of extensions, awful ones, but at least not subdomains. Might as well brand on them.
Just as a test I typed site:.uk.com to get some sites listed in google (not many). I then typed their title or meta keywords into google... most of them didn't even appear in those results.

 

[BG]

Well as I've never seen a uk.com come up in the search results for any keywords over the past decade I can only deduce that everyone is keeping them secret.

Still ranking extremely well within google is 'hotels .uk .com' - Ranks on first page for various terms, the obvious one being 'uk hotels' - Monster traffic for a .uk.com too...