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Domainlore ror auctions have started

Discussion in 'Domain Name Auctions' started by DomainAngel, Jul 7, 2019.

  1. Domaintial United Kingdom

    Domaintial Active Member

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    There is probably a strong correlation between those you are describing and ".uk sucks" crew...

    :p
     
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  2. Domain Forum

    Acorn Domains Elite Member

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  3. Domaintial United Kingdom

    Domaintial Active Member

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    In a way, I agree with @DaveP , although its probably a case that DOMAINS are less relevant today than they have been. Search and the private network ecosystems rule the waves now (ie: FB.com/mycompanyname). How many times have you seen someone search for "amazon" rather than just going to amazon.co.uk? If you haven't experienced/seen this for yourself, you _REALLY_ need a change of scenery... unfortunately, this is the way most "non domain/technical" people interact with "the internet" these days.

    Personally, I'm glad this is now done. Frankly, the ROR period was far far far far too long IMO, its made the whole thing drag out a lot more than it needed to have.
     
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  4. doma1n United Kingdom

    doma1n Active Member

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    I totally agree with the above, .uk is here to stay and like many others I believe Nominet should have amalgamated the .co.uk & .uk.
    My only reservation is Brexit... if down the line the UK splits into their relative countries then the .uk extension may become obsolete or at least watered down. Especially if we end up with a suffix for England.
    Think of how excited Nominet will get at the thought of introducing another extension
    But well done to all those who caught some great names.
     
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  5. Domaintial United Kingdom

    Domaintial Active Member

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    Don't man... don't even joke about this... o_O

    Edit: Although .england could be good for .uk.. :)
     
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  6. Ben Thomas

    Ben Thomas Well-Known Member

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    Okay Dave, thanks for clarifying your position. I think in a year or so time when people have started using .uk more often the uptake will gather speed. Similarly to how .io was taken up by tech industries, I think .uk is being taken up by "premium" industries. Just this week an exotic vehicle garage open up in my hometown and is using .uk as the marketing web address (on flyers, the garage itself, marketing etc.) but using it as a redirect to their .co.uk. Which speaks to me, as people want shorter domains, it's a valuable marketing asset.
     
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  7. DaveP United Kingdom

    DaveP Well-Known Member

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    Sure it is, so all those many businesses well established on .co.uk, some who have invested 6/7/8/9 figures in their website, marketing, advertising and print are suddenly going to all need to shift over to .uk because it is now the "premier" one.
     
  8. mdb United Kingdom

    mdb Active Member

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    :D True. Was thinking more in the business sections, but fair point. Wasn't even a peep was there.

    Hasn't every domainer held on to at least one domain too long? :D

    Mmmm, not sure. .com and .net are obviously fundamentally different. Different in characters, plus the intentions for the use of these domains was different from the get go. They're definitively different in perception. .net's obviously never caught on commercially in the mainstream.

    I think .uk at least has different potential, only because it's an abbreviation of what already exists. On top of that a few minor points, people are lazy - it's less to type in, the removal of .co is less of distraction in a forever noisy society - we value clarity. That said, we also value the status quo - "if it ain't broke don't fix it", which arguably sums up .uk.

    .me.uk was always a curious one to me. It baffled me. Most people don't have a TLD for their general email. Why, because, why bother... Most people aren't that bothered, Gmail, Outlook are perfectly fine. I know quite a lot of people who work for Google, none of them seem to have been bothered, they're more interested in keeping their alumni uni email address :D (perception - alum.mit.edu) If people were that bothered about their name for a domain they're not going to settle on .me.uk, they want the creme de la creme. I'm not surprised Murray is seeing decent initial uptake on his surname catch - it's another step up the vanity totem pole. I think you could argue the same for e-business managers of some .org.uk's too.

    Like many things it will come down to perception, but it would only happen if there's notable uptake.
     
  9. DesD

    DesD Active Member

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    PokerStars is one of the largest (if not the largest) online gambling operators in the world; and almost certainly the most brand savvy.

    They have been a fixture in the UK for the past twenty+ years, and continue to invest heavily - buying Sky Betting & Gaming for $4.7 billion last year, for example.

    They have already switched to using Pokerstars.uk in this market.

    upload_2019-7-8_14-34-6.png
     
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  10. Sean United Kingdom

    Sean Retired Member

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    They don't have to, why fix what isn't broken. You're bringing an emotional argument to a logical debate.
     
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  11. mdb United Kingdom

    mdb Active Member

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    My thoughts exactly. That factored into some of the buying decisions of my .uk buys. If the .co.uk is undeveloped or it's for sale, then there's no G footprint, no direct domain competition. Maybe not in the short term (.co.uk) but longer term I do think there's a potential to dilute value. But again, this feeds back to my earlier posts re perception.
     
  12. DaveP United Kingdom

    DaveP Well-Known Member

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    This isn't same as .org.uk to .co.uk. Clear difference of use there. Where's the clear difference with .co.uk and .UK. I can't understand how they can co exist without making it a complete nightmare for business owners and consumers from a branding and marketing perspective.

    Let's say we have two businesses, one running on bakers.co.uk and the other bakers.uk. It's a marketing nightmare and in the long run I can only see people dropping support for .UK because .co.uk has been conditioned into the minds of UK internet users for so many years.
     
  13. Ben Thomas

    Ben Thomas Well-Known Member

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    Then they would use the .uk as a redirect. Or they would UPDATE their existing, ongoing marketing efforts with the .uk.
     
  14. DaveP United Kingdom

    DaveP Well-Known Member

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    I mean two different businesses.

    A lot of the .uk RoR domains that became available were because the ESTABLISHED businesses on them decided not to register them. Do you really think some other player is going to buy one of those domains from you whereby an established business exists on the .co.uk, and then invest a FORTUNE in trying to compete with that branding in the UK namespace?

    For all the others where the .co.uk is for sale, how do you convince them to buy your .uk domain instead of the .co.uk that is for sale?
     
  15. Ben Thomas

    Ben Thomas Well-Known Member

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    I see, sorry I misunderstood you. I personally have seen this happen, sometimes it's just a matter of preference, most people don't care that much about ranking for the specific term in the domain, but ranking for the content on the domain. So established business or not, if I have example.uk selling apples and example.co.uk has been ranking for 20 years selling flowers, it's not going to matter.
     
  16. Sean United Kingdom

    Sean Retired Member

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    Dave, we can all probably agree that it was a half-baked idea that should have remained just that but like it or not, it's here and we all have to deal with it and what's a problem for .uk is equally a problem for .co.uk.

    The biggest thing it highlights is how lazy the web has made businesses when it comes to marketing. Using a generic word as a "brand" is a 2004 solution to an emerging opportunity that should have died along with EMD in 2008. Stick 'holidays" into Google and you'll see a page of real brands.

    The majority consume the web via search, bookmarks and more and more via apps. The real headache for business - not domainers - isn't which extension, it's how the hell do I get to page one, position one of Google.
     
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  17. DaveP United Kingdom

    DaveP Well-Known Member

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    You also need to see it from a psychological perspective.

    Nominet's own study a few years back also concluded that 70%+ of UK residents and consumers prefer clicking on a .co.uk than .com. This is because UK residents have for the last 25+ years had it drilled into them that .co.uk is the de factor tld for UK businesses. This is conditioning.

    How do you now the convince the majority that .uk now has a big part to play alongside .co.uk? How about the confusion when people see billboards, leaflets, posters or hear radio ads with .uk domains. Don't you think most are going to go to the .co.uk address first and then be very confused?
     
  18. DaveP United Kingdom

    DaveP Well-Known Member

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    You make some very valid points Sean and some I agree with. However for the lesser known players who aren't ranking on page 1 of Google, they need to rely on old school advertising (word of mouth, leaflets, printing, radio ads, billboards etc) to promote and drive traffic to their business. In all fairness these are the majority of businesses who are buying domain names, not those on page 1 of Google already.
     
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  19. Ben Thomas

    Ben Thomas Well-Known Member

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    All the more reason to buy both, I guess! Also if they're typing in co.uk instead of uk then maybe the marketing just isn't strong enough?

    As for the Nominet study, it's incomparable if it's a .com/.co.uk study?
     
  20. Sean United Kingdom

    Sean Retired Member

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    Dave, if you're a small business marketing yourself locally via more traditional methods then your domain is even less important. Also, the good news is that Google is evolving to show your business in searches that are relevant to customers in your area.

    It's a storm in a tea cup that's become an emotional argument amongst domainers. Consumers are much smarter these days, they usually know what they're looking for and they're more than capable of filtering the results that Google feeds them.

    I hope you'll answer this question honestly. If you search for "trainers" on Google and it gives you a well crafted link to trainers.co.uk and a well crafted link to trainers.uk is the latter any less relevant to your search and is there any reason that you wouldn't visit both?
     
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  21. James United Kingdom

    James Active Member

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    You'd be surprised. I sold ass.co.uk to 'Aerial and Satellite Systems' a few years ago.
     
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