Should I settle for a .net?

[Poor_Knight]

I need to purchase a new domain name but as we know it seems like the "best ones" are gone - usually parked. I don't want to pay the thousands of dollars asked for these names. On several of my choices the .net (and others) are still available. But for some reason I feel like getting a .net name is second rate.

Should I continue my search for a .com, even if I have to settle on a less than preferred name, or are my feelings just plain silly and I should be happy with a .net?

Thanks for any advice!

[rocker]

Topix.net realized they were losing a lot of traffic from people typing .com, so in January 2007 they dished out USD$1,000,000 for topix.com.

If you get the .net, be prepared to lose a lot of type in traffic.

[stu2]

It partly depends on what you are going to use the domain for. If it's going to be a commercial site, then you really do want to get a .com. You might also consider getting a 5 or 6 character memorable nonsense name and branding it to your website. There are many of these types of names still available or offered for sale on Sedo/Afternic/TDNAM. If it's a non-profit organization, .org might be a better choice. Otherwise, I don't see any real problem (except loss of traffic to the .com), by selecting a .net.

[Swanny007]

My largest site is a .net site. Sure I miss out on people typing in widget.com but when you search for widget on Google, my site is like #2, so I'm happy enough with that. You could always start with the .net and if you find another better name (or the .com someday), you could 301 redirect to the new site.

[draggar]

My .net is doing pretty good, about to hit over 1,000 hits this month (not bad for a 1 month old community).

Probabaly better than the .com version.

[edited by: Webwork at 1:48 pm (utc) on Mar. 17, 2007]
[edit reason] Charter [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]

[mmmwowmmm]

I would keep looking for a .com name. Even if your website is not a business, people still assume the .com extension over any other.

I know how it is, though; after you type in your 500^th domain name, and it's already taken (invariably by someone who is doing nothing with it), it can start to seem a little ridiculous. But if you keep at it, eventually you'll find a good .com that's available.

The main thing is that it has to be a domain name that you really like, one that you'll be happy with 5 years from now. You don't want to have to change domains after you start getting some success.

Another thing you could do is go back and make a list of the top 20 or 30 domain names that are already registered and parked. Contact each of them and offer them $100 for the domain, take it or leave it. A lot of people register domains and never make squat from them. I bet you could get a domain that you'd be happy with for a small investment.

[Animated]

i dont think its as important if you are easy to find on the search engines , thats what matters.Sure from the looks of it i would prefer a .com maybe because it looks more original but its not really that important i think as long as its the major ones .com .net .org in the end it all depends on the content of your website and how you like it.