What Are Geo Domains?
Posted by What are Geo domains? Everyone has their own opinion to this question, however I would like to offer a more accurate definition based on facts rather than opinion. I am sure it will probally ruffle some feathers and cause some controversy, but I ask readers to keep an open mind to what I am about to present. It is neccessary to educate people in this industry as a whole, so no inaccurate assumptions or misleading comments are made to define Geo domains.
There is a common misconception that has evolved in the domain industry over the years on geo domains. The term “Geo” is short for Geographical/Geographic and the term “domains” has been added to represent the industry. Here is the definition of geographical, please focus on #2.
ge·o·graph·i·cal
1. of or pertaining to geography.
2. of or pertaining to the natural features, population, industries, etc., of a region or regions.
While many view geo domains as city.com, state.com, country.coms, these are not the only entities that the geo domain industry encompasses. These are some of the most elite names in the geo industry though. Many like to use those 3 categories to define geo domains. They are not wrong, they are indeed geo domains, but the geo domain industry is much larger than the 3 categories listed.
Just like the domain industry is not just Generic.coms, there are a variety of other categories that fall into the domain industry, products, services, popular search terms, etc.
If you read the definition of what the term geographical means, it tells you exactly what geo domains are when the terms are put together. This is what “NORMAL” people think of when they search on and off the internet for information. They do not only think of just city.com, state.com and country.coms only.
These are what Geo domains are:
1. City.tld, State.tld, Country.tld, Region.tld
2. City+Industry/Service.tld, State+Industry/Service.tld, Country+Industry/Service.tld
3. IDNs and Country ccTLDs.
In all countries, the country domain is more popular than a .com address. This is fact, not opinion. A great example of this is VeraCruz.com.mx. The citizens of Mexico embrace their domain extension, just as americans embrace .com. They have VeraCruz.com pointed to their site. VeraCruz.com.mx is interested in delivering content to Mexicans, and adds value by capturing Americans and others who visit VeraCruz.com. There are thousands of examples just like this that prove how powerful ccTLDs are when compared to .com. IDNs are soon to follow once the infranstructure has been put in place. These geo domains are very powerful in their regions.
American domainers are very egotistic for the most part, although not all. They believe there is nothing better than a .com address and that it is the only universal extention. The rest of the World does not neccessarily look at things the same way. If they did, the volume of .com addresses available to domainers would have been depleted by true businesses and end users long before domainers evolved. The reason there was and is an abundance of domains still available in .com is because the rest of the world is embracing their ccTLDs. Many people will insist that everyone in the World missed the boat on .com, yet these multimillion/billion dollar companies, businesses, and entrepreneurs in other countries are doing just fine with their geo domains. Isn’t it funny that they are still successful doing business online with their ccTLDs?
I find it very entertaining when I read or hear this closed box way of thinking in the domain industry. Perhaps the rest of the World looks at .com as the United States country code. Sure it is universal, but I can assure you that the foreign companies that buy the .com address, also own the ccTLDs for the most part. Think about this, is it possible the rest of the World looks at .com for the most part as a United States ccTLD and use a .com domain to attract Americans to their international business? It’s strategic marketing, especially if you own an office in the U.S.
I lived in Europe for almost 5 years, and traveled all over the place. I know from experience talking to people from many countries that they feel this way about .com. All you see is ccTLDs printed on everything; signs, cars, SemiTrucks, etc. There are .com addresses also, but this is the exception than the rule. Those people in Europe who search the internet for things in other countries, use the term and ccTLDs. This is fact and not opinion. Geo domains are powerful and the true value has not been unlocked in the United States. Countries outside of the United States have unlocked Geo domains true value long ago with mobile technology.
It will be interesting as the industry matures and IDNs get into the mix. I am sure many disagree with what I have outlined here. I once again ask you to look at this with an open mind and place what you have been taught in the domain industry, aside for a second. There is more to the World and domain industry than .com. The Geo domain industry is much larger than defined historically. I hope this opens your eyes to exactly how big this industry is outside of the United States. The United States is just a small part of the industry.
I welcome all comments and disagreements.
Ace Says:
Patrick McDermott Says:
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