by Daniel Scocco from DailyBlogTips.com

"This post is part of the Friday Q&A section. If you want to ask a question, just write a comment below.

Colby asks:
Just got a notice the .co domain is now available. Do you think this is going to take off?

A small bit of background information: In march of this year a company called CO Internet S.A.S announced that they would start managing domains with a new extension: .co. As of today these domains are already available, and you can get one with most big registrars.

Given the similarity of .co with .com, many people are claiming that .co domains might go mainstream, so trying to register premium domains with that extension (e.g., weightloss.co) could be a good idea. That is basically what Colby is asking.

One thing I know for sure: .co or any other extension they come up with will never take the crown out of the .com. If you want to build an online business, getting the .com version of your domain is a priority.

The next question is: will .co become a viable alternative to .com, as .net and .org are? We can’t say yet, but I wouldn’t count on it. We have seen many new extensions appear over the past years (e.g., .us, .tv, .biz), and none of them managed to establish itself. In fact, most of these extensions are associated with low quality, malicious and spam websites.

The .co extension has the advantage of being similar to .com and easy to remember, but I am not sure if this will be enough to make it go mainstream.

I for one won’t be buying any .co domains. My policy with domain names is the following: if the website I am building is a serious project (e.g., a startup, a blog with a big potential, a company website) I always go with a .com, even if I need to spend some money to grab a good domain. If I am building a mini website, on the other hand, I consider the .com but also the .net and .org versions of the domain I want.

Another point to consider is that there are more extensions to come shortly. If you remember well, ICANN announced last year that any company with enough infrastructure (i.e., money) could launch and manage its own extension. Extensions like .sex and .music are already on the way.

What will the consequences be? Only time will tell, but I suspect the confusion that will emerge out of all of this will only increase the strength of the .com extension. In other words, when in doubt people will type the domain followed by .com.

But what do you guys think. Will the .co extension establish itself as an alternative to the .com? Will it reach the same level of the .net and .org extensions?"

Post: http://www.dailyblogtips.com/is-it-w...-co-extension/

So guys, do you agree or disagree? What is your opinion?

PS: I know there are existing threads on .co domains, but I think this required a separate thread.

I suppose that worth to buy this domain names. At least the ones which are connected to your business name.

Well let’s see. 1. You go to Godaddy they put .co right under .com on their drop down of choices…wonder why they did that 2. Did anyone think that people may think .co could stand for COMPANY which could be good.3.The shorter the domain the better so why not the shorter extension. 4. If it fly’s and you picked up a few great names you will make $$$$.


I myself picked up four only why here are the names: Arron.co exact searches 22,444 Layla.co exact searches 91,760 Reyna.co exact searches 41,044 Leann.co exact searches 50,220. Now we all know with this many exact searches and how short the names are and if they were .com’s what they would be worth…hell what’s a $120.00 gamble I spend that going out for dinner 2-3 times. DON’T BY ONE IN LESS IT HAS @ LEAST 20,000 EXACT SEARCHES AND IF IT FLY’S YOUR THERE IN THE GREEN…


My 2 cents or should I say my $120


Good luck,

i also think its not worth as most users actually will type COM instead

The .CO domain name is the biggest new domain since .COM. .CO is short, memorable, and perfect for your company, community, or commerce site.

Well, .co TLD maybe a good alternative to .com, but I have always registered my domain with .com. I think .com is still the most popular and used domain for years to come.

dot co - can also means community

or Colombia.

(screenshot from godaddy)
company, commerce

lol..domain is businesss...
release new domain means alot company will keep buying the new one
to claim trademark

I suppose that .CO domain will bring much success.. I have seen also .CO.NO domains. There are many registrars offering them, so take your time to compare the pricing and choose the best one.

I wouldn't buy it really, don't see the point in it for my organisation.

I have heard many webmasters registered this domain name. Looks to be a good option.

*.co extension can be a good alternative if a *.com name is taken.
Agree with richarie - these names might become popular due to the trademarks issues.

I'd like to say that .co will also bring some profit, but you will have more advantages with .com domain extension.

Originally Posted by SiberForum

The .CO domain name is the biggest new domain since .COM. .CO is short, memorable, and perfect for your company, community, or commerce site.

Wasn't .biz supposed to be the biggest new domain name since .com? or was that .tel ? or .info?
With so many new tld's being made available it's getting difficult to keep track of which one is best biggest new domain since .com

Besides, you will find the information about .co domain in Wikipedia... =)
There are many advantages of having this domain.

Originally Posted by SiberForum

There are many advantages of having this domain.

Like what? for example

I think it may not take off now, but it will in few years as saturation develops in .com as well as new bizz's looking for shorter domains closer to .com tld so they will most likely opt for .co

I hope the .co extension will have some traction unlike .biz of .info. One good thing I see is Twitter is using t.co for their default URL shortener. But the problem is, people are so used to .com extensions. Even I typed .com when I was going to type t.co above.

Co Internet SAS did a smart move with a limited prelaunch to ensure that .co will be taken up by the bigger corporations. Apparently, o.co went up for $350,000 and so on. I already have two .co domains myself. Not bothered to sell them. But let's see how this ball rolls.

Also Found a good read at http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...o_Domain_Names

This extension can be used as a good sub-domain. Try to contact your Registrar and their support will explain you everything you may need to know.