.Club Domains

[Esquire]

In 2014 I launched a niche dating site in Ontario Canada -- a live beta test in anticipation of the US launch in 2015.

In connection with the US launch I have decided to re-brand the site.

The .com version of the name I had in mind is being cybersquated. So that's off the table.

But the .Club domain is wide open.

I've read some good things about .Club domains ... and the word "club" actually works well with what I had in mind.

(Site Name) (Club Type) .Club

Example: SapphireStrip.Club (or something like that).

I like it.

I like it much more than the traditional alternatives (.org / .co / .net / etc.)

And there is not a whole lot of generic competition for the site name I had in mind.

No competition (at least) in my line of business.

And I think if people type the site name ... it will rank well ... because I will generate more traffic than the other sites and cybersquaters with a similar name.

Anyway ... before I make the plunge ... I figured I would elicit some feedback.

What do you think ...?

Can I make a go of it with .Club ...?

 

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[pickeringmt]

That is interesting.
I think the only real question is how search engines are picking up on these domains.
That is assuming that you are interested in search traffic of course.
I think it has a lot of potential if you are looking at trying to get direct traffic especially.

 

[ilrein]

Justin Kan, the twitch guy, is working on a social music site that uses a .club domain:

thedrop.club

 

[Esquire]

That is interesting.
I think the only real question is how search engines are picking up on these domains.
That is assuming that you are interested in search traffic of course.
I think it has a lot of potential if you are looking at trying to get direct traffic especially.

Yeah ... I am thinking 90% + of my traffic will come from direct links, member referrals, affiliates and targeted ads. Not aiming much for random traffic from generic search results. Nice if it happens (and I imagine it will) but for my business model ... generic search results are clearly Plan B.

 

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[pickeringmt]

Yeah ... I am thinking 90% + of my traffic will come from direct links, member referrals, affiliates and targeted ads. Not aiming much for random traffic from generic search results. Nice if it happens (and I imagine it will) but for my business model ... generic search results are clearly Plan B.

I figured, even though Im not aware of the exact nature of the business I am guessing I could get pretty close

I think it sounds perfect - and it would be interesting to see how it plays out.

Perhaps you could be a .club pioneer eh?

 

[Iwokeup]

I think that given your niche, it makes perfect sense, man.

 

[jmusic]

Just a thought, but for sites I use frequently, after initially finding the domain, when I go back I just type the name into the browser and hit CTRL-Enter (which automatically appends .com to the end). Could you get creative and find a different domain name that you can .com?

Also, some shady domain registrars actually lock up the domain names that you search for as you search too. I forget which ones do this, but I trust Hover.com not to do so.

 

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[splok]

I think these new domain extensions are just a gimmicky cash grab by registrars. I mean, if you're sending enough direct traffic, pretty much any domain could work, but it doesn't sound optimal to me. Have you ever bought something from a site with one of the new extensions? I haven't. Maybe I'm not your target market though, so the real test is how comfortable your target audience is with it.

Personally, I would only go that route if the "club" were a part of the brand name, like in your " SapphireStrip.Club" example, and even then, I would be very very hesitant, and I would still try to pick up the "SapphireStripClub.com". Have you tried to buy your preferred .com yet? If you have some success with the .club, the .com will very likely increase in price.

 

[AndrewNC]

I'm using a .academy for mine, and the only issue I ran into so far is that the link is not recognized by skype yet. People will have to copy and paste it instead of clicking the link. Same thing when entering my email to register for stuff, some sites don't recognize it.

I'm sure those issues will go away over time thought.

 

[EN_VY]

This is a question that's been in my mind for a while. And my only concern is how search engines respond to them.

 

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[Esquire]

Personally, I would only go that route if the "club" were a part of the brand name, like in your " SapphireStrip.Club" example, and even then, I would be very very hesitant, and I would still try to pick up the "SapphireStripClub.com". Have you tried to buy your preferred .com yet? If you have some success with the .club, the .com will very likely increase in price.

Metaphorically speaking ... I own (both) SapphireStrip.Club ... AND SapphireStripClub.com.

My initial thinking is to forward the .com version to the .club domain. Not sure.

Ideally ... I might have preferred "Sapphire.com" (already taken by business in another field) or perhaps "SapphireClub.com" (cybersquatters) ... so I figured I would just find a way to work around them. I liked the name "Sapphire" and was determined to find a domain that accommodated the brand.

So the solution I engineered looked to make sense. Plus ... by including the word "strip" ... people searching for "strip clubs" would be more likely to make the mental connection ... and it would obviously help for SEO purposes to have the business type included in the name.

I think the main advantage of the .club version is that it takes up less real estate ... as far as marketing goes. Although now I am wondering aloud to myself ... whether SapphireStripClub.com might be the preferred location of the main domain. Whether I should forward the .club version to the .com location ... as opposed to the other way around. Something I will need to give some thought to.

Either way ... I've locked up both domains.

 

[Esquire]

Hmmmm ... the more I think about it ... the more I am starting to think the .com version is probably the best bet for hosting the site ... but the .club domain is still good to have for ads.

In other words ... if I use "SapphireStrip.Club" in ads ... I can use a larger font ... because it takes up less space.

But if someone 'hears" about "Sapphire Strip Club" (in a conversation at a club) ... and types it in ... either in the address bar ... or in a Google search ... the .com version may well have the advantage.

Different domains. Different purposes. Glad I have both.