Domain Preference: Net or Org?
It is inevitable that every week at some point the question appears on every domain-related message boards. That question is which is better: dot net or dot org?
I find this to be a very good question, as it is widely accepted that dot com is king across most of the world, and certainly in any relevant country. If dot com isn’t the standard in your area, you probably use a ccTLD. Either way, it still leaves domain investors with a question that needs answered. Should I invest my money into dot net or dot org domains?
In the long run, this really comes down to a matter of opinion. You’ll even find some that argue for dot info as the second best TLD you can get. In my opinion, dot org is the 2nd best, but here are some positive and negative things to think about for each:
Dot Net
- Seems to have the highest resale value on the market.
- Gives the feeling to users that you couldn’t find the dot com.
Dot Org
- Can be a first choice extension for many organizations or websites that that are informative by nature.
- Most orgs were registered by endusers that wanted them. Investors have a tough time reselling them due to lack of demand.
Dot Info
- Many feel this is second best for geo domains.
- Four digit TLD
- Not commonly known among the non-power users of the internet.
In my opinion, if you are investing to flip/resell the domains, dot net will probably get you the best results. If you are planning to develop or hold for an end-user, dot org is the best way to go and the way I go more often than not. It just sounds good and is easy to remember. If it wasn’t for the dollar promotion on info domains I probably wouldn’t own more than just a few. It is probably just personal preference, but I really dislike four letter TLDs.
So, as you can see, dot org is my preference. It also helps that domainers have largely ignored dot org, leaving a bunch of very high quality domains available on the registry. Just yesterday I picked up GeoDirectory.org which I hope to develop sometime in the next few months.
Which do you prefer? Dot net or dot org?