Some top level domain names are longer than we’re used to, but they can still be shorter overall.
A lot of people have questioned if some new top level domain names are simply too long.
Will people type in an eleven character top level domain name such as .photography when they’re used to typing in just two or three characters to the right of the dot?
While it remains to be seen how internet users react, .photography appears to be an early winner with many photographers. It has already crossed the 15,000 domain registrations mark.
I think the reason for this is simple: for many photographers, a .photography domain name is actually shorter than what they have now.
If your domain is JoeSmithPhotography.com, then JoeSmith.photography is shorter.
It’s an issue of Top Level Domain Length (TLDL) vs. Total Domain Length (TDL).
If customers can get a shorter TDL despite a long TLDL, they might go for it.
An interesting test will be when .photo and .photos come out. Will photographers prefer these domain names because they have both a shorter TLDL and can enable a shorter TDL?
Of course, picking the right domain is a lot more complicated than just going with the shortest. Some people will even go with a longer domain if they’re currently stuck with a hyphenated .net.
Ryan says
I feel .Photo would be the better play, with Photography in the Header of the website description is fine.
Most people can’t even spell it, without having a typo, and it is just to damn long.
Acro says
I think the dilemma is artificial. When long-tail, exact match domains get registered, how isn’t that an issue, yet it becomes an issue when the TLD is longer than 3-4 letters?
The effect that gTLDs have on immediate branding is monumental, there is now an opportunity to use meaningful, descriptive URLs for anything (almost) imaginable.
Andrew Allemann says
From a branding perspective I don’t see much immediate benefit to kayjones.photography as compared to kayjonesphotography.com. Anyone reading the domain knows what it is.
Branding can actually be a challenge in a new TLD. If my address is domain.guru, my brand is not “domain”. Is it domain guru? Is it domain dot guru?
Acro says
I can safely say – because I am involved in the photography community – that the particular gTLD is indeed very popular and affordable to own. Instead of spending several thousands of dollars on a domain, photographers can hopefully get their own .photography domain for reg fee, and spend the cash on their beloved gear. Incidentally, not every photographer uses first+last+photography .com – the big hit is now keyword or geo + .photography. I am sure the same applies to other gTLDs with a profession in mind.
jZ says
will they swtich to .photo when it comes out? or .photographer or or or…thats a problem with these new gtlds, this isn’t the end of them. people buying .technology today will wish they saved their money for .tech tomorrow.
jZ says
and there you have it, the only advantage is affordablity..for now. i have to laugh when someone says finally, we have meaningful descriptive urls to use…uh domains can be as meaning ful and descriptive as you want them to be no matter if they end in .com or not.
YouDeeArePee says
I’m seriously not able to feel anything other than .com and .org. Even the TLD countries are contacting from their .de and .vg and all their other dots and they are pitching why they prefer .com
Samit says
I just wrote about this a little while back –
http://www.mwzd.com/domain-names/ksl-a-new-measurement-for-domain-length/
We call it KSL – keystroke length.
Longer extensions will hurt in an increasingly mobile world.
Acro says
Except, typing isn’t the big thing any more. Voice shortcuts, QR codes, Facebook links (shocking!) are an ever-increasing method of reaching domain.whatever. Welcome to the new world of the new Internet namespace.
Andrew Allemann says
“typing isn’t that big anymore”
C’mon Acro. You can argue new domains are a good thing, but your last line sounds like something from a marketing brochure.
Other things are more important that they used to be, but typing is still a big deal. When I see an ad (print, outdoor, etc.) and want to learn more, I type in the domain. When someone tells me about a cool new site, I type it in.
When I want to go to Amazon.com, I type it in.
If we mostly reach sites through other means, then the domain itself doesn’t matter anymore. Which is, incidentally, what a lot of people outside the domain industry argue.
Alex Tajirian - DomainMart says
“An interesting test will be when .photo and .photos come out.” Not really! The winner can be for a number of reasons other than the length, especially when the difference is only one character. Moreover, statistical domain name models show that length is practically irrelevant in determining value.
milan says
i am waiting for the .art
Andrew Allemann says
Just a reminder that you must use a real email address or your comments will be deleted.
Domenclature.com says
@Allemann,
You watched Paul Stahura’s heart get broken on Feb 13, and you didn’t report it. I used to accuse you of “triangualtion” on taking a stand regarding the new Gs’
But, to actually observe Stahura observe one or more of his dotphotography forwarding to a dot com, and see the man heart-broken, and I’m sure reflect on what Schwartz predicted, come through, and not report it? What am I supposed to conclude?
Here’s the conversation on Twitter:
Paul Stahura @stahura Feb 13
@DomainNameWire from within the last hour or so: http://will.photography/ http://pink.photography http://nietophotography.com/
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Paul Stahura @stahura Feb 13
@DomainNameWire I mean nieto.photography – its currently forwarding to .com
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3:04 PM – 13 Feb 2014 · Details
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Paul Stahura @stahura Feb 13
@DomainNameWire from within the last hour or so: http://will.photography/ http://pink.photography http://nietophotography.com/
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Paul Stahura @stahura Feb 13
@DomainNameWire I mean nieto.photography – its currently forwarding to .com
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DomainNameWire.com @DomainNameWire Feb 13
@stahura Much better 🙂 I think .photography will do quite well.
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Andrew Merriam @AndMerriam Feb 13
@stahura @DomainNameWire Awesome! Great sites to show off too. How does it feel to make dreams come true 🙂
Joseph Peterson says
Definitely an interesting question.
One sentence from your article stands out, though:
“.photography appears to be an early winner with many photographers.”
Is it? That’s really the crux of the matter. I don’t necessarily dispute that statement, but I’d like to analyze it a little.
Does a high number of domain registrations mean that .PHOTOGRAPHY is a winner among photographers? From the registry / registrar standpoint, yes.
But if these are defensive registrations, then the photographers may, in fact, merely be losers of cash; and they may not regard .PHOTOGRAPHY as a winner.
And even if some of them begin using .PHOTOGRAPHY for display / marketing purposes, it remains to be seen whether that’s a winning or a losing strategy.
So that seemingly simple sentence — “.photography appears to be an early winner with many photographers” — turns out to be not one but several distinct (and vexed) questions, for which we don’t yet have answers.
Andrew Allemann says
I’m looking mostly anecdotally at registrations. I’d say the strong registration numbers (15k) and that samples I’ve checked pointing to actual photographers (some of which are using it) makes it at least appear to be an early winner. I can’t predict longer run.
Your points are valid, that’s just where I’m coming from.
Joseph Peterson says
That’s fair. And I understood what you meant.
I can’t predict outcomes in the long run either. Well, I can; and I do. But not with certainty and hopefully not with too broad a brush. The one thing worth emphasizing is the complexity of the issue.
Domenclature.com says
@Joseph Peterson,
You are within the ballpark.
People forget that Donuts raised around $300,000,000.00 (three hundred million US Dollars!) from investors to go at this thing. So, even to call it successful, that money has to be recovered, and some more for the investors; and that’s just for the start-up, not to mention backed, salaries, and so.
nieto.photography is a wonderful photographer but he has his .whatever forwarding to nietophotography.com, and it is stinging for the dotphotography string to see that happen. I’m sure that they are praying for that not to be a trend. I posted a dyad between Allemann and Stahura from twitter that is still pending, hopefully Allemann will approve it soon.
ChuckWagen says
I’m surprised no one has brought up domain width.
Brad says
“Will people type in an eleven character top level domain name such as .photography when they’re used to typing in just two or three characters to the right of the dot?”
DEFINITELY, UNEQUIVOCALLY THEY WILL NOT!
milan says
there is an other reason for the 15k photography as well.
if u check the logos and brands of photographers, for sure u will find the word photogarphy on it and not the word photo (this is for tourists and commons, everyone can take just a photo)
photography stands for art and fashion. we are unique. we are trendsetters.
photography is a vogue word. and if u got the money, u will use a haselblad 🙂
Tom says
P1
H2
O3
T4
O5
G6
R7
A8
P9
H10
Y11
Some of you are all kidding right? Internet user will not want to type in an eleven character tld. Three characters is the de facto maximum and an invisible electrical fence has been erected after that. Seems obvious to me that anyone registering one with over three characters is wasting both time and money.
Jonathan Paul says
I think the .photography gTLD will be successful despite the character length. It will take some time for it to catch on. Photography is a uniquely webcentric industry. People are already building websites using these domains in high numbers. See this simple Google query for proof: https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=site%3Aphotography&hl=en&pws=0&safe=off&num=100&complete=0
Joseph Peterson says
@Jonathan,
That’s quite interesting. I’m surprised how quickly some photographers were to switch things over.
It’s viable. People will use it. And yet … as names and online addresses go, they just look really clunky and ineffective.
mikaellelebreton.photography
How memorable is that? As somebody who works on naming initiatives professionally, I cringe a bit when I see that. Imagine meeting somebody at a party and telling them your website is called
forgettablefirstnameunspellablelastname.photography
Even if photographers adopt this practice, I’d still consider it to be in bad taste AND bad for marketing. Is it really worth paying $30 or $50 a year to have mikaellelebreton.photography compared to mikaellelebretonphotography.com?
Of course it isn’t.
There are better names a person can create in .COM today for $9. Better, shorter, and cheaper.
It is indeed very interesting to see .PHOTOGRAPHY gaining some traction. But remember, for every photographer who is jumping at the chance to pay extra to register their first and last name in .PHOTOGRAPHY there are probably thousands who have felt threatened and taxed and who may only register their name under duress.
While this is a win for the registry, I’m not persuaded that it is a win for consumers, business owners, or domainers. Not overall.
Jonathan Paul says
@Joseph
Its all about branding. What domain is going to best describe your brand to your customers? yourname.photography or yournamephotography.com? Some of these domains could be great investments long term. Common name .photography could be a 4-5 figure domain 5-10 years down the road. I’m comfortable enough with the risk to throw some $$ at it.
Jonathan Paul says
More specifically compare something like tomsmithphotography.com to say smith.photography or tom.photography. Which one really make sense in terms of branding your business? You mentioned you think someone registering their main business domain as a . gTLD would be in bad taste? That is similar to saying Amazon naming their business Amazon.com 20 years ago was in bad taste and bad for marketing. Just because the general public isn’t completely familiar with something righr now doesn’t mean it won’t be commonplace in the future.
Joseph Peterson says
That’s not actually what I said. Good luck on your domain investments! Sincerely.
Jonathan Paul says
Thanks Joseph and good luck with your domain name consulting.
Spoon says
The reason .guru and .photography got so many registrations is they were among the first new TLDs and, most importantly, GoDaddy promoted them heavily on its homepage. GoDaddy can make all the difference here with new TLDs because, let’s face it, most haven’t fared very well. So the difference is in the marketing. .NYC is another example with GoDaddy’s barge ad going viral.