Afternoon Folks!!
I am often reminded by domainers that there is a world out the USA. That's fine and you may even be surprised to know that I recognize that and have visited my share of countries around the world. But what folks don't seem to recognize is how to fish! You go where the fish are! DUH! Where they are biting. Where they are hungry. Were they are big and diversified.
So here is a tidbit of PROOF of what I see and how I see it and why I focus on the USA and other ENGLISH speaking countries as it pertains to sales and domain names and the value of a domain name.
Lets look at the .Me registry. Please explain how one country in the world of 350 or so can be responsible for 53% of all their registrations when EVERYONE had the same opportunity? 53%!! That is a REAL number. Why do more than half of ALL their registrations come from the USA? Why so disproportionate? Why?
- 53% of .Me domains are registered in the US;
- 46% of .Me domains are registered by businesses;
- That .Me is the most popular domain choice for startups after .com;
- There are still 35% of three-character .me domain names available!
Interpret that into Dollars. Or Euros or Yens or whatevers.
See the problem is I see an answer where others don't. I choose to compete in the arena with the largest fish. Why the USA??? It comes down to one word.
CONSUMPTION!!
Read it again.
CONSUMPTION!!
The USA consumes MORE than the rest of the world combined on MANY things. Many! Many!!!! So that is why I don't dabble in IDN or country codes and only lightly in non-dotcoms. It's fine for those that do but it is not in my DNA for reasons I am about to explain. The numbers guide me.
So if you don't understand or even can't accept that one tidbit in life, then we will never see things eye to eye. We will always disagree because. We will never be on the same page. You will always tell me why your small pond is better and I will always point to the SEA with no limits! The sea of consumption! Sales!
And that is fine. I don't want to talk you out of the pond. It may be very nice. Very comfortable. Very good to you. But at least acknowledge the difference in size and VALUE of the audience. maybe not 100% of the time, but most of the time.
Yes, they consume more rice in China than the USA. So what?? They consume that rice to build things that we will consume mostly in the USA.
Maybe what is important is figuring out since nobody here is in the rice business and many here are in the domain business that facts do count. Numbers do count. This is just one tiny tidbit of an example. So why does .Me have 53% in the USA if it is not about how we consume things and that has enriched many folks around the world? Do you think .co's numbers are much different? They may support my argument even more! .com's numbers are widely known.
Sure you can come here and tell me the USA is slipping by percentage, other contries are gaining or this or that. But it does not mean much when it translates into business.
Country-wise Domains Distribution
Domain Names by Country of Purchase. USA has more domain registrations than all other countries combined! 12X the second closest. All other countries combined equal 48 million to the USA at just under 80 Million. Then add the English speaking countries to that. That would bring that number up to over 92 million and the other down to 36 million. The numbers paint a picture. Then add buying power to that equation and it further tilts.
| Rank | Country | Domains |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 79,950,786 |
| 2 | Germany | 6,496,459 |
| 3 | China | 5,910,176 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 4,808,723 |
| 5 | Canada | 3,930,427 |
| 6 | France | 3,472,316 |
| 7 | Japan | 2,821,525 |
| 8 | Australia | 2,337,278 |
| 9 | Spain | 1,688,317 |
| 10 | Cayman Islands | 1,665,319 |
| 11 | Netherlands,The | 1,416,581 |
| 12 | Italy | 1,329,267 |
| 13 | Turkey | 1,256,428 |
| 14 | Korea | 989,491 |
| 15 | HongKong S.A.R. | 795,535 |
If you fish, you go where the most and the biggest fish are. It is not about what you know folks. It's about how you interpret what you know. Whether you play for an audience of 600 or an audience of 600 million. Just numbers. Then add BUYING POWER and Kaboom!
And btw, how many of the .whatevers are not English words or abbreviations? Why is that? These are questions worthy of some thought. Numbers don't lie. They paint pictures. Some see different realities in their pictures. By starting off with 50% of anything you are bound to do quite well.
So .Me is 53% just in the USA. Then add the other English speaking countries. Maybe you are over 75%. The rest is fragmented. Fragmentation is costly to market to. Fragmented markets are limited markets.
Do you market to the folks with buying power? How does that factor in? Do folks in Guatemala have the same buying power as in the USA?
When I was growing up "French" was the universal language. It then shifted to Spanish. But English dominates things from English speaking Airport Traffic controllers all over the world to New domain extensions. There is a reason. Why English? Because flight was invented in the USA and as it blossomed it blossomed in English because all the terminology was/is in English. That holds true on so many other things.
From Cars to computers to medical to DOMAIN NAMES!
Are things shifting? Sure. So what? 6000 member audience will grow to 12,000 while 600 million will grow to 1.2 billion. And even if the 600 million only grows to 610 million, it may be a lifetime or more before the 6000 grows into the first million. If ever. That has to factor in. It can't be dismissed. It has to be understood.
Some people are going to come here and beat their chest for this or that. But they all have A.D.D. because they won't focus on the point of the post. They will joust with themselves as they invent straw-men to defend their point of view and maybe their turf.
Numbers are in my DNA. Focus on numbers and money happens. Why is that? Because money is based on numbers and numbers don't lie!
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
