quick ethical question

ruch1v · 11-09-2009, 02:01 PM

so i think i've found a great domain, i want to start a review blog in a niche, the domain i found is a .net because the .com was taken, while i havent reallly looked at the .com site too much, but since it also has 'review' in the domain its most likely going to be doing the same thing as me, i'm just wondering, is it ethical for me to register the .net domain? i don't know if people will get confused between the 2 but if so its not intentional..

thanks

Matt Maiden · 11-09-2009, 02:07 PM

It's fine to compete with someone as long as you are not plagiarizing or stealing from their site.

Go look at all of the sites that have "make money" or "affiliate" in the url.

Matt

MurphSmurf · 11-09-2009, 02:11 PM

I don't see a problem with it. Some people intentionally register a .net or get a misspelled domain to capitalize on an existing website. I don't really think that's wrong, either.

It's competition.

travlinguy · 11-09-2009, 02:12 PM

Not even a matter of ethics at all. Go for it!

Mike Anthony · 11-09-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruch1v

i'm just wondering, is it ethical for me to register the .net domain? i don't know if people will get confused between the 2 but if so its not intentional..

thanks

Its ethical but to me pointles unless you just can't find a good name. Looking forward toward branding you will always end up getting exposure for the .com site. Yes you will get the search engine traffic for your site with proper SEO and with PPC but some of your return visitors will end up going to the .com site instead. Whenever possible build your own brand not someone elses.

Michael Oksa · 11-09-2009, 02:26 PM

I believe it's ethical as long as you follow Matt's advice.

HOWEVER, if you personally are struggling with the idea, then get a different domain name.

It is a well-accepted practice, and not unethical. But, be careful that you never sell your soul in exchange for income. That may not be the case, but I wanted to mention it either way.

All the best,
Michael

MissTerraK · 11-09-2009, 02:28 PM

All is fair in love and war! If that's what you honestly and truly want to do, then go for it!

MissTerraK

AyaImmortal · 11-09-2009, 03:03 PM

I dont see why not, there is nothing wrong with that as long as you arent completely stealing from them. THAT would be ethically wrong

Alexa Smith · 11-09-2009, 04:57 PM

It's not unethical at all, in my opinion.

But it may be unwise for other reasons. (Why would you want to base your business on a domain-name of which the ".com" version already belongs to someone else?! The downside is very easy to see. I can't envisage any possible advantages at all, though.)

Matt Maiden · 11-09-2009, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

...(Why would you want to base your business on a domain-name of which the ".com" version already belongs to someone else?! The downside is very easy to see. I can't envisage any possible advantages at all, though.)

Alexa,

The big .coms also share quite a bit of the heavy traffic with the .nets

Are you suggesting that you would not want makemoremoney, howtoloseweight, bestbuy, hotelreservations... net if you had the opportunity?

Matt

Greg Brierley · 11-09-2009, 06:31 PM

I do not hink it is unethical at all. In my way of thinking if it was unethical then it would not be possible to buy the .net extension. Of course copyng content etc is another issue that is umetnical.

Greg

davtom · 11-09-2009, 06:33 PM

Definitely nothing unethical about it. You're not stealing traffic in the form of links that already exist, because they still point to the dot com. However, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea, SEO-wise. Google would tend to favour the dot com, all other things being equal.

Alexa Smith · 11-09-2009, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt M

Are you suggesting that you would not want makemoremoney, howtoloseweight, bestbuy, hotelreservations... net if you had the opportunity?

I'd jump at any of them, Matt. But if you'll excuse the observation, I think it's not an entirely realistic question: those names are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

Matt Maiden · 11-09-2009, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

...I think it's not an entirely realistic question: those names are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

Yes while that is true there are still quite a few .nets that are there for the taking that produce enough traffic to make it worth while.

I was just trying to make the point that there are some good reasons (traffic) to want to have the .net version of a site.

Also, over the years I have been doing this I have encountered many .coms that were taken and nothing was done with them. The .nets were the authority sites. Some .coms start out strong then with a lack of attention dissipate and fade leaving the .nets to take over.

I have done this many times in many niches and have sold quite a few .nets.

Matt

wordwizard · 11-09-2009, 07:39 PM

I agree. there are quite a few .nets out there.

And no, I wouldn't worry about the similarity either.

KrazyG · 11-09-2009, 08:13 PM

As long as you can make a unique content and good looking website than the .com, that wouldn't matter...

Even a .org, .info or whatsoever TLD that you can think of is good..

Tom Harvey · 11-09-2009, 08:19 PM

Certainly it is not unethical..If the person who bought the .com site was so worried about competition then he should have locked up the .org, .net and any other dot to ensure that nobody came nipping at his heels..

Not a problem

Michael Oksa · 11-09-2009, 08:44 PM

I agree that it's not unethical - to us.

However, each person has to be true to themselves. So if there is an uneasiness about doing something, then it should be reconsidered.

This time it sounds like the OP just needs clarification about what the standard ethics are in the IM community.

All the best,
Michael

Mark Jordan · 11-09-2009, 09:50 PM

Go for it! Strive to make your site BETTER than the other guy. That's what competition is all about.

11-09-2009, 02:01 PM	#1
ruch1v Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: UK Posts: 617 Thanks: 121 Thanked 103 Times in 63 Posts	quick ethical question so i think i've found a great domain, i want to start a review blog in a niche, the domain i found is a .net because the .com was taken, while i havent reallly looked at the .com site too much, but since it also has 'review' in the domain its most likely going to be doing the same thing as me, i'm just wondering, is it ethical for me to register the .net domain? i don't know if people will get confused between the 2 but if so its not intentional.. thanks
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11-09-2009, 02:07 PM	#2
Matt Maiden Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: California Posts: 1,694 Thanks: 646 Thanked 893 Times in 432 Posts Social Networking	Re: quick ethical question It's fine to compete with someone as long as you are not plagiarizing or stealing from their site. Go look at all of the sites that have "make money" or "affiliate" in the url. Matt

11-09-2009, 02:11 PM	#3
MurphSmurf HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: British Columbia Posts: 139 Thanks: 16 Thanked 27 Times in 17 Posts Social Networking	Re: quick ethical question I don't see a problem with it. Some people intentionally register a .net or get a misspelled domain to capitalize on an existing website. I don't really think that's wrong, either. It's competition.
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11-09-2009, 02:12 PM	#4
travlinguy Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Northern Hemisphere, for now. Posts: 2,442 Thanks: 981 Thanked 1,234 Times in 738 Posts Contact Info	Re: quick ethical question Not even a matter of ethics at all. Go for it!
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11-09-2009, 02:26 PM	#6
Michael Oksa The Ethical Marketer War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 6,062 Thanks: 1,750 Thanked 3,026 Times in 1,340 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: quick ethical question I believe it's ethical as long as you follow Matt's advice. HOWEVER, if you personally are struggling with the idea, then get a different domain name. It is a well-accepted practice, and not unethical. But, be careful that you never sell your soul in exchange for income. That may not be the case, but I wanted to mention it either way. All the best, Michael
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11-09-2009, 02:28 PM	#7
MissTerraK The Terra-izer War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 445 Thanks: 480 Thanked 248 Times in 179 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: quick ethical question All is fair in love and war! If that's what you honestly and truly want to do, then go for it! MissTerraK
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11-09-2009, 03:03 PM	#8
AyaImmortal Chronicles of Joe Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fayetteville PA Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Social Networking Contact Info	Re: quick ethical question I dont see why not, there is nothing wrong with that as long as you arent completely stealing from them. THAT would be ethically wrong
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11-09-2009, 04:57 PM	#9
Alexa Smith Wordsmith (& Skepchick) War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 13,650 Thanks: 7,511 Thanked 9,548 Times in 4,948 Posts	Re: quick ethical question It's not unethical at all, in my opinion. But it may be unwise for other reasons. (Why would you want to base your business on a domain-name of which the ".com" version already belongs to someone else?! The downside is very easy to see. I can't envisage any possible advantages at all, though.)
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11-09-2009, 06:31 PM	#11
Greg Brierley Warrior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Canberra Australia Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: quick ethical question I do not hink it is unethical at all. In my way of thinking if it was unethical then it would not be possible to buy the .net extension. Of course copyng content etc is another issue that is umetnical. Greg

11-09-2009, 06:33 PM	#12
davtom Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: United Kingdom. Posts: 48 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 7 Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts	Re: quick ethical question Definitely nothing unethical about it. You're not stealing traffic in the form of links that already exist, because they still point to the dot com. However, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea, SEO-wise. Google would tend to favour the dot com, all other things being equal.

11-09-2009, 07:39 PM	#15
wordwizard Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Virginia, USA. Posts: 1,324 Thanks: 182 Thanked 234 Times in 139 Posts Social Networking	Re: quick ethical question I agree. there are quite a few .nets out there. And no, I wouldn't worry about the similarity either.
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11-09-2009, 08:13 PM	#16
KrazyG Warrior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Lurking around... Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: quick ethical question As long as you can make a unique content and good looking website than the .com, that wouldn't matter... Even a .org, .info or whatsoever TLD that you can think of is good..
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11-09-2009, 08:19 PM	#17
Tom Harvey Affiliate Ninja War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: New York & Vienna, Austria Posts: 79 Thanks: 5 Thanked 16 Times in 12 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: quick ethical question Certainly it is not unethical..If the person who bought the .com site was so worried about competition then he should have locked up the .org, .net and any other dot to ensure that nobody came nipping at his heels.. Not a problem

11-09-2009, 08:44 PM	#18
Michael Oksa The Ethical Marketer War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 6,062 Thanks: 1,750 Thanked 3,026 Times in 1,340 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: quick ethical question I agree that it's not unethical - to us. However, each person has to be true to themselves. So if there is an uneasiness about doing something, then it should be reconsidered. This time it sounds like the OP just needs clarification about what the standard ethics are in the IM community. All the best, Michael
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11-09-2009, 09:50 PM	#19
Mark Jordan New Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 329 Thanks: 2 Thanked 32 Times in 31 Posts	Re: quick ethical question Go for it! Strive to make your site BETTER than the other guy. That's what competition is all about.
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