This month 4 new television shows are airing all starting with the word “the”.
The Following, The Taste, The Job and The Americans join a slew of other shows already on air all starting with the word “the”
Here is our current list of Television shows airing on major networks all starting with the word “the”
The View
The Talk
The Voice
The Taste
The Job
The Following
The Simpsons
TheVampire Diaries
TheX Factor
TheReal Housewives
The New Normal
The Middle
The Americans (thanks Owen)
Included in the list are some of the most watched shows on television.
Readers of TheDomains.com know that we are big fans of domains starting with the word “the” and have sold quite a few of these including thetour.com, thecrown.com, thegold.com, thefit.com and get offers on one or more domains starting with the word “the” weekly.
There are two types of branding, branding you pay for by selecting a name that never existed before such as a Verizon or words that were not formerly used together, or immediate branding, built by usage of the term in language and/or commerce which make names them immediately memorable since its a word or phrase or term people have heard even used before.
We think that domains beginning in the word “the” as long as its with a natural matching word or term are like great .me domains with a matching verb or call to action term like date.me. love.me or search.me
These domains are naturals.
Immediate brands.
These types of domains can save a company millions or tens of millions that they would otherwise have to spend to in teaching the public the brand.
These types of domains don’t need to be taught to the public, the customers, the first time they hear it they will remember, it because they will already know the brand.
Joe says
Couldn’t agree more, Mike. I like “the” domains (pun is intended).
BrianWick says
Never went down the “the” path much –
dropped a lot – in fact I think mike has my former TheTuxedo.com – which ended up being soem kind of awful movie.
DomainID
TheCaves.com
TheDenver.com
TheSadist.com
TheWritingIsOnTheWall.com
Great foresight Michael 🙂
DomainNameMojo says
@Mike,
I partially agree. Your former TheMeditator.com is not working as fast the end-user probably anticipated prior to the purchase. However, TheCrown.com landed with BK, which they have billions in annual revenue to afford $40K. TheCrown.com is actually a nice name that can work as a hotel, alcohol, dental and any other niches.
I agree with TheCrown.com, but not the first domain. TheMeditator.com without “The” is not that good of a domain name. I would own some of your better movie domains than to own Meditator.com.
You make a good point about pairing “The” with a good keyword. I must say that your TheDomain.com is far better than TheDomains.com in search value. Stats do matter when people are constantly searching these keyword monthly.
In your case, you developed a brand and have a fan base that enables you to stay competitive in the domain industry. You also feed your website quality content often.
I know many will disagree with me about your past “The” sales. My opinion is not easily swayed because I have confidence in my analysis. We should not ignore data and traffic. These are the results most end-users are aiming to produce. They don’t always buy domains to point traffic, block competition, and to use as advertising outlets.
To add to “The” domains debate, I believe “world, i, and My”-related domain names are great brands.
For the most part, great read. Good work. Have a great weekend.
Michael Berkens says
Domain
“TheMeditator.com without “The” is not that good of a domain name”.
I agree
Again its all about use of the term in language and commerce and all of these TV shows and I’m sure movies as well ingrain in the public’s mind “the” in front of a term to the point where it sounds better to them with the word “the” than without
I bet if you polled the public which domain they liked better thevoice.com or voice.com 80% or more would go with the longer thevoice.com
Joe says
Also, it’s very common to refer to Internet as “The Internet”.
Michael Berkens says
Brian
The Tuxedo Jackie Chan movie I think.
Again it has to be a natural so thedenver.com doesn’t work in my opinion
Owen Frager says
Those from the good old days on Rick’s board with my crazy rants putting down domains for PPC as a long term plan arguing instead hollywood would someday come calling for entertainment titles and that and other branding is where the BIG money would be made. Hello “some day”!
DomainNameMojo says
@Mike,
Even though TheVoice.com coincides with the show usage, I would rather own Voice.com. It all comes down to the ease of banding, as well.
Would you rather own The Cancer.com or the far better Cancer.com domain name? Of course, short “The” dot com domain names are good brands. As noted above, your former TheCrown.com is much better a domain name than many believe.
I enjoy locating the best searched domains. When you monitor traffic, you can determine the accuracy of the search value with the exact match searches. If you rank on page #1, you can land at least 68% and as high as 88% of the targeted searches.
“The” domains are easy to get ranked as not many people use them as a brand. For example, NBC owns TheVoice.com. I agree the domain is brand able because it is the exact match of the show name. However, how many of us would choose Voice.com? That is a super great domain name.
Locating actual “The” domain names with at least 1,000+ exact match searches is tough and can be very expensive. Some end-users may choose an “i” and or a “world” domain to reduce cost.
I agree about “The” domains. I own at least one of a generic movie name that has greater than 1,000+ exact match searches. It is one the top horror movies about all time.
TheVoice.com would probably get polled better, albeit the Voice.com is the far better name and easier to type-in. In my opinion, I doubt NBC would spend $500K-$1m to acquire the domain. They already own the exact match.
In your case, you own several great movie domains. It wouldn’t make sense to build a brand on “The” movie domains unless you owned TheMovie.com and or TheMovies.com (Apple owns). It is better to own SportsMovies and CultMovies instead of TheSports and or TheCult.com. Descriptive movie names produce better search results than the generic, which of course are impossible to acquire (Movies.com, Film.com, Movie.com, Films.com, MoviesOnline.com, WatchMoviesOnline.com, MovieReviews.com, and etc.). These types of websites are self-explanatory.
It costs the brand creator a great deal of money to develop a generic name. “The” domains are a cheaper route. The right “The” domains sound better and can get ranked since their search value is not too competitive.
You should do a poll on this website to determine whether TheVoice.com fairs better than Voice.com. Will 80% of the public choose TheVoice.com? The stats will tell the story. Thanks.
DomainNameMojo says
@Mike,
You left out the name of a popular show domain that ABC acquired back in 2003 and is now the face of their food show, The Chew. TheChew.com is now a great destination for food fanatics.
DomainNameMojo says
I know you own a “The” domain that is named after a highly popular movie. It produces super high search results, too.
BullS says
TheBS
TheBullshit
all for the taking
bnalponstog says
http://www.thethe.com/about/
Adam Strong says
It’s too bad, but in most cases when these shows, movies, books, bands, etc launch they usually forget the domain. I’ve had a few “the names” pop because of a movie release but it’s worthless traffic and then the movie fades in to oblivion.
One of my “the names” is probably one of my most requested for a quote on IT.
Michael Berkens says
Adam
its not about the traffic, its about the branding and therefore the value of the domain
DomainNameMojo says
“The” domains sell because they are descriptive. People know what they’re getting when visiting these website. When people visit TheDomains.com, they already know the website is all about domains.
If you own a great domain name named after a particular movie, it may one that is so generic that another movie production company may make it again. We see many movies that use the same titles over again.
You can never go wrong acquiring a “The” domain that makes sense. Even a business that uses “The” and their job title can convey to their clients who they are about. TheSuperficial.com is a popular celebrity website. There are many more “The” websites make scoring traffic.
However, I agree that “the” domains are lucrative brands. There are some “the” domains that take an immense effort to brand. You really have to put in some serious work and upload some quality content to get noticed.
If you run movie websites, you can point traffic. This can create new readers who will visit again. It is the way in which you use the traffic that matters most.
DomainNameMojo says
Wrote an article about “The” domains a few years ago. It is a popular domain topic. We all know Mike sells “The” domains often. All it takes is an end-user with a good idea to make a huge offer.
http://domainingmojo.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/the-domains-are-great-investment/