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Why struggle for a .com

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by david_sakh, Jan 12, 2005.

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  1. #1
    why is .com any better than .info or .net?

    Does it grant SEO benefits or is it just b/c .com has been the tradition among consumers? If I could get a great .info or .net domain with keywords in it and it is short, should i forgo a .com domain with one irrelevent word or a dash?
     
    david_sakh, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  2. schlottke

    schlottke Peon

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    #2
    I'd never go for a dash if you want repeat visitors off type-ins unless it is a phrase that uses a dash in common english. (personal opinion)
     
    schlottke, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  3. Kia81

    Kia81 Well-Known Member

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    #3
    People trust .com names because they been around so long, I don't think there are seo benefits though. It would be interesting to hear other members thoughts on this. I'm curious too.
     
    Kia81, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  4. Smyrl

    Smyrl Tomato Republic Staff

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    #4
    I believe it is a psychological thing. The average surfer expects a dot com. We have all heard of the dot com revolution. I do not tend to remember domain extensions and always try name dot com first. That said, I would prefer a good dot anything if it is short and memorable. For SERP do not think there is any advantage of a dot com.

    Shannon
     
    Smyrl, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  5. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #5
    Theres no SEO benefits in .com domains, just marketing benefits.
     
    dcristo, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  6. Cardplayer

    Cardplayer Peon

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    #6
    ".Com" is so engrained into the public's psyche that choosing to develop your site on a non .com domain will inevitably lead to losing some word-of mouth or returning visitors. This is called fall over. Large sites built on .net or .org extensions lose out when visitors mistakenly type in .com.

    However if your site is just intended to be found in search engines and has a low occurance of repeat visits than any domain name would do.
     
    Cardplayer, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  7. david_sakh

    david_sakh Peon

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    #7
    cool. I think I get it now. Thanks everyone.
     
    david_sakh, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  8. ViciousSummer

    ViciousSummer Ayn Rand for President! Staff

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    #8
    I prefer .com and I don't think I will ever use anything else for my websites. Like already mentioned, it's usually the 1st thing someone will try when attempting to get to your website. I also think it looks more professional (as silly as that may sound). :D
     
    ViciousSummer, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  9. david_sakh

    david_sakh Peon

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    #9
    I think it's a common misconception. Growing up with limited acess to computers, I would always say ". what?" and promptly dismiss the site as something untrustworthy or unprofessional. Ironic, isn't it, that some trust .com over .org. :p
     
    david_sakh, Jan 12, 2005 IP
  10. stephfoster

    stephfoster Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Common misconceptions are something you realistically need to face in online marketing, however. I know people who know little about the internet, but type .com automatically, and if you go for a .info, they think there might be something wrong. There's no real difference, but some see particularly the newer extensions as potential signs of a scam.

    I wonder how long it will take for that misconception to change. Of course, given the preference most have when they're serious about marketing for using .com, it may take a very long time to build trust in other extensions.
     
    stephfoster, Jan 13, 2005 IP
  11. pwaring

    pwaring Well-Known Member

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    #11
    I think the only benefit is that if people are thinking of your site but can't remember the URL, they'll probably try sitename.com as their first guess. I doubt it makes any difference when it comes to search engines, except perhaps with Google where you go to the regional site (e.g. google.co.uk) and choose 'UK results only'. Perhaps a .co.uk or .org.uk would get included there whereas a .com wouldn't (my .com domains don't, although I imagine that's partially because some of them are hosted on US servers).

    Personally, I tend to register .org.uk over .com/.net/.org because they're about a third of the price (£6 for two years as opposed to nearly £20), most of my audiences are from the UK and I can opt-out of having my address and phone number in the WHOIS (that's the one big thing that puts me off registering US-based domains).
     
    pwaring, Jan 13, 2005 IP