Is it worth sticking with my existing .biz site?

JustMint · 02-03-2010, 05:37 PM

I have an existing domain for my business that is .biz. It's for my offline media production business, thought there's not an actual site on it as yet, even though I've had this company established and trading for 2 years (I work mostly as a freelancer, though now want to ramp things up and create more of a presence).

I'm now wanting to do 2 things:

1. Get a site up for the existing company, and start marketing it online to bring in new business.
2. Set up a new side of the business offering SEM and related services. I'm hoping one side of the business will feed to another and vice versa.

So obviously I want to start doing a lot of SEO/SEM work on the (as yet not built) site itself.

Will having a .biz domain really put me at a disadvantage for ranking, SEO etc?

If so, are what are the ways around it without changing my existing business name? (though I've considered a separate business name/site for the SEM/offline marketing work)

WallerBlog · 02-03-2010, 07:01 PM

A .biz won't necessarily hurt your rankings, but it won't help either. Most believe that Google will give you a bit of a boost in the SERPs for keywords your .com/.net/.org. Google doesn't seem to apply this to any .info, .biz, etc. However, if your domain is your business name, this "boost" probably won't really help you.

In the end, having a .com/.net/.org isn't all that important for SEO. Strong backlinks will far outweigh any bonus a domain name may provide.

Karinehy · 02-03-2010, 07:17 PM

Heya JustMint
soo .com is the most recognized.. but .biz shouldn't hurt your rankings-- but it might hurt your conversions.
Check out derekbeau.com/9-tips-for-choosing-a-great-domain-name/
his #6 tip is to always register the dot com

take a look!

Good luck!!

JustMint · 02-03-2010, 07:34 PM

Thanks guys,

I suppose the main purpose of this site is marketing my services, though part of that will be getting subscribers for newsletters etc.

So as I'm not directly selling a product, it seems I won't be too disadvantaged.

As long as I can rank locally for my services KWs, then I'll be happy.

Edit -

I forgot to add that, as I provide different services, I may market and link to specific pages related to that. I'm thinking that way I can target KWs to pages etc, so I don't just link to my main domain.

02-03-2010, 05:37 PM	#1
JustMint HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Sydney, Australia & London, UK Posts: 119 Thanks: 34 Thanked 19 Times in 13 Posts	Is it worth sticking with my existing .biz site? I have an existing domain for my business that is .biz. It's for my offline media production business, thought there's not an actual site on it as yet, even though I've had this company established and trading for 2 years (I work mostly as a freelancer, though now want to ramp things up and create more of a presence). I'm now wanting to do 2 things: 1. Get a site up for the existing company, and start marketing it online to bring in new business. 2. Set up a new side of the business offering SEM and related services. I'm hoping one side of the business will feed to another and vice versa. So obviously I want to start doing a lot of SEO/SEM work on the (as yet not built) site itself. Will having a .biz domain really put me at a disadvantage for ranking, SEO etc? If so, are what are the ways around it without changing my existing business name? (though I've considered a separate business name/site for the SEM/offline marketing work)

02-03-2010, 07:01 PM	#2
WallerBlog Warrior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 16 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Is it worth sticking with my existing .biz site? A .biz won't necessarily hurt your rankings, but it won't help either. Most believe that Google will give you a bit of a boost in the SERPs for keywords your .com/.net/.org. Google doesn't seem to apply this to any .info, .biz, etc. However, if your domain is your business name, this "boost" probably won't really help you. In the end, having a .com/.net/.org isn't all that important for SEO. Strong backlinks will far outweigh any bonus a domain name may provide.

02-03-2010, 07:17 PM	#3
Karinehy karinehbloosky Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Newport Beach, CA Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Contact Info	Re: Is it worth sticking with my existing .biz site? Heya JustMint soo .com is the most recognized.. but .biz shouldn't hurt your rankings-- but it might hurt your conversions. Check out derekbeau.com/9-tips-for-choosing-a-great-domain-name/ his #6 tip is to always register the dot com take a look! Good luck!!
	karinehbloosky www.bloosky.com

02-03-2010, 07:34 PM	#4
JustMint HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Sydney, Australia & London, UK Posts: 119 Thanks: 34 Thanked 19 Times in 13 Posts	Re: Is it worth sticking with my existing .biz site? Thanks guys, I suppose the main purpose of this site is marketing my services, though part of that will be getting subscribers for newsletters etc. So as I'm not directly selling a product, it seems I won't be too disadvantaged. As long as I can rank locally for my services KWs, then I'll be happy. Edit - I forgot to add that, as I provide different services, I may market and link to specific pages related to that. I'm thinking that way I can target KWs to pages etc, so I don't just link to my main domain.