Are .info domains bad for SEO

[agha]

dot com or dot net is better

[Jimmy AL]

If you have a ton of backlinks, the .info will rank well. I don't think that for a long-term you will be too satisfied with it, as long as it will cost 1-2$ in the 1st year and more than the .com in the later years. The seo disadvantage is well known, you will need much more backlinks to make it rank well!

[syahbiz]

dot com and dot org have proven to be the best in search engine rankings, you can get a dot org as it is preferable

[cfl]

According to me , .info domain are not good . .com, .net, .org are good for Seo

[Steve Crooks]

I know we all have opinions but this is one of those questions where everyone just answers based on zero proof and pure opinion.

Personally, I say the proof (as always) is in the pudding.. Looking purely at the top 10 of Google for more competitive keywords, the ratio of .info domains to .com, org, net and the local TLD's like .co.uk is very low.

This does not mean that it is not possible to rank a .info for a competitive keyword but you need to ask why it is so rare to see one in the top 10 for a competitive keyword or even semi competitive keyword. This either means that website publishers are not using .info's in a serious manner or they are discounted in some way.

Try it yourself.. Go to Google and try and find a .info that is ranking in the top 10 for a keyword that gets 20,000+ searches a month? They are there but you have to search hard.

[Millerking]

I'll test it myself, currently i run a. info, .biz, .com, for some niche, similar optimization, will se the results 3 months later, i'll keep you guys updated

[SEOpsychic]

Originally Posted by Craig McPherson

Type

free money making website

into Google.

Sorry to blow your theory to pieces.

lol....thank you!

[bummed.out]

Nice! The one .info that I have has actually risen to midway on the first page of the SERPs, without a great deal of backlinking.

Originally Posted by Craig McPherson

Type

free money making website

into Google.

Sorry to blow your theory to pieces.

[nokimchen]

ya, dot info domains are most used by spammers.

but it has nothing to do with SERP

just do google search for "check page rank", you'll realise

[xxxJamesxxx]

I use .info all the time when I'm building Adsense sites and they rank just dandy for me.

However will say if I'm building a brand then I'd opt for .com everytime as people are "hard wired" about putting a .com end of a url.

James

[tucan]

In theory, all domain names are created equal.

But .info is cheap. 99 cents a year?

Google might believe that spammers use them.

That's the reason why you may want to avoid using it.

[Steven Dybka]

Originally Posted by ThrillerAuthor

How about .org? Where would that fit in?

.Org's rank well,some of my .Org's out rank the .Com's


Steve

[howinfo]

Originally Posted by tucan

In theory, all domain names are created equal.

But .info is cheap. 99 cents a year?

Google might believe that spammers use them.

That's the reason why you may want to avoid using it.

Very interesting logic, I really thought that Google is more sophisticated than that but maybe that is what they develop their search algorithm for, to detect domain extensions by it price and categorise their search results according to that.

Do you have any information what Google does after you have renewed your info for $ 8 or so, are you off the hook as a spammer then?

[Steve Crooks]

Originally Posted by Craig McPherson

Type

free money making website

into Google.

Sorry to blow your theory to pieces.

Without wanting to sound disparaging or anything because ranking in the top 10 of Google for long tails is very valid and it is of course an achievement. That particular phrase gets around 880 phrase match searches a month. I am sure you get other long tail derivatives as well, so well done on that.

However, do you ever see a .info ranking in the top 10 for the real competitive keywords? It is very hard to find one..

[zita123]

Normally, SEO does not matter what domain extension you have.. However, I suggest that your have .com extension.. Because it is good.

[anupkayastha]

Nope not at all. I've my blog Hack Tutors that is running since 3 years and is top in certain keywords.

[samueld]

Originally Posted by howinfo

I am wondering why it did not take me more effort. That is really unfair that Google makes you to put double the effort in.

I am agree with Dr.faizan, That .info domains are taking too much time compare to .com and .net domains. I tried .info domain with one of concept to share information, but because of ranking results, i changed plan and use .com domain.

Now my observation is, if you really want to share information as non profit organization, or non advertisement site, still you need to go with .com or .net names. .INFO names are really useless from seo point of view. If you have good mailing list and you can get direct traffic to your website or buying paid traffic, then you can go with .INFO domains.

[sexyamystars]

From my experience .info domains are just plain bad for seo. It takes twice the effort for the website to make it to pole positions.
I don't know why is this so, but just as .edu and .gov are good for seo .info is bad.
I don't know about backlinks from .info domains though... Don't have enough data to make an ipothesis.

[dagaul101]

Some complain that .info domains are hard to rank, and others suggest they can rank well as any other site, but it seems it's subjective

[Talen]

So much bad information in this thread from people that have absolutely no clue.

.info's are just as good as .coms...anyone that says differently is blowing smoke.

by the way I have a #2 ranked site in google that is a .info site and the keyword I rank for is a very competitive one in the health niche.

[jordyhill]

Originally Posted by LawrenceTam

i've ranked both. I don't think it's so much about the upfront cost and there is some truth to having it harder to rank in my own experience but you need to worry about customer perception.

your going to have more people click on a .com/.net/.org sit vs a .info/.biz type site.

I've ranked both and have sold stuff on both but if it's EMD of course go for the big 3.

I'm the same, its got to be the big 3 purely on customer perception, being a customer myself. It sounds better too.

I appreciate paulgl's sentiment but I don't think I'll be getting a .info any time soon

Although, 89cents on GoDaddy? Hmmmmmmmm

[leilaleilei]

What about sending links to a .info site or simply saying getting inbound links from .info site? Is that harmful for your website? I've been sending my site to .info directories. Wonder how it will harm me? Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks

[samueld]

Originally Posted by leilaleilei

What about sending links to a .info site or simply saying getting inbound links from .info site? Is that harmful for your website? I've been sending my site to .info directories. Wonder how it will harm me? Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks

Back Links from .INFO domains will not harm you. Even, i am not sure that those links will help you.

[Fortywats]

I for one am glad this argument continues to go on. As long as there are people out there who think that for some reason Google has something against .info domains I will continue to swipe all the best exact match domain names and rank them easily. Although I do agree that perception is a powerful force. If you're building a brand or intend on flipping I would go for a .com. It is still percieved as the best.

[Justin Lewis]

I prefer going after .com, .net, .org, and now .co.

But when it comes down to it, no .info domains are not terrible for SEO.

The biggest thing you need to think about is trust. I would never purchase anything from a .info domain because I would feel like they don't care enough to have a .com, .net, .org, or .co domain name.

So instead of worrying strictly about SEO, think about how your visitors will view it and how they will adapt to it.

[Domsa]

I have three .info domains and they all rank quite well. Personally I think .info gained quite a bit of power this year. I mainly choose it for review pages and it works out quite well, but I wouldn't go for .info if I was to sell products.

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by Justin Lewis

The biggest thing you need to think about is trust. I would never purchase anything from a .info domain because I would feel like they don't care enough to have a .com, .net, .org, or .co domain name.

That makes no sense. The New York Subway MTA decided to use
a dot info, and they offer web tickets. Can't trust 'em, right?

Do a search for new york subway or anything close.

I guess you don't use the #1 web PR checker either, prchecker.info.

Do a search for PR checker, pagerank, etc.

I can't believe some of the replies. But then, no wonder this part
of the forum gets filled with panda crapola, de-indexes, penalties,
sandbox, etc. People just don't get it.

Hmmm, what is "it"?

Paul

[Mike Anthony]

Theres alot of debate on this back and forth but there are two things that are without question

A) If you get a manual review and you have a lot more .info links than you have other more standard tlds its elementary to realize there is going to be higher suspicion and your links are going to be more scrutinized.

B) .infos have a much lower perceived values which affects their market value. If I am going to take the time to rank a site I am going to do it with a tld that can make me the most money if I ever decide to sell it.


So I have never cared much to find out either way because for overall value reasons its irrelevant. I'll always skip ranking .infos. The only way I wouldn't is if I was under the impression that I can only rank if I have a EMD. But I of course know better.

[paulgl]

Yes, but why would one be getting a manual review anyway?

I'll take a link from prchecker.info or mta.info any day. If one
could get it. mta.info is PR8.

Reselling a site is not "SEO."

Your points are valid and mine were not exactly related to SEO
either, I'll readily admit that.

I will also admit I do not create any .info's. Just a personal
preference, not related to anything tangible. That's my point
and I think your point:

Originally Posted by Mike Anthony

So I have never cared much to find out either way because for overall value reasons its irrelevant. I'll always skip ranking .infos. The only way I wouldn't is if I was under the impression that I can only rank if I have a EMD. But I of course know better.

Paul

[ayurak]

Always try to book .com domain, if that's not available then book .net or .org. But .info is not good for Seo. But at the same time .info is much cheaper, you can get .info at $1.19 on godaddy, cheers

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by paulgl

Yes, but why would one be getting a manual review anyway?

Paul all it takes is outranking one webmaster that doesn't like being outranked who then makes an accusation to initiate a manual review. Thankfully Google doesn't have the resources to follow up every report but ANYONE can get a manual review. I was nowhere implying that .infos get more manual reviews.

I'll take a link from prchecker.info or mta.info any day. If one
could get it. mta.info is PR8.

and where did I say I wouldn't? You take a line that says if most of your links are .infos and then turn it into not getting authority links from any .info? Of course I'd take that link with a smile on my face.

Reselling a site is not "SEO."

Well of course not but for some of us SEO is about profitability and value. So if I have the choice to SEO a site why would I bother with a .info? I said point blank I don't care aobut the SEO value because of other common sense factors but since I do SEO for the bottom line yes - It does relate to my SEO choices.

SO you can get a .info for $2 at godaddy. I an get .coms and .nets regularly for $4.95 with privacy at netfirms. I'm going to build a .info because of a $2.95 difference? No. SO the only issue like I said is do I think I can only rank with a EMD and want to grab the .info for it. I don't believe that so theres no reason for me to even bother with wondering.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by mattlaclear

I have found that properly optimized .info domains take three times as long as top level domains to drive to page one.

Considering that you have admitted openly to using a lot of .infos in your SEO I want to give credit where credit is due. If you say that then its big of you to admit and comes with quite a bit of credibility to me.

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by Steve Crooks

However, do you ever see a .info ranking in the top 10 for the real competitive keywords? It is very hard to find one..

Oh Steve, surely you jest...

I suppose you would have to define "real competitive keywords."

Like I point out all the time, things like
page rank, new york subway, roman coins, Noam Chomsky,...

Just wait until Thanksgiving to see how many sites want to go for
Black Friday.

Paul

[Justin Lewis]

Originally Posted by paulgl

That makes no sense. The New York Subway MTA decided to use
a dot info, and they offer web tickets. Can't trust 'em, right?

Do a search for new york subway or anything close.

I guess you don't use the #1 web PR checker either, prchecker.info.

Do a search for PR checker, pagerank, etc.

I can't believe some of the replies. But then, no wonder this part
of the forum gets filled with panda crapola, de-indexes, penalties,
sandbox, etc. People just don't get it.

Hmmm, what is "it"?

Paul

I didn't say that they aren't rank-able dude. I was saying they are fine.

I was just saying personally I don't trust a small niche website that is .info. If the website is larger, I'm okay with it, but for a small niche site, or small website on it's own, I just don't care for .info's. It was a personal choice, not an SEO choice.

[Arjjun Sarja]

Have heard domains with extensions like .info and .in are not good for seo , though its mererly 5$ difference , i suggest always go on with a .com domain as there should not be any seo related problem with .com domain

[Illuminations]

Let this myth be buried in the realms of the forgotten. What's with all the hype? Domain extension does not matter when it comes to SEO. SEO is all about backlinks and link juice. I can rank a sub-domain or even a **** site. Let this myth die.

[George Curtis]

I would say that .info sites don't rank well because it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People give up to early because they think they are working with a "red-headed step child" (no offense to any red-heads).

Sure, I can see how MAYBE a .info may take a LITTLE longer, but I would like to see some hard statistical data showing me a lot of testing to prove the theory that they just don't rank as well.

For now... I'm not buying... but I AM buying pretty much strictly .com sites? Why? Because I think they may get clicked better (all other things being equal) and they are easier to remember for repeat visitors. But those are the only reasons.

Just my opinion. I have not tested it enough to know for sure.

[barneystinson]

most of the .info sites are blocked by corporate networks and schools
so you might lose traffic from this!

[epathj]

I have never had good results with .info.
why dont u spend more money and get .com

[blend]

.infos can rank very well in google depending on your competiton of courses.

At the end of the day, all google want's is unique, good quality content, with plenty of high pr backlinks and they will reward you!

Yes .com .org and .net rank well well because these are the most targeted domains.

think about it....

[JettH]

Originally Posted by George Curtis

I would say that .info sites don't rank well because it is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Agreed.

Just because you don't see as many INFOs ranking top 10 as other extensions doesn't mean that they are harder to rank. The cause and effect are not necessarily related.

For a start the COM extension has been around alot longer than the INFO extension.

Secondly, because the general consensus around here is that INFOs are bad that reduces the number of INFO domains purchased compared to other extensions.

[Natlex]

Ahhhh so much misinformation on .info ... Anyway from my own experience they all work, the only difference is .info do not get an EMD bonus if you are trying to just rank for a specific keyword that is in the domain name. This may be why people find it weaker, but if you are going for a general sounding domain and ranking inner pages etc they work as well.

[webcontent]

Thank you for this information

[russianbear]

What about .us domain?
Should be good for local searches.
Costs $3

[mraffiliate]

Originally Posted by LawrenceTam

i've ranked both. I don't think it's so much about the upfront cost and there is some truth to having it harder to rank in my own experience but you need to worry about customer perception.

your going to have more people click on a .com/.net/.org sit vs a .info/.biz type site.

I've ranked both and have sold stuff on both but if it's EMD of course go for the big 3.

How do you come to the conclusion that more people will click on a .com, .net,or .org? when I'm searching for something on the big 3, I don't care if it's a .cowmanure I will click on it if I think it will give me the info I need.

[paulgl]

The time is ripe for Black Friday deals.

Doing a google search from where I am, in the
top 6 website results, the following show up:

bfads.net
blackfriday.us
blackfirday.info
blackfriday.name

That guy with blackfriday.name may be
laughing all the way to the bank.

Paul

[DudeAndy]

I think as far as SE ranking goes .info's rank just fine, maybe as well as .com's and .net's
But most people don't value them at all. That's why I avoid them. My first choice is .com if not available I try .net if this is also unavailable I search for another domain altogether.

[rusty1027]

Let's say you wanted to purchase the EMD Widgets2.com, but it was taken. Given the choices of Widgets-2.com and Widgets2.info - which would you go?