Does extension matter?

recessthegreat · 08-15-2011, 10:33 AM

domain name extensions have any effect on SEO ? and is using of hyphen in the domain name effect SEO?

Gussieboi · 08-15-2011, 10:44 AM

Most people would go with a .com domain that is a exact match keyword with no hyphens if it is availible. It does not impact seo that much but if you can get a .com domain go for it.

Big__Lebowski · 08-15-2011, 11:04 AM

it's easier to get ranked witch .com domanin than .me .it etc. But after all having solid amount of backlinks can make every domain ranked in top10

JamesGw · 08-15-2011, 11:05 AM

It doesn't matter in the least for SEO. For direct traffic it'll definitely matter. I still type in wikipedia.com on accident once in a while (usually while drunk.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big__Lebowski

it's easier to get ranked witch .com domanin than .me .it etc. But after all having solid amount of backlinks can make every domain ranked in top10

This, btw, is the worst advice ever. Ignore this man.

onlinecasinodeck · 08-15-2011, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by recessthegreat

domain name extensions have any effect on SEO ? and is using of hyphen in the domain name effect SEO?

Actually search engine don't care about the domain extensions, only the Human we are concern for, they think every domain ends with a .com

Spyder77 · 08-15-2011, 11:25 AM

The more relevant question is does the TLD fit with the site itself? Example: .org is associated with "organization" and if you have a .org that has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of organization, then you may have a problem although it has nothing to do with SEO.

Its been tossed around many times that a .info is somehow crap because of the low price and many have compared it to a spam type TLD and essentially stated they are worthless. I ignored those "experts" and after 5 weeks, 4 posts, and 20 or so well made contextual backlinks, the site moved from PR0-PR3. I don't see how a .com or .net TLD could have done any better than the .info TLD that I went with, so I'm glad I ignored those "expert" opinions.

Just to break it down further: the domain was bought from Name Cheap on July 1. On July 13th I made the first post there. The most recent (as of right now) is July 31st. The Social bookmarks are not setup yet so social bookmarking played no role. It was an expired PR/NA site with no traffic when I bought it. And if anyone cares to look for themselves to verify that what I'm stating here is truth, then they can look at it with SEO Quake or whatever they wish to use to see for themselves: http://stresstips.info

Some tools (such as SEO Quake) will report the age as August/09 as it was an expired domain when I bought it from Name Cheap. Others will show the correct age (website grader, etc), which is July 1/11.

YMMV but its important to take everything you read with a grain of salt. I've seen a lot of opinions stated as though they were facts, and have found from my own experience that those individuals were flat out wrong. Period.

-Spyder

Grindstone · 08-15-2011, 11:58 AM

I've ranked a lot of .info, .org, .net, .me domains, as well as tons of .com's. I notice a slightly better EMD bonus on the .coms, but it's marginal, nothing you couldn't overcome easily with another day of linkbuilding.

Charles Washington · 08-15-2011, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by recessthegreat

domain name extensions have any effect on SEO ? and is using of hyphen in the domain name effect SEO?

Hyphens are a spam signal, but a small one. Extension does matter. How many .cc's do you run across in a typical day vs .com? How many .me do you come across in a given day vs .com? How many .co do you come across everyday compared to .org?

I would take a brandable .com even if it didnt have the kw in the name, than to have an exact match domain .me or something. Hint: You dont need the kw in the domain, you can get it in the URL

Sorry, but I will always be in the "extension does matter" crowd.

JSProjects · 08-15-2011, 12:12 PM

No.

Very old argument, and I'll bet you get a ton of responses from both sides.

But I say no. (Unless you're using some of the "shady" extensions like .co.cc, .tk, etc.)

MikeFriedman · 08-15-2011, 12:49 PM

The TLD has no effect whatsoever, unless you have something that is geo-targeted, like a .ca for Canada.

As for the hyphen... SEOmoz releases a set of ranking data every year (or every other, I forget). In this year's, they found a SLIGHT correlation between hyphens and a worse ranking in the SERPS. It is a correlation, so it isn't fact. Doesn't necessarily mean it is true, but based on the data that they collected, there is evidence to point to a hyphen hurting your rankings.

Before everyone jumps on me for that, yes you can get #1 rankings with a hyphen. I know that. I have done it. I'm just relaying the info that SEOmoz found. Their data says you might be able to rank SLIGHTLY easier without the hyphen.

BillBert · 08-16-2011, 08:47 AM

I don't have the links handy, but on Youtube (Google's channel) they talk about hyphens in domain names and the way I understood it was that it did not matter.

Also, I agree with those who say that the TLD only matters for the human or person wanting to enter a domain name manually as it is second nature to assume it is a dot com. So if you are not a dot com and you are spending money on traffic other than from the SE, then you may be sending visitors to the .com variant of your domain name.

I also understand that if you can't get the .com, that .net and .org are good, but the rest such as .biz .ws et'al are not as good.

Just my 2 cents.

Will

08-15-2011, 10:33 AM	#1
recessthegreat Warrior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Does extension matter? domain name extensions have any effect on SEO ? and is using of hyphen in the domain name effect SEO?
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08-15-2011, 10:44 AM	#2
Gussieboi Supreme Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 31 Thanks: 6 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Does extension matter? Most people would go with a .com domain that is a exact match keyword with no hyphens if it is availible. It does not impact seo that much but if you can get a .com domain go for it.
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08-15-2011, 11:04 AM	#3
Big__Lebowski HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Poland, Kraków Posts: 246 Thanks: 11 Thanked 19 Times in 12 Posts	Re: Does extension matter? it's easier to get ranked witch .com domanin than .me .it etc. But after all having solid amount of backlinks can make every domain ranked in top10
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08-15-2011, 11:25 AM	#6
Spyder77 HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Spidering the web. Where else would I be? Posts: 245 Thanks: 88 Thanked 83 Times in 62 Posts Contact Info	Re: Does extension matter? The more relevant question is does the TLD fit with the site itself? Example: .org is associated with "organization" and if you have a .org that has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of organization, then you may have a problem although it has nothing to do with SEO. Its been tossed around many times that a .info is somehow crap because of the low price and many have compared it to a spam type TLD and essentially stated they are worthless. I ignored those "experts" and after 5 weeks, 4 posts, and 20 or so well made contextual backlinks, the site moved from PR0-PR3. I don't see how a .com or .net TLD could have done any better than the .info TLD that I went with, so I'm glad I ignored those "expert" opinions. Just to break it down further: the domain was bought from Name Cheap on July 1. On July 13th I made the first post there. The most recent (as of right now) is July 31st. The Social bookmarks are not setup yet so social bookmarking played no role. It was an expired PR/NA site with no traffic when I bought it. And if anyone cares to look for themselves to verify that what I'm stating here is truth, then they can look at it with SEO Quake or whatever they wish to use to see for themselves: http://stresstips.info Some tools (such as SEO Quake) will report the age as August/09 as it was an expired domain when I bought it from Name Cheap. Others will show the correct age (website grader, etc), which is July 1/11. YMMV but its important to take everything you read with a grain of salt. I've seen a lot of opinions stated as though they were facts, and have found from my own experience that those individuals were flat out wrong. Period. -Spyder

08-15-2011, 11:58 AM	#7
Grindstone serpIQ.com War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Northern Rockies Posts: 112 Thanks: 14 Thanked 9 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Does extension matter? I've ranked a lot of .info, .org, .net, .me domains, as well as tons of .com's. I notice a slightly better EMD bonus on the .coms, but it's marginal, nothing you couldn't overcome easily with another day of linkbuilding.
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08-15-2011, 12:12 PM	#9
JSProjects Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 2,118 Thanks: 57 Thanked 201 Times in 177 Posts Contact Info	Re: Does extension matter? No. Very old argument, and I'll bet you get a ton of responses from both sides. But I say no. (Unless you're using some of the "shady" extensions like .co.cc, .tk, etc.)
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08-15-2011, 12:49 PM	#10
MikeFriedman Don't Drink and SEO War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: York, PA Posts: 2,009 Thanks: 207 Thanked 551 Times in 393 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Does extension matter? The TLD has no effect whatsoever, unless you have something that is geo-targeted, like a .ca for Canada. As for the hyphen... SEOmoz releases a set of ranking data every year (or every other, I forget). In this year's, they found a SLIGHT correlation between hyphens and a worse ranking in the SERPS. It is a correlation, so it isn't fact. Doesn't necessarily mean it is true, but based on the data that they collected, there is evidence to point to a hyphen hurting your rankings. Before everyone jumps on me for that, yes you can get #1 rankings with a hyphen. I know that. I have done it. I'm just relaying the info that SEOmoz found. Their data says you might be able to rank SLIGHTLY easier without the hyphen.
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08-16-2011, 08:47 AM	#11
BillBert Will Roberts War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: South Detroit Posts: 108 Thanks: 21 Thanked 25 Times in 23 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Does extension matter? I don't have the links handy, but on Youtube (Google's channel) they talk about hyphens in domain names and the way I understood it was that it did not matter. Also, I agree with those who say that the TLD only matters for the human or person wanting to enter a domain name manually as it is second nature to assume it is a dot com. So if you are not a dot com and you are spending money on traffic other than from the SE, then you may be sending visitors to the .com variant of your domain name. I also understand that if you can't get the .com, that .net and .org are good, but the rest such as .biz .ws et'al are not as good. Just my 2 cents. Will