Foreign domain names: Separating fact from fiction
As an affiliate marketer, I want to direct my visitors to products located on Ebay Germany. The question I have is regarding which domain names work best for ranking. Obviously, most customers will be Germans living in Germany. I have heard (rumor) that Google gives preferential treatment to domains within a particular country, so if you're in Germany and search for 'BMW', then the .de domains will get preferential listings over any other listings including .com's or .eu's. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this? Also, are .eu domains of any value at all in European markets or are they as worthless as .info's? I would prefer to register .de domains but the unbelievable hassle involved in satisfying DENIC's requirements with US Registrars who are completely cluess and US Hosting Providers who are completely clueless when you tell them: "I need both my IP's parked on different subnet masks" and they reply with "Huuuh???" leads me to avoid .de domain registration unless I absolutely must have it in order to rank in the SERPs.
If anyone has any thoughts on this topic, I would really appreciate hearing from you.
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