How important is .COM anyway?

.COM is best, then .net and .org. I've heard .org will get listed faster, though my .net's get listed within a couple of days, no big deal.

Then comes .biz, .us, .info these aren't great but some people make a lot of money with them.

The keywords are what really count and then what you do after you buy the domain.

I can see 8,500 monthly searches - but, how can I determine how well that keyword is being used?

The importance of .com over .net is dependent on the type of website. If you were going to start something that would be trying to retain visitors (such as Facebook, AddictingGames, etc), then a .com may be more important as it's the first thing users will type when they want to return to your site. However, if you have something like BuyAppleIphone4.net, then it's unlikely the average user will ever return because they're just looking to shop around; unless your prices are so incredibly cheap that they may want to tell a friend or return later to make a purchase.

Do you get what I'm saying?

As far as ranking goes, it makes no difference to Google.

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE

No TDL is superior to any other when it comes to how they are view by search engines.

In my experience, I have found that .COM and .ORG to be the most SEO friendly.

It does not make any difference unless you sell the site, then people frown when they see, say a .info.

yes I agree .com and .org is taken as important tld's over .net but it depends if .com is parked then .net can rule with good content. It's like a checkers game. It depends if the King is working or sleeping (.com) then you reg the .net or .org and do a checkmate.

Remember to always do your keyword research first before buying any domain names unless you have a deep pocket to waste on advertising your site.

Research first and buy later.

Once upon a time, when I was making web sites for a living, we'd always secure all three TLD for the domain name, .com, .net and .org, then link .net and .org to the .com with redirects.

There was a time, when people actually typed a domain name into their browser, but there sure seem to be a LOT of surfers that don't seem to know how. If they can't get it as a link or save it as a Favorite, they'll never get back to your site. Part of the problem may be that domain names have grown so long, part of the reason may be that so many of the (particuarly young) people can't spell. Too many short text messages with abbreviations and shortened words, and good luck if you have to rely on someone actually entering the words of your domain name.

Given that, it's not terribly likely that there is much difference between the .com, .net or .org TLD in your domain name. I would, however stay away from .info because I know there are a lot of business networks that block it at the firewall or web appliance just inside of the firewall.

A .com is only as good as its content!

Que

I prefer .com when I can get it, but if it's not available, so be it. People are merely more familiar with .com. I don't think it gives any SEO benefit. More memorable for type-ins, if that's what you're after. It's the TLD most people will try first.

If you can optimize the website right, you will get results with a .net domain name.

When you go to sell a site, they won't care if you have a .com with $0 income! Traffic and income sells, so don't place too much emphasis on it. The person with the best links always wins (unless his competitor reports him as spam to Google ).

TomG.

there is no difference with any TLD

I heard even .com and .info will get the same result lol

Another thought is .net is good for Technology type keys.
Also try buying the spammy site you never know make a offer ...

I think the .net will be perfectly fine for ranking purposes, and if you put solid and valuable information on it chances are very high people will regard it as having more authority than the scammy-looking site that you mentioned above.

No one's going to pay any attention to a .com website if it's poorly designed and does not offer valuable content. Just go ahead and register that .net domain, and then concentrate on making it the best that it can possibly be.

Paul

Problogger.net hasn't stopped Darren Rowse from doing quite well.
And don't forget about Leo Babauta from zenhabits.net.

Tyrus

As far as I know there is no different. But you should go for .com first

after com i would get .net, .org, or .info all can rank pretty well, but of course .com is the fist choice

Its all for looks. Decide on your keyword then try to register the exact match domain. Just take whats available that suits your taste and MATCHES the keyword. The mistake is people think that since .info are such a cheap domain that they are not as valuable. This is a myth! Google doesn't care what your extension is. In fact, if you are making a adsense type site that I think INFO fits because thats exactly what your giving them.

In fact, I just started a new blog a little over a week ago. The main key word is coon hounds, the .com was taken (although it was not very well put together so I immediately ruled it out as competition). The .net was 'available for sale' as a "premium domain" and they wanted over $2k for that domain. So the .info was an easy choice, lol. However, this blog is only about ten days old and I'm adding a post a day so it has about 9 posts right now but is already showing up on the first and second page of google for nearly every keyword. My articles at EZA are also showing up (one #1 for one of the keywords) and link back to this site. Like I mentioned this is a .INFO site. (CoonHounds.Info) Right now the two biggest competitors are coonhound.com (no 's') and coondawgs.com, but I have analyzed their number of backlinks and I am confident that I will outrank them soon. In fact they don't even show up for some of the keywords I am already ranking for. These sites are most likely built by similar enthusiasts but not ones with IM experience like myself, so they are not optimized.

So its a fallacy to think the extension will effect your rankings. Also, if its a good site, people will take note of the domain or book mark it, so stop worrying about people typing it in. People hardly type addresses in any more. In fact, My girlfriend, who is rather intelligent, uses the "address bar" for a "search bar" so she would just type in "coon hounds" into the address bar if she was looking for my site or similar ones. Do what makes money and stop worrying about the small details.

I've read in multiple articles from people with insider knowledge (Matt Cutts to name one) that there is no difference for .com .net .org .co or any other domain. They are all considered generic top-level domains. Hope this helps.

When my company works with a client setting up a website and/or blog, almost every client wants a .com listing. Like many other people, I attempt to find a suitable .com domain first. Here in Canada, .ca domains are also popular. When customers have decided to go with a .org or .net or .ca, however, it has not affected them negatively at all.

I hope we can lay this to rest once and for all. The TLD doesn't matter at all in terms of ranking on Google, and this has come straight from the horse's mouth (Google!)

I'm not quite sure why this issue keeps popping up in threads time and time again, perhaps this time around it will finally sink in, lol!

Paul

The ONLY time it matters is if people are TYPING it in.

If it's reallybigcoolsiteforprofits, then people will type in:

reallybigcoolsiteforprofits.COM out of habit

Otherwise, it doesn't matter... income and positioning are all that matter.

All success,

Gary

Get the domain (no matter if the .com is available), put up quality content, get enough backlinks, and you're golden

I say as long as the content is good there is no need for a .com. Thats only for people that are returning to your site from memory and in most cases peoples browsers cache your site anyways.

So in most cases its if someones returning from memory from another computer...No need for a .com