Dot net, dot info or dot org?

13 replies
Hi all,

I'm wondering if I could get your feedback for a decision I need to make. I'm a firm believer of using .com whenever possible. I have a pretty short domain with a .com but I also have all the others (.net, .info, .org). I now need to create a second site for a new business venture and I'm not sure which is more appropriate to use - .net, .info or .org.

My second question is this. The name of this new business venture contains 4 words and the domain for it is available as a .com but a couple of friends said that the domain is just too long.

(Both of these domains would have one of the site's keyword)

In the internet world, is it better to have a short domain with .net, .info or .org at the end or to take the actual name of the brand?

Thank you all!
#domain #dot #info #net #org #url
  • Profile picture of the author dylan4f
    Hello,

    if your actual name of the brand is not too long, I would go with it.. you want to brand your self right?!

    But if the name is too long like you said it's 4 words, then I would consider using very short-easy to remember domain name even if it's .net

    Anyway I wish you success with your new site
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  • Profile picture of the author Brains Gone Wild
    There are almost too many possible answers to this question (SEO, type in, discovery, spelling, branding, etc, etc..). However, when all else fails, register both and forward.

    Either way, best of luck!
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  • Personally I would go with .org as 1st choice and .net as 2nd choice - I just never use .info. Can't really give an answer with regards to the domain name itself as there are many variable to consider and not much info to work from
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  • Profile picture of the author Core Freedom
    Thank you both!

    Yes, I'll definitely do the forwarding. The part I'm not sure about is which to brand since yes, the 4-layered domain, which is indeed long. I could use the initials to shorten in but that domain is taken and I'd have to put dashes in between, such as A-B-C-D.com - not sure how well that would go. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Blueprint4Love View Post

    I'm a firm believer of using .com whenever possible.
    I come to such discussions from a very different perspective from yours, then.

    I'm a firm believer in owning the .com variant, i.e. in not starting off a business on any domain-name of which the .com version already belongs to someone else.

    But I don't typically use the .com, myself, to build the site (because my subscribers, customers, readers and visitors so consistently tell me that it isn't the one they most like to see, and I like to take notice of their perspectives rather than my own, other things being equal): I just redirect the .com I'm not using to the version I am using.

    Originally Posted by Blueprint4Love View Post

    I now need to create a second site for a new business venture and I'm not sure which is more appropriate to use - .net, .info or .org.
    It needs to be a new business venture with the same name part of the url, does it? Well, I'd say it depends on the type of site involved.

    For SEO, of course, they're all exactly the same.

    ".info" is good for things that look like "informational sites".

    ".org" is good for things that look like "organizations"/"offical bodies".

    ".net" is good for "technical-looking things" (I think)?

    I don't think it typically matters very much, though?

    Originally Posted by Blueprint4Love View Post

    The name of this new business venture contains 4 words and the domain for it is available as a .com but a couple of friends said that the domain is just too long.
    Will people have to type it in to their browsers? Or will all the traffic come from "clicking on something" (in which case maybe length doesn't matter too much?).

    Originally Posted by Blueprint4Love View Post

    that domain is taken and I'd have to put dashes in between, such as A-B-C-D.com - not sure how well that would go. :-)
    There's no problem with hyphens in themselves.

    But again, you have to ask yourself whether you really want to build a business on a domain-name of which the unhyphenated .com version already belongs to someone else.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidhuby
    I would personally use the full .com name for your domain but also forward a shorter domain on .net to use if you mention it on podcasts, videos, talking gigs etc. as it will be easier for your customers to remember.
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    Assuming everything is constant, for seo and SERPS:
    .co > .net > .org > .info
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by WeavingThoughts View Post

      Assuming everything is constant, for seo and SERPS:
      .co > .net > .org > .info
      Sorry, but this simply isn't true at all.

      The whole thing is just an urban myth.

      Google goes to enormous lengths (on websites, in blogs, on videos, and so on) to clarify repeatedly that all those top-level domain-names are exactly the same for all SEO/ranking purposes. There are about 100 threads discussing this exact point, in the SEO Forum here, many of them with detailed explanations and links to Google blogs/sites/videos to prove the point.

      .co isn't strictly speaking a "TLD", but Google has announced openly that it's one of three formerly geotargeted domain extensions which they now treat as a TLD for all ranking/SERP's purposes (the other two are .me and .tv). These all rank exactly the same as .com, .info or any other TLD. This is simply factual.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    I would not even worry about the others.

    I would focus on the .COM domain extension and that's it.

    Your are focusing your attention on which domain extension to use and it is really not going to move you forward a whole lot.

    Using .com or .net or .org is not going to make your website appear better on the search engines.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    I would go with .net and just market the heck out of it. Don't be perplexed by a domain name... there are tons of other ways to get traffic to your site without Google, and also alot of ways to get indirect traffic from Google also.
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    • Profile picture of the author SEOSteveO
      Using the .com , .net , and .org are the best ways to go and in that order. Stay away from .info, .me, .co, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      I would go with .net and just market the heck out of it. Don't be perplexed by a domain name... there are tons of other ways to get traffic to your site without Google, and also alot of ways to get indirect traffic from Google also.
      I agree with Randall. Personally, I think that many people get incredibly hung up about domain name extensions. You want your site to provide value to the visitor and have great content - two most important considerations!
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  • Profile picture of the author Core Freedom
    I'm not sure I mentioned this, but I own the .com domain and I own the .net, .info, .org as well. It's just that I have a XF forum on the .com and the new site will be simply to list my mentorship programs, which yes, eventually tie into the forum since that is where they will get support. So even if someone would go to the .com site, they would still end up on my site, even though for my mentorship programs I need to choose another domain because I haven't figured out yet how to merge the XF with the landing page and sales page templates that I need, which would be Wordpress (it's just a bit too technical for me, hence why I need two sites).

    Okay, it looks like it's either the .net or the longer domain name.
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