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Does it really matter? dot coms or dot info's

by Sophy Kenyon
5 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Just a quick question.

I want to buy a few websites but want to keep my costs low and have noticed that dot info sites are a lot cheaper.

Is there a hierarchy of dot extensions? Is a dot com better than a dot net that is better than a dot info?

Does it make any difference with search engine ranking?

I know my questions are basic... but you have to start somewhere!!
#coms #dot #info #matter
  • Profile picture of the author paulgl
    I don't know where they so much cheaper.
    Normally the cost evens out after any special deals.

    The answer to "Does it matter?" is no.

    But, you watch. If this thread gets a lot of eye balls,
    you will have a ton of wannabes cargoing on about
    how you must have a dot com, dot org, or you just
    can't do anything.

    Complete trash.

    This thread should end after the answer "No."

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author markowe
    You should know that this question gets asked about 50 times a week, and you will not get a conclusive answer round these parts.

    For SEO purposes I personally do not believe in a hierarchy of TLDs, but for branding I DO care - even for a crappy microniche site I would prefer the .com just because it has high recognition even (especially?) among "ordinary" Internet surfers, AND if I ever wanted to sell the site it would very likely fetch less with a .info. But I have used .infos and ranked them fine, it makes no difference that I can see.

    For a serious offline business, would I use a .info? NEVER! That's just snobbishness though, and image.

    For a long-term, sustainable online business I would also not consider .info - it has an air of "cheapness" unfortunately. You have to ask yourself, do you really need to save a few pennies now and then have to live with the .info for the rest of your natural life? Remember, after the first year it costs just as much to renew the .info..!
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  • Profile picture of the author LiftMyRank
    The general perception is that .com has more value, and when your visitors re-visit your site they will naturally type in yourdomain.com plus there is speculation .info aren't valued as high as .com's, I haven't seen any hard evidence of such, however generally speaking, try and get the .com just to be sure.
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      Originally Posted by John Moore View Post

      The general perception is that .com has more value, and when your visitors re-visit your site they will naturally type in yourdomain.com plus there is speculation .info aren't valued as high as .com's, I haven't seen any hard evidence of such, however generally speaking, try and get the .com just to be sure.
      I disagree with this part. I think if they want to come back to your site, they are probably going to type the search phrase they used to find you in the first place in the search engines. Especially if you bought some crazy keyword phrase as your domain, they aren't going to remember it.


      For SEO, there is no difference between a .info, .com, .org, .bs. All the same. The only TLD's that carry any kind of ranking factor with them are country specific ones. A .ca, is probably going to rank better in Canada, a .au in Australia, etc. Other than that, grab the name you want and worry about the TLD later.

      Now for branding purposes for an offline brick and mortar business, I would look high and low for a .com. Actually, to be honest, for those clients I usually look for a name where I can buy the .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .us. I want them all in that case. But that has NOTHING to do with SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sophy Kenyon
    Thank you all for you input. I wish I had tried a .com name now just because if I plan to sell it later on it might go for more. Never mind, I will know better in future.

    Anyway, I thought it was cheaper as godaddy had it as $1.45 or something and when I bought it for two years it came up as the same price as my .com. Oh well, you live and learn.

    It's good to know at least that for SEO purposes they are all the same.

    Thanks again everyone.
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