.com OR .net? - Any real difference?

44 replies
I'm starting a new project, for the name I'm thinking about the .com domain is for sale at $9000, the .net domain is available for $12

Should I go for the .net domain or come up with another .com domain name for $12?

I know that this has been discussed many times in the past, just wondering what the current thinking is
#difference #net #real
  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Other name .com because 99.999% of the time, people think .com opposed to any extension. Don't attach to the domain name itself too much; the content driving the site matters most.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan 2.0
    Banned
    Originally Posted by JamesBoyd View Post

    I'm starting a new project, for the name I'm thinking about the .com domain is for sale at $9000, the .net domain is available for $12

    Should I go for the .net domain or come up with another .com domain name for $12?

    I know that this has been discussed many times in the past, just wondering what the current thinking is
    Interesting question. Personally I would go with choosing another .Com. Just be creative and I'm sure you will come up with something amazing.
    : )
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesBoyd
    Does anybody think the .net domain is worth just buying as an investment as there is such a price difference?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jonathan 2.0
      Banned
      Originally Posted by JamesBoyd View Post

      Does anybody think the .net domain is worth just buying as an investment as there is such a price difference?
      Generally speaking People will remember
      (and have more "branding power") with
      a .Com. That's not to say a .Net
      wouldn't work, just that it's less likely.
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  • Profile picture of the author rhealy29
    The question is what you intend to do with the site.

    As Ryan said, most people -the vast, vast majority - automatically think of dot com when they think of web addresses. A lot of people aren't even necessarily aware that other extensions exist.

    What that means is that if your project is going to be heavily dependent on brand awareness, then a .net might not be what you're looking for.

    For instance, let's say your new project is at Flubgrubble.net. If your main source of traffic is organically generated through good SEO, or paid, then you probably have no real worries.

    However, if your goal is to heavily push the Flubgrubble brand, building awareness of it to the point that people know it by name, tell their friends about it, etc., then a .net might not be ideal, because when people head to the web to visit your site, they're almost certain to put in Flibgrubble.com. Even if you include the .net part in your advertising, many people are going to forget.

    That means the guy who already owned Flibgrubble.com is going to be benefiting from all that free traffic thanks to your branding and advertising efforts. And you'll have no claim to the dot com.

    So, if you're looking to build a strong brand, I'd probably try and start with (or acquire) a dot com. If you're just looking for somewhere to host your site to drive traffic to in ways that don't require memorable branding, then the dot net is probably just fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
    The answer depends on how you plan to drive traffic to the site.

    If your plan depends on people remembering the name and
    typing it in later get the dotcom. If you're linking through ads in
    various internet venues it doesn't matter in the least.
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  • Profile picture of the author DIABL0
    My concern would be trademark infringement since the .com already exists. For that reason, I only buy .com domains if I hope to brand it.

    What Tsnyder says it 100% true. For domains that no one is going to remember and is just for driving traffic, I don't worry about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author PPG19
    Is not only because people will remember the .com domain better rather the .net domain.
    It is also because .com domains rank faster.
    Brian Dean explain that this is still one of his 100 ranking factors: choosing a .com domain.
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    • Profile picture of the author rhealy29
      Originally Posted by PPG19 View Post

      Is not only because people will remember the .com domain better rather the .net domain.
      It is also because .com domains rank faster.
      Brian Dean explain that this is still one of his 100 ranking factors: choosing a .com domain.
      I do not believe this to be true, and if I'm not mistaken, there is zero evidence of .com having any advantage in ranking with major search engines compared to .net.

      If research or evidence to back that up has come up, I stand corrected and would love a link to it. But as it stands, I believe it's entirely conjecture, and doesn't really even make much sense if you think about it.
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      • Profile picture of the author JamesBoyd
        My thinking was that there is no difference these days
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      • Profile picture of the author PPG19
        Originally Posted by rhealy29 View Post

        I do not believe this to be true, and if I'm not mistaken, there is zero evidence of .com having any advantage in ranking with major search engines compared to .net.

        If research or evidence to back that up has come up, I stand corrected and would love a link to it. But as it stands, I believe it's entirely conjecture, and doesn't really even make much sense if you think about it.
        There is some evidence of this from some experiments marketers have done recently. Brian Dean explains this in one of his posts (sorry don't have the link but you can search on his blog), through several experiments he has done. What it does explain also is that having your keyword in the domain is not relevant as it was before but that a .com domain will still rank better than the others. I totally believe the guy, he is one of the best experts in SEO at the moment. Of course he could be wrong...
        I also though there would be no difference anymore but i red this on several other authority websites as well. There is also a thread here on WF about it and most people do agree a .com still ranks better ...
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  • Profile picture of the author kennelsnout
    both are top level domains, the difference is here
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    I personally almost always go with .com
    I'm not sure what the average browser thinks but I've always just gone with .com as much as possible
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  • Profile picture of the author Pham Tu
    I think .com or .net are OK.
    The most important thing is still the content of your website
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  • Profile picture of the author glennda
    You'd be willing to spend $9000.00 for a new project you are just starting? I wouldn't. Keep playing around with your domain name until you come up with something creative that is affordable with .com
    For example affiliateleader.com is $600
    Proaffiliateleader.com $300
    Jamesaffiliateleader.com is $100
    You get what I mean? I bought a website for $35.00 .com and it still had the keyword I wanted in there but I just played around with other words until the price was affordable.
    Hope this helps. I personally would say .com is better, it is on autopilot in our brains. Let us know what you ended up doing. .
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    • Profile picture of the author JamesBoyd
      LOL

      I never indicated that I was considering buying a domain for $9000!, I only mentioned the price to indicate that the .net domain was probably valuable, I have since bought the .net version of the domain for $11, as an investment.

      I'll probably make up a new .com domain as that seems to be the better one to go with.
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  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    Buy .net to start building your brand. The .com version is on sale for $9K, so it gives you enough time to compete.

    You can also buy another domain in .com version that close enough or related to your .net's brand. Connect both domain to brand your business using youtube channel and facebook page.
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  • Profile picture of the author DURABLEOILCOM
    $9000 for a dot com is ridiculous come up with a unique and catchy name for your own domain.
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    • Profile picture of the author JamesBoyd
      Agree, that is what I am doing.
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  • Profile picture of the author dee4d
    Go for the .com. But your final decision should be based on the domain name - how relevant is it, or, is it even available? If you have a very good domain name, then you may forego the .com.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rory Singh
    Just because the.com is listed for $9K doesn't mean it's worth that much.

    The lister may just be preying on someone's ignorance.
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  • Profile picture of the author st0nec0ld
    TLD is simply just for the user preference it doesn't give any benefits, it is all up to how well you'll optimize your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Omiro
    .com all the way.
    it's a bit like asking 800 or 879 toll free number.

    If the domain is easy to remember and doesn't make the user wonder how to spell it, it could be worth $9k
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    • Profile picture of the author Wile E Coyote
      I'm calling straight BullSheet.

      So if you needed support, and their support number was 879-111-1111 as opposed to 800-111-1111, that would affect you in anyway?

      You'd still dial 879 and get your support.

      This forum is ridiculous.
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      • Profile picture of the author glennda
        No one is forcing you to stay.
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  • Profile picture of the author Arvind Kumar
    .com is good...i am using it and my domain ranked very good after 1 year
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  • Profile picture of the author Sandeep Mehta
    HI James,

    Domain extension only matters when you are targeting a particular country otherwise it won;t matter.The only matters is how you are promoting it.Instead of buying a domain for $9000 you can use that money on its promotion it will definitely increase the reach of your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author kaderiem
    yes there is a simple difference .com for commercial site and .net for networking site.If your site contain .com that means your site is related to business or if .net then your site is networking site
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  • Profile picture of the author Ishie Joyce
    Hi James,

    In as much as a .com domain name is important, i think irrespective of the domain name, value is all that matters.

    What niche are you venturing into ? how do you intend to reach out to lives solving problems and giving apt solutions?

    what exactly is your budget? Can you meet up with the $9000 .com domain name with your present budget? if not, i'll suggest you come about another .com domain name less expensive and do everything it takes to achieve the same goal you would have made for the $9000 .com domain name.

    I hope this help. Wishing you success!
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  • Profile picture of the author Regional Warrior
    So this is the what came first scenario like the chicken or the egg or even Mac and PC It is all conjecture and this argument has been going on for ages , and there have been some great discussions on the forum some very heated

    I think It just comes down to what you can afford all I ever used were dot info's because they were dirt cheap worked just as good , but there really is no right or wrong answer

    If you feel you need the dot com great but any domain will work I mean you could rank on the first page of Google and Yahoo with a www.jingle-bells.info and make good coin

    ( No Affiliate link just for show )

    Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author publicworks
    There are too much difference between the .com & .net. Generally the .com is for commercial site & the .net is the networking site. In this case one use can get an idea about the site. If you write the hosting name then press the ctrl & Enter, the extension .com will appear automatically.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesBoyd
    Thanks for all the replies, I think I get the general thinking now
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  • Profile picture of the author depotgang
    .net makes no difference in seo
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  • Profile picture of the author FNIvan1243
    Other domain, may be difficult on begin, but I think with 9000$, it's not a problem ( With 9000$, you can do many many thing ->Economic problem)
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  • Profile picture of the author Tarun31227
    [DELETED]
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  • Profile picture of the author Ace OfAllMedia
    R u serious? are you actually contemplating wasting $9k on a domain name????? no brainer different .com or just get the .net.... but if you're that eager to throw money away, you're more than welcome to shoot some my way lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Chas22
    Does the .com already have some history behind it? That could be why the huge price difference between the .com and the .net.
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  • Profile picture of the author Domingo Enriquez
    I prefer the .net domain. Most of my site with .com domain get banned!
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  • Profile picture of the author Lovesri
    You dnt need to spend much for . Com and . Net is also good
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  • Profile picture of the author ashahin
    Normaly not defrence to both of .com or .net , but i think best the .com on my webpage.
    so final descison is your busness point and your page buldings.
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  • Profile picture of the author twinpeaks
    My first priority is .com. The second is .net.
    I will get .net only when .com not available for me. .com tends to show on the search first before other's like .org, .net, .me, .us and so on.

    Unless there are competitions around to compete with you for the same or almost similar content even they don't use .com.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
      Originally Posted by twinpeaks View Post

      My first priority is .com. The second is .net.
      I will get .net only when .com not available for me. .com tends to show on the search first before other's like .org, .net, .me, .us and so on.

      Unless there are competitions around to compete with you for the same or almost similar content even they don't use .com.
      google has said many times that .com, .net, etc has absolutely no bearing on search results.

      It's not even logical to think it would. Search results are about relevant content.
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      • Profile picture of the author pawandave
        Banned
        .com i think best bet for you. No need to waste $9000, look for other name
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      • Profile picture of the author twinpeaks
        Originally Posted by Tsnyder View Post

        google has said many times that .com, .net, etc has absolutely no bearing on search results.

        It's not even logical to think it would. Search results are about relevant content.
        They are many people purchased domains like .info, .us, .pro, .review and so on just to use them for a year. Then, these domains will leave to expire without the renewal.

        They have their reasons for using non-famous domain extension.

        IMO, If the domain belongs to TLDs, they will be more serious.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnsimth
    These are top level domains and .Com being used for commercial site and .net is used for network sites.
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