Is a .info site a loss cause?

63 replies
I've heard a lot of mixed views on whether a .info domain can do well or not. More recently I've been leaning toward the view of it's best to stick to .com, .net or .org. However, about 6 or 7 months ago I was listening more to the view of it didn't really matter and .info domains could do just as well.

Anyway, I have this one .info domain that is sitting at #6 in Google for it's main keyword. I'm just wondering whether this domain can go higher and whether it could even rank well for other keywords, or is it best to just let it go being a .info domain.

I really like this site and I don't really want to start again from scratch, but at the same time I don't want to spend a lot more time working at it if it's not going to do much more than it already is because it's a .info.

Do you think if I keep putting the effort into this site that it could do well regardless of the .info or should I just let it go?
#info #loss #site
  • Profile picture of the author DrewClement
    Absolutely 100% you can use the .info and build it up. We have a number of affiliates that are killing campaigns with a .info site.

    Sure it is harder, but it is definitely possible. If you do not want to restart the site over then dont worry about switching to .com.

    if you had a say in the matter when starting out and can choose between .com and .info, then .com is better. But there is no way you should just let the site go if it is ranked that well.

    Keep at it and you will be rewarded.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    I love .info sites but I mostly use them to link to the .com versions of the same name. But yeah, they can do just as well as any other domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author howinfo
    Yes info domains can do as well as every other domain extension end it is not harder to get them ranked. If you got a good domain name and it is appropriate for the website you are running then why to let it go.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    Thanks guys, you've made me feel better. My site does have a great keyword name and I really like the site and have put a lot of work into it, I was just getting a little down lately and worrying that I'd put so much work into the site for nothing.

    I will keep going with it and make sure it does well.

    Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author ArticlePrince
    They do just fine, no difference at all. All of my niche sites are .info, and I've never had anyone complain :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author mattalways
    Domains are domains, no difference but how your users view an extension. Think of people using crap like blogger, lots of high traffic sites on there. I'd say a .info would be better than a yoursite.blogspot.com!
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    • Profile picture of the author PatriciaJ
      My best earner is a .info and next .co.uks

      I personally don't think it matters what the extensions are as long as your keywords are in the domain, the site has good seo and you've set your demographics in webmaster tools.

      If your targeted users are from the real world and not IM and they find your site through the search engines I don't think that they will give a hoot what the extension is, if they even notice, they should be more interested in what you are selling. It seems to me that the preoccupation about extensions comes from internet marketers mainly.
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  • Profile picture of the author susinggih
    From my experience, without any backlinks at all .info can't do anything in google SERP. While .com, .net, and .org will still be possible to rank highly (depends on the competition off course).
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    • Profile picture of the author darthtoon
      Originally Posted by susinggih View Post

      From my experience, without any backlinks at all .info can't do anything in google SERP. While .com, .net, and .org will still be possible to rank highly (depends on the competition off course).
      That matches my experience as well - I had one .info domain sat virtually unnoticed for months while a similar site on a .com was ranking quite nicely...
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  • Profile picture of the author shoeb000
    As you have specified, that its at #6 on google for particular keyword, then dont worry about TLD. when we compare .info with other extension then .com or .net are preferable, but if you already have achieved quite a good result with the .info then keep it intact, its better than a .com with no place on google result page.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarah Russell
    Honestly, I think the SEO importance of .com, .net & .org domain extensions is overrated. I've had great results with .info domains, plus they're cheaper and it's easier to get exact keyword domains than with other extensions.

    Maybe it matters in a super competitive niche, but if you're already at #6 with a .info, I'd keep going with it.
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      I have one .info site. I never gave much thought to the name when I bought it - other than it was an experiment so I chose .info as a cheap way of trying it for a year.

      It's remained consistently number 1 for its (admittedly local and relatively small volume) search terms.

      People email from time to time asking to be added as a paid listing.

      It works for me.
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      • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
        For new niche domains I buy .info domains about 90% of the time. In my experience they do just as well, or just as poorly, as the 'big 3' domain extensions. Generally, if I'm buying a .com/.net I'm going to spend my money on an established site, not a brand new domain.

        In 2 niches I'm in I'm facing tough competition from new .info domains against my older .com domains. They have exact match keyword domains vs. my more generic or extended ones and have done a better job of getting authority links in those niches than I have done. In another niche, one of my .info's is doing quite well vs. established .coms for the same reasons.

        If you're at #6 on the first page and holding onto that well, keep working that site. Depending on the competition, you should move up as you get more better links.
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        • Profile picture of the author Martin Avis
          Until quite recently I would have said much the same as many of the posters here: that .info domains can rank okay if you build them up properly.

          That view was reinforced by my Keyword LS Spy tool, which, among other things, looks at the domain extensions of the top ranking sites for any keyword.

          However, I have noticed recently that the appearance of .info domains in the top 10 (page #1) or even the top 100 Google rankings is much reduced. It makes me think that there has been an algorithm change to .info's detriment.

          To test this thought I have written a small bit of software that takes any keyword or phrase and checks Google's top ten and top 100 rankings - and outputs which domain extensions are currently listed.

          You can use it free at Google Domain Type Analyzer to see for yourself.

          All niches and keywords are different and you may be lucky to find that your niche still lets .info perform - but so far, I haven't found one.

          The script is rough and ready - and may not work if too many people access it at once and set off a Google block - but hopefully you will find it useful.

          Martin
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          • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
            Originally Posted by Martin.Avis View Post

            Until quite recently I would have said much the same as many of the posters here: that .info domains can rank okay if you build them up properly.

            That view was reinforced by my Keyword LS Spy tool, which, among other things, looks at the domain extensions of the top ranking sites for any keyword.

            However, I have noticed recently that the appearance of .info domains in the top 10 (page #1) or even the top 100 Google rankings is much reduced. It makes me think that there has been an algorithm change to .info's detriment.

            To test this thought I have written a small bit of software that takes any keyword or phrase and checks Google's top ten and top 100 rankings - and outputs which domain extensions are currently listed.

            You can use it free at Google Domain Type Analyzer to see for yourself.

            All niches and keywords are different and you may be lucky to find that your niche still lets .info perform - but so far, I haven't found one.

            The script is rough and ready - and may not work if too many people access it at once and set off a Google block - but hopefully you will find it useful.

            Martin
            I would have said much the same here...

            1 year ago. I was full of .info domains, right now, I am trimming them off where I can.

            In some niches, I have built too much to delete the .info domains...

            But I am seeing much the same as Martin above. Great little tool Martin, thanks for providing

            I wouldn't go as far as to say they are a lost cause completely, but right now, If we can grab a .com or other.. then we do.

            Jay
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          • Profile picture of the author Krisism
            Originally Posted by Martin.Avis View Post

            It makes me think that there has been an algorithm change to .info's detriment.
            You are right Martin - at least many seo's agree. The fact that .info domains we're a measly $0.99 meant they got picked up left right and center by spammers. A very high percentage of .info domains contain duplicate content and are known for testing black-hat techniques.

            Google, and other algorithms, have been rumored to give .info's a lower value in results in order to try and combat the heavy spam.

            This isn't to say you cannot rank well on a certain keyword with a .info domain, or any tld for that matter. The real point here is that a .info will not be a good choice in a competitive niche, competing on competitive keywords. In a competitive market, the .info is certainly at a disadvantage.
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          • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
            Originally Posted by Martin.Avis View Post

            All niches and keywords are different and you may be lucky to find that your niche still lets .info perform - but so far, I haven't found one.
            One thing that this kind of domain extension 'research' misses is that aged domains will perform better than newer ones, regardless of the extension. Google does give a marked preference toward established domains with an established backlink profile. This preference has increased recently.

            Add that to the fact that in competitive domains the exact match domains were bought 10-15 years ago and have a long history. In that case, it's no surprise that you won't find a newer domain doing well, the .com's have a considerable, if not insurmountable, head start. There are even some long established .info domains now that do quite well also, for the same reasons, long history with old authority links (Google on 'roman coins' or 'regular expressions' to see examples).

            However, I have seen a good number of new .info domains, my own and others, do very well for long tail terms and less competitive related search terms.

            There have been some changes to Google's algorithms recently that do promote certain sites over other others. The sites that are getting promoted you've probably seen me rant about in other threads here because they're basically thin scrapper sites protected by Silicon Valley venture capital money. Once again though, this isn't a domain extension thing. I've had some established .com sites fall in ranking due to this change. In a couple of cases, I've actually done better with a new .info.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    Thanks guys, you really have put my mind at ease with this site. I was hoping it wouldn't make too much of a difference having .info so I will stick with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author abuhakim
    I have many .info sites. A lot of them on page #1 Google for main keyword phrase. There are a couple of things I would consider. When evaluating the effectiveness of your dot.info site use SEO Quake to monitor backlinks, PR, etc. (I use Marketing Samurai). In a head to head competition with everything being equal, .com/.org/.net will probably win out. Backlinks are absolutely necessary as has already been mentioned and is the real key to outranking a competing .com etc. Another way to boost the love for your .info sites is to register them for 2 years. The issue is the .info are seen as throw-away domains as opposed to the others.

    Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author FSchmieder
    I think the only thing "bad" about info's is people will tend to type in yoursite.com and wonder why nothing is showing up.

    But most people these days know how to click a link so it's rather moot
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  • Profile picture of the author johnyeo90
    Google love .info domain as well as .com because info means information. If you have a good keywords on your info site and building backlinks, your site will rank high. And for further infomartion, i use the domain name of .info too..haha
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  • Profile picture of the author captivereef
    i have a .info that does great and ranks well for many competitive keywords
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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    I understand the hesitancy, and possible algorithm changes, but I still cannot in my right mind believe that a .com configured as mygreatkeywordphraseblogsite is better then a .info with keywordphrase only.

    If I cannot get a well targeted, easy to read .com, .net, or .org, I would much rather have a .info which is easy to read, and doesn't scream SPAM.

    This is especially true if I am doing video marketing. I would rather have the shorter, clear, easy to type in .info over the phrase with a prefix and suffix tacked on to it just to get a keyword rich domain name.
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    • Profile picture of the author howinfo
      I did try your software Martin very interesting, thanks for sharing. It did show that my i.info site is on the fist page of Google with the main keywords. I got lot of confidence in info extension.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    I've always preferred .com's

    I've done my our survey's in the past and it's surprising the % of people associate .info with scams/fraud
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  • Profile picture of the author cage73
    I have a .info that does very well in the search engines. As a matter of fact my main keyword, which is also used in my url, consistently ranks in the top 5 of google against some steep competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author Janice Sperry
    I think the answer may depend greatly on the site in question. What is promoted or posted? How do people find it?

    Unless someone has bookmarked your site they will almost never return. If they remember your domain name they will unlikely remember it was .info. It is so automatic to enter .com. If you own .com AND .info it probably doesn't matter since you can re-direct from the .com to the .info.
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  • Profile picture of the author rsmllc
    For traffic building that is search engine centered, you really have to go with a .com or .net. If your sites are designed to be supported mainly by a strong backlink and social bookmarking network, .info and co.cc is fine. You will likely have to build a link structure that is two or three times deeper than for a .com site, however.
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    • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Martin.Avis View Post
      It makes me think that there has been an algorithm change to .info's detriment.
      Or maybe there has been an algorithm change affecting what most people do with .info's that is the issue.

      There is no penalty applied to .infos. simply because they are .info.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by Sheryl Polomka View Post

    I've heard a lot of mixed views on whether a .info domain can do well or not.
    You've heard all the people talking about how important it is to be on the front page of Google, right?

    There are exactly ten listings on the front page of Google.

    Are there exactly ten people that target your keywords doing well?
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  • Profile picture of the author Branlan17
    I recently moved over to using .org sites and with an exact keyword match in the name (no hyphens) I've been able to rank on page 1 of 1,000 searches a month + keywords with ease. .info's in my experience take more work BUT a .info site I left alone for a while I recently checked up on and it's a PR 3 and on page one for like 5 different 600-900 a month searches.
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  • Profile picture of the author greff
    Face it. The reason we like .info domains is that they are cheap, cheap, cheap. Is there any other good reason to get one? Surely, it's just as difficult to get a good five letter domain there as .com?

    However, if you are making money with your current domain, I think you should keep it. If not, move on to another niche or switch to a .com if you think you can do more with the niche you are in.
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    • Profile picture of the author howinfo
      Originally Posted by greff View Post

      Face it. The reason we like .info domains is that they are cheap, cheap, cheap. Is there any other good reason to get one? Surely, it's just as difficult to get a good five letter domain there as .com?

      However, if you are making money with your current domain, I think you should keep it. If not, move on to another niche or switch to a .com if you think you can do more with the niche you are in.
      If you have informational website then that is already a very good reason to get info domain, what better extension you can have then .info and some domain names just do not make much sense with any other extension, like the site we are running, It just would not sound right with .com at the end.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayPeete
    Keep the .info site and just build another site in the same niche with a .com.

    Compete against yourself and double your income!
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    Wow, thanks guys there is just so much information here. I like the suggestion of keeping my .info but also getting a .com in the same niche and doubling my money - I have considered that actually, my only hesitation there is finding the time to build another site right now.

    I just used the google domain type analyzer and it comes back as 1 .info and 9 .com domains.

    For the top 100 there are:

    info: 4
    com: 69
    org: 4
    net: 4
    us: 1
    edu: 1

    So maybe my site is doing ok to be on page 1 with the other .coms and ahead of 60 other .coms
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    • Profile picture of the author JayPeete
      Originally Posted by Sheryl Polomka View Post

      I just used the google domain type analyzer and it comes back as 1 .info and 9 .com domains.
      That's a nice tool!
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      • Profile picture of the author Barbara Eyre
        my .info site is doing quite well on the serps for many key keywords/phrases in my niche ... first page for the majority of them.

        I think the search engines take into consideration how well coded/SEO'd a site is ... if it's a .info and created well, then they have no problem with it - just like with any other TLD.
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  • Profile picture of the author madison_avenue
    One reason for the preponderance of .com sites in the top 100 could be that because of the higher costs people are putting more efforts in the content and SEO of .com sites than .info sites. It may not necessarily mean the .info site is less effective just that less content, links etc have been created for it than for a .com site. An .info purchase is more likely to an opportunistic purchase.

    The more you spend on something the harder you tend to try to make a success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rajan Cajan
    Every e-mail I receive that is in my spam folder has a .info ext. This has at least given me the impression that all .info is spam.
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  • Profile picture of the author areaK
    Yep, they can do well. I have some .infos that rank #1 for their keyword. I usually only go with them if the .com/.org/.net isn't available for what I want but nevertheless they do just fine for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author US Blues
    I have had good results with any and all extensions, including .us (my fav),.info and even .tv. If you can get a good keyword rich domain name then I would choose that over a .com any day. My impression is that the big G is not snubbing these lesser used extensions like they may have in the past.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrew11
    You surely must be kidding claiming a .info can do just as well with repeat traffic as .com? How many .info s do you visit via each day?
    It is niche relevant if you have a blog or forum website .com will do muuch better, do not kid the members here there is reason the $ is so low for .info
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    • Profile picture of the author howinfo
      Originally Posted by Andrew11 View Post

      You surely must be kidding claiming a .info can do just as well with repeat traffic as .com? How many .info s do you visit via each day?
      It is niche relevant if you have a blog or forum website .com will do muuch better, do not kid the members here there is reason the $ is so low for .info

      With .vc or .hn or .fm you do not have to do any SEO at all then.:rolleyes:
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    • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
      Originally Posted by Andrew11 View Post

      You surely must be kidding claiming a .info can do just as well with repeat traffic as .com?
      <sigh>

      The list, again...

      pagerank checker
      Noam Chomsky
      roman coins
      new york transit
      craft ideas
      regular expressions
      move your money
      camaro berlinetta
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      • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
        Originally Posted by bgmacaw View Post

        <sigh>

        The list, again...

        pagerank checker
        Noam Chomsky
        roman coins
        new york transit
        craft ideas
        regular expressions
        move your money
        camaro berlinetta
        Some great examples and nice PR too.
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        • Profile picture of the author vlabroo
          I don't think it matters or should matter for search engines. If on an info domain you provide optimized content and quality one way backlinks that are superior to your competition it should do as well as .com domain. Everything being equal (almost) .com and .org score better over .net and .info. Certainly not a lost cause.

          If you are regular and consistent in adding quality content and backlinks you will certainly rank higher and higher. But you might want to keep a tab on your competition and see how they are keeping up.

          Hope this was helpful.

          Best luck.

          Virender
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  • Profile picture of the author scott g
    If I'm repeating something that was already said, I'm sorry, but I don't feel like reading through all the replies.

    I was extremely attracted to the $.89 price tag of .info domains, especially since I was planning on purchasing a dozen or so domains. I searched and searched for information regarding the pros and cons of .info domains and if it was harder to get them ranked in the SERP.... It was the same story: "It doesn't matter as long as SEO and backlinks and blah blah blah" and "Just stick to .com .net .org - .info are used for spam sites and G de-indexed em all."

    Anywho, I purchased MyKeywords.net and MyKeywords.info - Exact same static HTML site, about 11 pages, same on page SEO, and similar/equal backlinking for each. This was back in Feb/March. Using multiple SERP rank checkers this is what I've got (and still get):

    .net ranks 2nd in G for keywords
    .info not in top 100

    Also, the .info was purchased and indexed by G a full month before I purchased the .net. You would think the duplicate content would have canceled the other out, but the .info never ranked in the top 100. And the SameKeywords.net now has a PR of 1! LOL!

    My conclusion is that .info's are great b/c they are super cheap and even better if you have a good hosting account, but DO NOT purchase a .info if you plan on ranking high in the SERP's.

    This is my opinion and what I've experienced, hope it helps.


    Scott G.


    P.S. I have another .info domain that doesn't rank in the top 100 with G, but ranks #9 on Bing! I never use Bing! I just looked at it again and the #10 spot is held by the SameExactDomain.org! And the search has no bias. Go figure :p
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    • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
      Originally Posted by scott g View Post

      If I'm repeating something that was already said, I'm sorry, but I don't feel like reading through all the replies.
      It's obvious you didn't bother to read the thread since the crap you posted has already been posted and debunked. :rolleyes:

      Why don't you take the time to read the thread next time or save yourself some time simply don't bother posting?
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      • Profile picture of the author scott g
        Originally Posted by bgmacaw View Post

        It's obvious you didn't bother to read the thread since the crap you posted has already been posted and debunked. :rolleyes:

        Why don't you take the time to read the thread next time or save yourself some time simply don't bother posting?
        ok macaw, deduct the first sentence from my reply.... the rest was in response to Sheryl's original post regarding her .info and the SERP's.

        she asked for opinions, correct? well i shared my opinion and my experience; i believe everyone's experience is unique. i disagree with the fact that my statement was "debunked." with that said, could Sheryl and myself (and everyone else) shoot their .info domains to the #1 spot in G? sure! do i think .info's hold less strength then .org .net .com in G? yes i do. then again a .info of mine is outranking the exact same .org domain in Bing.

        next time, macaw, please do not reply to someone's post if you don't have anything constructive to contribute. thank you.

        @Fraggler - i don't understand it. the backlinking was very similar - i'm assuming maybe some articles were better than others?! the .net has received some link love since it's easy to find in G for my keywords. I did the same for each and didn't bias either or - i built up some backlinks and let 'em sit and this is the outcome.

        Scott G.
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    • Profile picture of the author Fraggler
      Originally Posted by scott g View Post

      Also, the .info was purchased and indexed by G a full month before I purchased the .net. You would think the duplicate content would have canceled the other out, but the .info never ranked in the top 100. And the SameKeywords.net now has a PR of 1! LOL!
      If the backlinking was the same or even similar then the .info would have the same PageRank as the .net, regardless of position in the SERP.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fraggler
    If one has PageRank while the other doesn't, then the one that has the PR will outrank the page without if both are of similar relevance (to the keyword being searched). The links to the .info aren't of the same quality as the links to the .net. This is why there is at least some difference in SERP for the same keyword.

    PR refers to inwards links, both on and off-site. It has nothing to do with the domain extension.

    Your idea for comparison is right, it is just that you aren't comparing apples to apples.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I've seen plenty of infos rank. I don't buy them because every site I build is a potential flip and infos don't flip as well as .com or .net or even .org. But if it's just for ranking, go for it. No reason why you shouldn't be able to rank with them.
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  • Profile picture of the author nancye64
    Thanks guys, you've made me feel better. My site does have a great keyword name and I really like the site and have put a lot of work into it, I was just getting a little down lately and worrying that I'd put so much work into the site for nothing.

    I will keep going with it and make sure it does well.

    Thanks
    The .info is doing pretty good if it has #6 Google ranking for a keyword, and I'm glad that you're going to keep going on it. What I'm wondering about is what is it that you're down about? Are you having problems in your life that may be causing a depression about the website?
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    • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
      Originally Posted by nancye64 View Post

      The .info is doing pretty good if it has #6 Google ranking for a keyword, and I'm glad that you're going to keep going on it. What I'm wondering about is what is it that you're down about? Are you having problems in your life that may be causing a depression about the website?
      I guess I was down a little in my wondering whether I would ever get any higher than #6 with a .info domain or if I was wasting my time trying to get it higher. I guess also I have some other websites that are .com and aren't doing very well and this is probably my best performing site but then I just read a lot of information lately about how you should only choose .com, .net or .org, so then I started stressing that this is my best site and it's on a .info and perhaps it isn't going to be good long term. I don't know, I was probably just over thinking things and having a bad few days
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Park
    I think there's a reason why domain appraisal companies put more weight on .com, .org, .net sites compared to .info sites. Personally I've never seen .info sites sitting on no.1 positions for any keyword. But recently I've seen a blopspot.com site sitting on no.1 position for incredibly competitive keyword. So I guess with enough backlinks, it is also doable with .info site... : )
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  • Profile picture of the author Sheryl Polomka
    Joseph on page 1 of this thread bgmacaw listed a few sites that are all sitting at #1 in Google and are all .info sites, so it is possible. I don't know how much work has gone into these sites to get those positions, but they are there at #1.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Park
      Originally Posted by Sheryl Polomka View Post

      Joseph on page 1 of this thread bgmacaw listed a few sites that are all sitting at #1 in Google and are all .info sites, so it is possible. I don't know how much work has gone into these sites to get those positions, but they are there at #1.
      Sheryl,

      Wow, that's something I haven't seen. But yeah, like I said, with enough backlinks and seo work, it might work wonders. : )
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      • Profile picture of the author digital notes
        my two bits worth is simply this...
        .com was recognised early on by domainers as the true path to their success because back in the day before everyone (well 9.9 out of 10 people) used search engines to find what they wanted, people would just type in the anticipated/expected domain name .com. in the browser address bar- no search engine involved.. (this was normal practice for pre-graphic interface users)
        So christmas.com got and still gets lots of hits.. so a domainer got lots of traffic for free without any seo involved..

        and then the build out of the commercial dot com boom sites led to all the real sites having .com (.org was for organisations .net for internet and it related and .info for information )
        and so .com became recognised as the "real" domain ending

        ...after the .com bust and the advent of google and the current "just use the search engine" mentality (and the freeing up of trading and registration of domains) you find that there is a dramatic crossover in what sort of content is found hosted on the various domain endings.
        (.com sites that are really all information, .info sites that are really business commerce sites.)

        So now with most people using just search engines to find a web site related to what they want (and hardly ever just typing in an anticipated domain name into the browser address bar) , and with search engines so highly tuned to all sorts of parameters the domain ending doesn't really count at all.

        How do i know this... have i tested this... well it just makes sense

        Plus there is this official comment by google. If you cant trust google who can you trust.

        Here is an official quote from Google on the matter:
        "This is no preference between TLDs like .com and .info in ranking, Google's focus is on the content of the site." Kaspar Szymanski, Search Quality Strategist, Google - March 15th 2010 --- pasted from chrisking.info/dot-info-273
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  • Profile picture of the author metas
    Like many others I go with .com's whenever possible. But, in a couple extremely competitive niches I've gone with .info's and have been shocked at how well many of them have naturally ranked.
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