I just found a perfect domain for my business...but!

Thanks but this does not answer my question. I know .com is popular but it is not available and/or extremely expensive for my current budget state.

ANSWER:

Purchase the .org name and build your site.

BOTTOM LINE:

The debate over .com, .net., .org, etc is a SILLY AND STUPID ONE. There is NO evidence at all to even remotely suggest certain domain extensions naturally rank or rate better than others.

If your site is crap it will be ranked as crap; if it's a quality site -- regardless of domain extension -- it will rank far and above other lesser sites.

Period.

Regardless of what any of you personally believe, your visitors don't give a flying f*ck if you've got a .com, .net. .org, or dot whatever -- and neither does Google or any of the other search engines. Don't get hung up on the extension: JUST BUILD YOUR SITE AND DOMINATE -- it might not seem as "cool" to you because it doesn't have a .com extension. But as far as the rest of the world is concerned, nobody cares.




P.S. -- It's highly unlikely the current owner(s) of the .com name or .net name that you want would one day "clone" your business and try to out rank you.

First, and most likely, since the domains are parked and for sale, it's probably one of hundreds of thousands of domain names purchased only for the purpose of making money from people like you who want the .com version.

Second, all the the SEO you do on your .org name -- and all the customers, the backlinks -- will be pointing to your site. Even if your business is "cloned" it doesn't mean that automatically or even in the near future this would outrank your .org site.

Sit back and really, really think about the things that you're worried about and you'll find, that in the end, it's much ado about nothing.

It used to be conventional wisdom that you try to use a .com whenever possible, because that's the extension most people remember (even if you tell them it's .org or .net). However, in most of our online marketing efforts nowadays, our customers almost never have to type in an address to get to your website - they're usually clicking on a link, so it doesn't make any difference.

If your .com domain is parked, buy the .org or whatever, build your business, and check back from time to time. The current owner may eventually give up on the domain and let it expire, then you can buy it and re-direct your .org to the .com.

I had a similar situation with a .com that I lost (due to no fault of my own... not bitter... not angry... really...). The domain was bought and immediately parked, and the asking price was $1200 (much more than I was willing to pay). I just waited it out, and eventually the domain went back on the market and I registered it for $10 - good things happen for those that wait....

It's not about the keyword here as I do not after for traffic that can be generated by the exact keyword search. I consider it a brand name so the keyword relevancy is not an issue.

Anyway, the domain is cloneyourself.org and I'm planning to build a VA-related business around it. I can't tell the details but that about cloning your self with VAs... Does it makes sense?

I already have another domain registered before this one but after reading a very good article about virtual outsourcing, I found this domain (about cloning yourself)..