8 replies
Hello

I often search domain names and find that names are often taken in the .com and some others but the .co.uk is available.

I have one today and I like the name and can see a site being built around it. the .com and other are parked (Just advertising links)

Can someone tell me If I bought this domain and built a site around it what are the issues that may pop up, for example, would U.S. traffic not go to a UK domain or is that really down to gaining ranking.

Thanks
#couk #domains
  • Profile picture of the author John Motson
    I'd use a .co.uk domain name for a website targeted at UK visitors as the .co.uk is considered trustworthy in the UK. For anything else, I wouldn't recommend going with a cctld (country code top level domain name) over a .com.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by wholesale blogger View Post

    would U.S. traffic not go to a UK domain
    It depends on a lot of things. There are some who won't, and even say so openly.

    I use .co.uk domain-names only for UK-specific niches (and I have the site hosted inside the UK, too). This post may help you: http://www.warriorforum.com/adsense-...ml#post8359086

    But perhaps even more importantly than that, it doesn't normally make very much sense to try to build a business on a domain-name of which the .com variant already belongs to someone else? http://www.warriorforum.com/adsense-...ml#post8382263

    Originally Posted by wholesale blogger View Post

    or is that really down to gaining ranking.
    This is the place to discuss it: Adsense / PPC / SEO Discussion Forum
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  • Profile picture of the author wholesale blogger
    Thanks to both of you.

    I would normally but the .com and .uk to avoid others perhaps sneaking in on an idea and so it makes sense really not to buy a domain when the .com .org and others have already been taken.

    It's odd though at times to see (what I think) are cool names taken but the .co.uk is left on the shelf.

    The .info point made by Alexa is quite interesting also, worth a play around to see what happens if I have a .info domain
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by wholesale blogger View Post

      It's odd though at times to see (what I think) are cool names taken but the .co.uk is left on the shelf.
      Yes; that will quite often happen, because a non-UK company sometimes has no real use for the .co.uk domain.

      (There are also the instances when it's trademark-protected, in which case unregistered domains can't be used in the same context anyway, and have no real value to anyone else. Under some circumstances, trademarks can even be held by courts to exist "constructively", i.e. without having been formally registered).
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  • Profile picture of the author troy23
    Even though I am in the UK I tend to buy .Com simply because people are familiar with typing that into their browser. I agree though, it is worth buying a .info to test things out. Some say .info do not rank well because they may be associated with spam, but I've ranked one high without any problems.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Motson
    Ideally you should simply stay away from a domain name where the .com is taken for any global website simply because you will lose traffic to type-ins from the outset.

    If your website is geo-specific however, this might not matter. co.uk, .com.au, .de etc domain names are considered local for their specific countries and as such represent trusted domain name extensions there. Their respective registries have invested heavily in promotion. If your website is geographically specific, you can ignore the .com, .net etc and concentrate on the .co.uk without too many problems.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil Morgan
    .co.uk is supposed to be for UK businesses and it kinda works well that way, at least in the UK. People in the UK recognise and trust it as much as .com, and perhaps more so because it appears to be a business in the UK (even though it might not be). I think the BBC helped to make it so recognisable actually, as their site is bbc.co.uk. This is probably one of the most widely recognised domains in the UK as it appears all over the television.

    Being in the UK, I wouldn't hesitate to use a .co.uk for a business that is targeted at UK customers but I would never use it for a business I'm targeting to other parts of the world.

    Cheers,

    Neil
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  • Profile picture of the author wholesale blogger
    Thanks everyone
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