.com or .co.uk - that is the question...

by 25 replies
29
All,

I want to set up a site that targets the UK market. The domain is available in .com & .co.uk

Which one should I register to help me in the SERPs?

Thanks in advance!
#search engine optimization #.com #co.uk #couk #domain #question #serps
  • Banned

    .co.uk, for sure, and you might want to (i.e. "should") have your site hosted inside the UK, as well. Both these things affect rankings on searches made by using google.co.uk.



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  • I'd get both domain names... and focus on xxxx.co.uk as you target the UK audience.
  • The UK audience has a preference for .co.uk over .com, which is honestly not the case for most countries. It's pretty much just Australia, Canada, and the UK that prefer their own country codes over the .com extension.
  • I would do both but certainly the .co.uk do,aim and remember, try and use .co.uk one way links. It'll help
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks all. Looks like .co.uk is the way to go
  • Yes, .co.uk will rank better in Google in UK.
  • I think someone else might have said this but I would go for the .co.uk but I would also get the .com and have the .com redirect back to the .co.uk.

    One of the main reasons I would do this is that if your site became popular people might get used to just typing in the URL and many people will automatically type in the .com and trust me, as soon as your site becomes popular, you will have some domain squatter that snatches up the .com version, if you do not snatch it now.

    Then they will try to charge you a high price to buy it off them down the line.
    • [1] reply
    • I 100% agree with Carlton on this. I'm in UK and when I can I always secure both .co.uk and .com and set up a redirect from .com to .co.uk(only however if I'm secifically targeting UK). If not I settle for .com

      I must also say that despite the sensible explanations from Google and others, that some of my .com sites still rate as highly in Google.co.uk searches as my .co.uk sites (this is getting confusing!). That may of course be because the business names whose keyphrases I use exist only in UK anyway....

      Long story short...buy both!

      Bobby
  • If both are available than get both, it can never hurt.
  • I have both .com and .co.uk for UK based sites and I live in the UK.

    Main difference is for .com sites I go into my google webmaster/analytics account and click to target UK for the .com sites.

    If i have a .co.uk domain then the country targetting is already set.
  • Often the domain name you want will not be available in the .com but will be available in the .co.uk

    If the .com is an established site in the same niche then think of something us. If it is about something totally different or a parked page then don't worry about it.

    You will beat them in the SERPS even if they type in .com
  • Register both develop the .co.uk and redirect the .com to your main site.

    Geo targeting in GWT doesn't do much, much better to have the ccTLD if targeting a specific market.
  • I would use .com because it's general but i think .co.uk is much recognizable and aim for UK. Suitable if you want to aim only UK.
  • If you’re aiming for UK audience, I’d use the .co.uk extension. This will really help you in the SERPs in UK. You can also get the .com then redirect it to the main site.

    Best,
    Nick
  • Well If You Target UK based Audience then you have to go with .co.uk, It will Definitely Helpful for You To Boost Your SERP in Local Search Engines!
  • Banned
    I suggest using co.uk
  • Go with co.uk and then host the site on a UK-based hosting.
  • If your target market .UK then .co.uk Would be great for your business..I recommend you .Co.UK
  • If your Target audience is UK then take .Co.UK domain because its easily come up on ranking in UK search engine and its good for your business
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  • Many thanks for all the replies. it looks like the general consensus is to go for .co.uk and get .com if available and point to .co.uk.

    However, what if the .co.uk is already gone, but the .com is available? What are my chances of getting ranked high amongst the UK searches with a .com potentially competing against the already existing .co.uk ??
  • Try and purchase the .co.uk or get another .co.uk that makes sense.

    If you're solely targeting the UK market, you can't compromise with this, the .co.uk is the .com for pommies.
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  • Will it blend? That is the question.

    Pickup both and redirect .com to .co.uk.
  • If only .co.uk is available but .com is taken, but .net is available... would you take up the .net as well, or is that pointless? The .com of the emd.co.uk I'm looking at is taken, but the owner is not using it.
    • [1] reply
    • Fairly pointless. The main reason to get the .com is the protect your brand and for traffic purposes.
  • I'd still go with .com. It's more accepted world wide.
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