.com vs. .co, .org, .info

by cbnet
49 replies
  • SEO
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I have observed .com is not available for most of the high searched terms. I suggest to obviate the monopoly of .com, people start using/registering names with other extensions like .co, .org, .info etc.
#info #org
  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    I have observed that my iPod touch came with a ".com" button - even though it is considered a mobile device.
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    • Profile picture of the author paul_1
      .com is still the way to go for me when it comes getting an IM site which I need to promote.
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      • Profile picture of the author sherys
        .com is always what I go for, if that's not available I go for .net.
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    • Profile picture of the author andrealhendrick
      haha I have one as well on my android. dot coms are set as the leading domian, and I doubt that will change unless some substantial changes/ regulations take place online.
      Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

      I have observed that my iPod touch came with a ".com" button - even though it is considered a mobile device.
      Originally Posted by StunningWarrior View Post

      There's a big difference between the English speaking world and the rest of the world.

      In Germany, for example, where I am right now, people tend to expect a .de first and a .com second. You wouldn't get a lot of type-ins if you found a vacant .com for even a well known .de domain. In fact down in Bavaria some people also use .by (the Belorussian tld) in preference to .com (BY being an abbreviation for Bayern, the German name for Bavaria). See .by-Domain (Weissrussland) gnstig registrieren / reservieren mit united-domains (note the .de domain) to see the .by domain being promoted for Bayern. (As an aside, the rules for hyphens in domain names do not apply in Germany due to the language structure where people expect to see hyphens.)

      In France people trust(ed) .fr due to the (recently relaxed) restrictions on registering that domain. When I lived in Paris I certainly saw people look to .fr first and .com second but that was several years ago.

      I think for the OP, maybe using .in won't work the same way because it has been adopted as a gTLD by many people (although I don't recall Google making the same comment about it as for .co .tv and .me). But I've never been to India so maybe I'm wrong.
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  • Profile picture of the author Myri
    cbnet, if you register a domain name - lets say abcdef .net, etc, and there is an abcdef.com , you will work mainly for the abcdef.com, it will be in any search engine, especially if you have a type in domain name.
    For IM you should use a .com, there are still good domains available, fee for example domains for sale, expiring, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author cbnet
    I believe we some how have to balance the strong hold of .com. And we can do it. People are the ultimate power. Solution is start using/registering with other next available extensions.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by cbnet View Post

      I believe we some how have to balance the strong hold of .com. And we can do it. People are the ultimate power. Solution is start using/registering with other next available extensions.
      uhhhh ... people do.
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  • Profile picture of the author veheme
    I highly doubt it OP.

    People have ingrained in their minds that when a certain site is mentioned, it is automatically a .com

    It would need a massive movement to do this and it has to last for at least 10 years. Aside from that, internet marketers will take advantage of the available .com's which will foil your plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author cbnet
    What I am suggesting is go for other next extensions, when .com with your niche targeted domain name is not available instead of aiming for .com with a name not having your exact domain name.
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  • Profile picture of the author pierswalker
    Nice idea, but when people think of internet, they think of .com first and foremost.
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  • Profile picture of the author cbnet
    Smart Internet Marketers have registered all of the mostly searched terms with .com. Do we play into their hands or do something about it. Search engines also need to do some thing to make available a fair play to all.
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  • Profile picture of the author cbnet
    Any comments from the experts on above
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  • Profile picture of the author Centurian
    We are dealing with first in mind positioning. And the .com is the brand to beat.

    Nevertheless, having been marketing online since the 90's, I've noticed how once despised extensions have become widely accepted.

    The .com rules, but there is always a second or third option. As the domains fill out more, I think this will continue to develop.
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  • Profile picture of the author EllesBelles
    You can. You just need to be aware that it is highly likely the .com site is on the same topic as yours, and people will undoubtedly search for the .com, probably the .co.uk, but they are unlikely to remember .net etc. So you will loose some traffic to those other sites, unless you make your extension a big part of your branding.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
    It depends on what you intend to accomplish. Many people bookmark sites they like and Google will index your site according to its merits whatever the extension.
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    • Profile picture of the author MarkUSA
      Originally Posted by IMSince2003 View Post

      It depends on what you intend to accomplish. Many people bookmark sites they like and Google will index your site according to its merits whatever the extension.
      Are you sure about this? All the "gurus" and mentors out there say that .com, .net, and .org rank about the same but any others (including .info) rank worse with the same content, all other things being equal.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by MarkUSA View Post

        All the "gurus" and mentors out there say that .com, .net, and .org rank about the same but any others (including .info) rank worse with the same content, all other things being equal.
        Those people may call themselves "gurus" or "mentors" (perhaps because nobody else will?), but they're apparently unaware of the huge lengths that Google, and particularly Matt Cutts, have gone to, to clarify for people that that's nonsense.

        He's said it in writing, on Google blogs, on his own blogs, on video, with smoke signals, by carrier pigeon and by climbing Everest and proclaiming it to the world.

        TLD's are all exactly the same for all Google SEO/ranking purposes.

        It's simply factual.

        Unless, of course, you think that Google's deliberately lying about it, in order to deceive people, for some twisted, deceptive reason best known to themselves.

        There are, I know, one or two - possibly even three - people who do think that. Or, at least, when you post videos here of Matt Cutts clarifying this with no ambiguity at all (as I know from personal experience of doing so), and they feel backed into a corner because they've been proven mistaken about it, that's what they try to claim.

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      • Profile picture of the author TestiVar
        Originally Posted by MarkUSA View Post

        Are you sure about this? All the "gurus" and mentors out there say that .com, .net, and .org rank about the same but any others (including .info) rank worse with the same content, all other things being equal.
        So?

        So you get your .net to rank on Google. Susie still visits your site and quickly decides not to buy because she notices the .net. Bob likes your site called stufio.net so he tells his friend Tom. Tom goes to stufio.com and says "WTH... Why does Bob like this crap?"

        Google isn't everything. In fact, it is less than 10% of the lead source for the top 10,000 most profitable online businesses. Getting ranked OK for your .info site on Google probably helps the .com version of your domain more than it helps your .info.

        There has NEVER been a dot net rush. There has NEVER been a dot info bubble. There has NEVER been a huge Internet success in English speaking countries that didn't use a dot com by the time they were successful.

        The couple who made HUGE mistakes by choose .org or .us admit they made HUGE mistakes and now own their dot com names (Delicious and Craigslist).
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        • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
          Originally Posted by TestiVar View Post


          Google isn't everything. In fact, it is less than 10% of the lead source for the top 10,000 most profitable online businesses.
          [Citation Needed]
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Originally Posted by mojojuju View Post

            [Citation Needed]
            As you can see from post #20 above, there's rather a case of "citation needed" for most of the nonsensical, sweeping generalizations with which TestiVar was filling our threads, at that point. I'm not holding my breath for them, though ... :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by cbnet View Post

    I have observed .com is not available for most of the high searched terms. I suggest to obviate the monopoly of .com, people start using/registering names with other extensions like .co, .org, .info etc.
    There are some potential disadvantages of this, including but not limited to these three examples ...

    (i) Resale (value typically greatly reduced by not having the .com);

    (ii) Loss of type-in traffic (if you don't own the .com, someone else does, and at some point you'll lose some traffic to them);

    (iii) Credibility/plausibility/appearance (varies greatly from niche to niche and traffic-demographic to traffic-demographic, but internet marketers often imagine that a .com "looks more professional" - albeit that in some other niches the customers may even find it off-putting and prefer ".info", for example - and for some people that's, understandably, a big factor).
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  • Profile picture of the author TestiVar
    There has never been a dot net rush or a dot info rush or a dot co rush.

    Real businesses use dot com. Every. Single. One.

    The few exceptions realized their mistake and fixed it as soon as they could (ie: Delicious & Craigslist).

    It is a HUGE mistake to build a business on anything other than a dot com. You are just building the brand of whomever owns the dot com if you do that.
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    • Profile picture of the author StunningWarrior
      Originally Posted by TestiVar View Post

      There has never been a dot net rush or a dot info rush or a dot co rush.

      Real businesses use dot com. Every. Single. One.

      The few exceptions realized their mistake and fixed it as soon as they could (ie: Delicious & Craigslist).

      It is a HUGE mistake to build a business on anything other than a dot com. You are just building the brand of whomever owns the dot com if you do that.
      There's a big difference between the English speaking world and the rest of the world.

      In Germany, for example, where I am right now, people tend to expect a .de first and a .com second. You wouldn't get a lot of type-ins if you found a vacant .com for even a well known .de domain. In fact down in Bavaria some people also use .by (the Belorussian tld) in preference to .com (BY being an abbreviation for Bayern, the German name for Bavaria). See .by-Domain (Weissrussland) gnstig registrieren / reservieren mit united-domains (note the .de domain) to see the .by domain being promoted for Bayern. (As an aside, the rules for hyphens in domain names do not apply in Germany due to the language structure where people expect to see hyphens.)

      In France people trust(ed) .fr due to the (recently relaxed) restrictions on registering that domain. When I lived in Paris I certainly saw people look to .fr first and .com second but that was several years ago.

      I think for the OP, maybe using .in won't work the same way because it has been adopted as a gTLD by many people (although I don't recall Google making the same comment about it as for .co .tv and .me). But I've never been to India so maybe I'm wrong.
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  • Profile picture of the author Eduard Stinga
    .com is still king and will continue to be. There's nothing people can do about it right now.

    On a side note, my Android phone has a .com button as well
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    First off - if other extensions of a domain name are in use and you buy the alternative extension of the same domain - you can be seen as cybersquating if it's parked and as infringing if using it. So you need to be very careful when buying alternative extensions.

    .com is perceived to be a business site
    .info - an informational site
    .org is usually perceived to be an organizational site, such as a non-profit or other "cause" related sort of site.

    You can try to beat everyone at some marketing game, or you can portray your site in the best possible way for your searchers to perceive it. It is still the truth, though, that most of the time when googling a site, people will search for the .com first. Consider it sheer force of a lot of years of habit. It may change in the future, but for now that is the general habit.
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    • Profile picture of the author StunningWarrior
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      .org is usually perceived to be an organizational site, such as a non-profit or other "cause" related sort of site.
      That's very true. If you're not looking to make money (the OP didn't say that he/she is trying to do so, we have just assumed it) but to spread an idea then go for .org because a lot of people trust it more (I guess some people don't realize that anybody can register a .org).
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  • Profile picture of the author ErikNilsson
    The best option if you don't find a .com is then to pick up a ccTLDs last week online-casinos.de is sold at a good price...
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  • Profile picture of the author SpacedInvader
    I hate to dig up an old thread...okay, I'm really not at all bothered by digging up an old thread; just a little sad I wasn't here when the shovel loads of dirt were being thrown.

    Some of you remind me of my grandfather's story of Tom, the restaurant owner he knew in the early nineteen fifties. The first fast food joint in town had just opened down the block from his well known establishment. Tom proclaimed loudly to anyone who would listen what a fool his young challenger was, "That place will be gone in a year. People want to set down and enjoy their meal." Standing the test of time, Tom's restaurant still occupies the same corner lot it did sixty years ago, sadly Tom is gone...and that fast food joint? I had and "old fashioned" burger at one of their sixteen locations yesterday. My point is, the world is a fluid, ever expanding place and you either change and grow with it or you can choose to stay in your .com corner.

    As to the reason .com, .net, and .org rank higher in Google...well, I think some of you might be confusing correlation with causation. Someone said "all things being equal"...all things aren't equal. The one thing .com, .net, and .org have over their upstart challengers (at least when browsing existing rankings) is age...and "The Google" still appreciates age. But when starting from scratch I've personally seen no difference. Existing domains tend to rank higher simply because they are existing domains, and existing domains tend to be .com, .net, or .org because other options didn't...um exist (not really, anyway).

    As far as loosing customers because they are going to type .com by default...really? People don't type in domains...they click links and they search. If you disagree, I'm happy to compete against you and sacrifice the small amount of "typed" traffic you might gain in exchange for a much more niche tailored domain name.

    And finally, while .com, .net, and .org might carry weight among internet marketers; I contend the average user either doesn't care what suffix his domain is wearing or may even prefer .info (feels less like he/she is being sold something).

    Anyway, those are my thoughts...for what they're worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author alexgold87
    Get .com or die - this is my philosophy.

    I've just checked - there are tons of good domains for relevant keywords. Just this out of the bowl. This is another big problem of new IM's: they try to jump in already taken niches and micro niches. But what about other products? Maybe they are not that popular as weight loss, but hey - they still have good demand! And just ask yourself - what kind of product is not listed in TOP-50 best sellers? When you will get it - you will find as many available .com domains as you want.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by SpacedInvader View Post

      As far as loosing customers because they are going to type .com by default...really? People don't type in domains...they click links and they search.
      They do type in domains. They do both.

      I have actually watched a commercial on TV, went to type in "dot com" only to have to search and realize it was a "dot org" I wanted.

      I'm sure I was not alone.

      I'll agree there is a lot of traffic directed through links, but I think you are underestimating type in traffic greatly.
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      • Profile picture of the author SpacedInvader
        Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

        They do type in domains. They do both.

        I have actually watched a commercial on TV, went to type in "dot com" only to have to search and realize it was a "dot org" I wanted.

        I'm sure I was not alone.

        I'll agree there is a lot of traffic directed through links, but I think you are underestimating type in traffic greatly.
        Not underestimated...probably overstated.

        But in my world they don't type in domains. I don't advertise on television, print, or radio. All my traffic comes from click links and search engines. So, I overstated...but not in my world.

        And like I said, I'll gladly give that traffic to someone else in order to have a better keyword match in my domain name...even if it has info stamped on he end.

        Good point though; thanks for calling me out on it.
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  • Profile picture of the author TishaZaphirise
    number 1 is .com
    number 2 is .org
    number 3 is .net

    other ekstension is a lot harder to rank for. Better to avoid them
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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      Originally Posted by TishaZaphirise View Post

      other ekstension is a lot harder to rank for. Better to avoid them
      This is wrong, as explained here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6125370
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael_Le
      Banned
      Originally Posted by TishaZaphirise View Post

      number 1 is .com
      number 2 is .org
      number 3 is .net

      other ekstension is a lot harder to rank for. Better to avoid them
      stop spreading false information. this is exactly the reason why noobs fail. this has been discussed before.

      go to google.....

      type in spain
      type in pr checker

      notice the TLD?

      just sick to death of hearing people talk about the same subject as if they're a guru but havent a clue what they on about.

      I CHALLENGE ANYONE HERE THAT I CAN RANK A .INFO HIGHER THAN YOUR .COM FOR THE SAME KEYWORD............

      ANY TAKERS?
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      • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
        Originally Posted by Michael_Le View Post

        I CHALLENGE ANYONE HERE THAT I CAN RANK A .INFO HIGHER THAN YOUR .COM FOR THE SAME KEYWORD............

        ANY TAKERS?
        CHALLENGE ACCEPTED - I CHALLENGE YOU TO RANK YOUR .INFO DOMAIN AGAINST MY .COM DOMAIN FOR THE FOLLOWING QUERY:

        site:.com

        I'M PUMPED AND READY TO DO THIS, SUCKA!!!
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      • Profile picture of the author optionstrader
        Originally Posted by Michael_Le View Post

        stop spreading false information. this is exactly the reason why noobs fail. this has been discussed before.

        go to google.....

        type in spain
        type in pr checker

        notice the TLD?
        Might have something to do with spain.info and prchecker.info being informational websites, not keyword exploitative niche websites plastered with tacky royalty free images and filled to the gills with amazon and clickbank links

        Another example: 'charles bronson' - .info outranks .com

        Unless you have a valid reason (above), don't shoot yourself in the foot before the race has even begun, com net org, in that order even if it means picking lower volume keywords, better to get some clicks than none at all!

        EDIT: charles-bronson.com appears to outrank charlesbronson.info with google.com/ncr, I was going via google.com.au. Apologies, nevertheless other similar examples exist
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  • Profile picture of the author freak7
    I don't think there is much difference. But i prefer com, net, org then co,info...
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  • Profile picture of the author JessicaAutumn
    My next option is .NET if .COM is not available.
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  • Profile picture of the author sanwacik
    .com is and always will be king in my opinion. It looks more professional and people have a tendency to trust a .com site before the others.
    .org comes in second and .net third.

    If you're creative enough - you can find a .com domain just for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesCx
    Depends how you want your site to be visited. If you rely on word-of-mouth, .com is the only way forward and with minimal dashes. If you're only bothered with search engines, a lot of TLD's can rank well with proper SEO strategies.

    However, if there is a well optimised .com with your keyword at #1 - I probably wouldn't waste my time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brendan Carl
    Originally Posted by larry1113 View Post

    .com <-- big boy
    .net .info .whatever <-- losers (I wouldn't bother)
    I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not...
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Brendan Carl View Post

      I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not...
      Call me a pessimist, but I decided he probably wasn't.

      There've been enough people in enough similar threads on this subject who genuinely believe stuff like that that, you know? I don't mind their believing it (especially if they're my competitors! ) but I do find pretty puzzling their apparently extravagant enthusiasm for trying to persuade innocent bystanders that something so bizarre, and so widely and repeatedly contradicted by Google and by countless other authorities with knowledge and experience, can actually be so ...
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  • Profile picture of the author jakecoop79
    I prefer to get the .com when I can, but in my experience I can rank a .info, .org, .net just as easily.

    I focus on what I want the domain name to be, and not as worried about the extension.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrelk159
    I definitely think .com is better then all the other ones but .net and .org is ok but the rest I rarely use for my sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author ultimuw45
    Opting for other presumably available extensions would lessen demand for '.com' and with time, induce supply and the situation would normalize ultimately.
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  • Profile picture of the author mollymarkiewicz
    .com is still the top recommending extension to use in google, if .com is not available use .net or .org. Reconsider the domain name to the the proper .com name you need for your niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author kviv23
    first .com then .net and then .org. period.
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