A question about domain names

HappyLady Level 1

November 27, 2018, 5:03 am

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I know the formula that .com is for business and .org for charity and so on. However, we have a lot of new .endings like .uk or .co.uk and so on. My question is would it be sensible to go for any of these. For example _.net, _.uk, _.info etc,

Is co.uk viable or inadvisable if you cannot get the .com

Should you buy all versions of a .com you buy to prevent competition?

Most of the time, the problem is the 2 syllable version of what you want is gone. "_able" is rare as it is memorable so .com goes fast.

is ."_ing.com a sensible option?

I am sure others here would be interested in a discussion. The question really is, "If you cannot get the .com you want, what is the best and safest viable alternative, and are the shorter endings sensible at all?

so obble.com
obble.co.uk
obble.net
obble.info
obble.uk
obble.biz
obble. anything else....how would you rank them as viable domains to buy. (don't try the .com it takes you to a yellow brick, but the .com must be owned by someone who likes a florid green background with a yellow brick!) I thought I made it up.

(I know someone who made money with a James Bond ending he had so there have to be times it is worth buying odd endings? Everything microsoft and disney has gone. I checked just now. So that makes me wonder if, if you can afford it, you should get every ending? )

Comments

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stbrians

Does it matter really? I always look for a .com. Yet if I do not get it, am asked for a .org. So it does not matter for me. What matters is the host and web builder. The price too matters to me. The othet dot, dot do not worry me. Am no website builder though.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

I also think Ty hat as long as you have the website running you are good. The domain has little impact unless it is a company that must conform to certain set rules.

8 years ago

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stbrians

I thought so too. Am glad you agree. A nice running website is far better than a domain name.

8 years ago

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Jelineex

I agree with you. A good website is more better than domain name. I enjoy visiting sites that are useful and interesting. There are also sites that are illegal and doesn't pay their domain. But, still keep on operating.

8 years ago

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theresajane

I agree with you. A better domain name is nothing if the website isn't properly managed, by the way.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

But if nobody got to the website because someone else has the .com could you not be in trouble. For example, if you were resjane.biz but someoen else had resjane.com, no matter how nice your website is, people might still go for the .com as they are so used to typing that?

8 years ago

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knnon

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think .uk is internet country code top domain name for UK same goes with the .ph and so on. But you do have a point there, and that's happened to me when I was checking out a website.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Yeah it's called the mentality of thinking backwards from the results. As long as you achieve what you intend then the means should not be of much worry.

8 years ago

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Kakashi2020

My first choice is always .com but if it's not available, I choose .net or .org if it's applicable.

Why would you buy all the domain versions? People do know how to identify one from the other. Stick to one or 2 if need be.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

If you look at anything famous, say, for example, Disney, you find all versions of the name are bought, presumably to prevent anyone else having them. This is why my friend made considerable money with a domain name he had that related to a famous brand. I even suspect there are people out there who look for and buy and sell domains they realise a company has missed or been unable to obtain until someone failed to renew. I guess it could even be a kind of career, Similarly, there are people who might buy a domain say (made up) disney.bob becauses they hope people looking for disney.com mightt just find them instead and look at their site.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Yeah I have also heard of people that sppecialize in buying and selling domains.

8 years ago

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Alymae

Yes. Sometimes I chance upon it on the net. They will post that the domain is for sale. I also think that for a domain name to be easily remembered, it should be simple and not complicated. .Com are usually the most common and I prefer it too.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

I would also grab a .com very fast if I happen to find it on sale at a price that is quite affordable or flexible with me. There is no need to wait until you need it only to find that later the prices are hiked.

8 years ago

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vhinz

Domain flipping is a money making online where you buy domains at lower price then resell it at higher price.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

But it is not what matters to you. It is what the person who types in the search bar looking for you automatically types. If most people think of stbrians.com that is what they type into the search bar. But would anyone, for example, unless you specifically told them, ever type stbrians.info and even if they knew that, would they still automatically go for a better known ending without thinking?

8 years ago

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Jeane

It could matter because most people when they enter a web address in a url bar will type in the .com domain name. If that happens to be the web address of your competitor's website and they are selling the same services or products as you, this person could wonder whether they are on the right site but they could buy what they want there.

To avoid something like this when you can't get hold of the .com extension, go for another extension but also make a slight alteration to your chosen domain name so your competitors don't get traffic that should be rightfully yours.

8 years ago

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burgosmichael24

Thank you for the healthy discussion. I am happy to learn from all of you. I don't have any knowledge about domain but because of this discussion I have learned a lot of things.

8 years ago

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Alymae

True. This is actually very frustrating. Sometimes this happened to me , I want to go to a website and I forget the name. So, I just type the name and what pops-up first will be my first choice. And if they happened to have the same content I won't go to the site that I searched in the first place.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

In other words, the extension does matter and it is still best to get a .com above all else because people think ".com" We even talk about getting a ".com" as opposed to "buying a domain name" because for many people, .com is what a domain name is. The secret is to get that .com first in the search results, but even then this is not enough. If I want washing powder I am more likely to remember washingpowder.com than washymyclothes.net.

8 years ago

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Janie1994

If I were you, I would try to aim for .com simply because they have a better reputation that .info or .net which both sound suspicious. Children these days are taught to recognize good websites from bad ones and as they age, they might be unwilling to use your website. I'm a very young millenial/missed the gen z cut off by a year and quite frankly I don't trust any website that seems very scammish which both of those domains seem, .net might be marginally better but even then it would still raise red flags.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

You have a point. One sort of wonders why anyone would go for any of the lesser known endings. .biz sounds fine but I think I would probably trust.com more myself. I always think "they could not get the .com then" when I see.net and of course anything not .com screams someone went for the cheaper option if it is co.uk or .net although I would trust those more and co.uk is reasonable if that is where your business or you are based.

8 years ago

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anyone01

Personally. if I want to buy a domain I would rather pick out the .com instead of other. But it is really depend on you on how you can compete with similar names domain. I saw a domain with a domain .com but easily beat by other domain like .net, .org.

8 years ago

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theresajane

It really depends on how well the site is managed. Rather than thinking of getting all of the domains of the same name, think of the better ways to make your site of good quality.

8 years ago

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gutzman

Aside from .com, the other ending with the most visitors are .net, .gov, .org and .info. I think the most reliable to domain to buy is .com. If not, you can pick one of the other mentioned yet a .gov is for a government site and the like. The difference between the domains are their purposes which gives you a hint what a site is about. I'm not sure about the range of the prices though.

8 years ago

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ajahcuizon

For me it is okay of you will get .com as we all know how hard and expensive it is. I am not an expert but I have heard this from my friend. What's more important is your content on that website. And also, choose a domain name that still has a good reputation because of their good sites.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Exactly! I'm more comfortable with .com but anyone can literally do the job well as long as the hosting service used is good and up and running smoothly.

Truth be told, the content on the site is very important because it's among the organic requirements that gets your site to rank well in Google.

8 years ago

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amelia88

I think .com is still the ideal unless you're seeking to be region specific. For instance if your business solely operates in the UK, then co.uk would be fine. If you business operates in Japan? Maybe a co.jp is just as good as a .com. However, if you're trying to go for the maximum reach without being regionally specific I'd always endeavor to go for the .com.

8 years ago

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Judas2018

Interesting question. I think owning the U.S. or what ever country you're in - version of the domain is fine when starting out. Now if your site REALLY takes off and becomes big, then you'll have access to the necessary funds to perhaps purchase versions of your domain outside of your origin country. Just to be sure no impostors pop up. People won't try and create a clone of any site or business unless the 'original version' is profitable.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

That is an interestng answer. I would trust .co.uk for a business as you see it attached to places like Amazon and at times it is a pointer to the country you are in. I would want to buy from UK Amazon, not US Amazon, so that makes the co.uk a sensible one for buyers in the UK and .US sensible for those in the US and those in Germany might understand .de and so on. However we also have amazon.com which takes you through to your company version. Ancestry.com does similar. Sometimes the country suffix works and you might want .biz and .info as extra domains on a business site. However the umbrella would be the .com. If I type the Amazon address in the search bar, then I automatically type .com without thinking, but then the option for co.uk appears. I would not type .co.uk automatically if I was in a hurry or just not thinking.

8 years ago

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Judas2018

It also depends on what your audience is though. Some businesses have become pretty big and just have a U.S. based domain. Never bothered to buy the foreign versions of the same site. While others, have bought those versions but have never really launched them. They just own them as a 'keep away.'

8 years ago

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theresajane

You don't really need to buy all versions of .com .org and other domains. It's just not practical at all. Even though you want to earn money, you'll not easily generate income because of the money you put into those.

8 years ago

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vhinz

Some companies purchase all available extensions for their domain name. They do this just to prevent other people from using their domain name with different extensions.

8 years ago

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luv2xacosta

I don't think the domain won't matter no matter how catchy or nice it is as long as the content of your website as long as it's legit. Your site is trustworthy and easy to understand by the viewers or readers.

8 years ago

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Bravosi

In part you're right, but I believe that a domain does has a small role to play in this regard. To be more specific, one domain can give more trust to the person. Obviously a person would trust a "co.uk" a lot more than some other, because United Kingdom is a very strong and respectable country.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

Interesting how many people talk of content and great websites, but I still wonder if the domain is not vital in order to get you to the website. Or, perhaps, it does not matter if you have fantastic SEO and content. My conclusion is that the domain needs to be popular and catchy enough to remember and that it is probably wise to prevent others from getting the common versions of your site. If I were buying, I would try for the .com and .co.uk, but probably add in .net and ,org. I don't think the others woould serve any purpose unless you are a big concern working in different countries, in which case you need the country ending. It has to be something universally understood to make sense. .gov and .edu are common lso they make sense and I can see the value if you could get it of an internal ending. I usually go for co,uk but am sure the search engines mark that down as it is invariably the cheaper form of the .com. I think I will avoid the wierder or less common .whatevers, myself.

8 years ago

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Jeane

I usually go for co,uk but am sure the search engines mark that down as it is invariably the cheaper form of the .com.

Country code top level domain like .co.uk are great for businesses based in those particular countries. Or maybe if you expect most of your web visitors to be from the UK then that would be fine too.

Country code top level domains come with some SEO benefits too. Your website will be ranked higher in "country-based" search results because search engines will expect a co.uk site to have content that is more relevant to UK-based audiences.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

Hmm but that means it is not great if you want to be International? It is probably not a wise move in the UK as fewer people seem able to use the Internet for much. A lot of my friends think it most clever of me to do what I do and are petrified they will break the Internet or something. On the other hand, a UK business might benefit if the product is UK based and sold.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Hmm but that means it is not great if you want to be International?

Not necessarily.

Since search engines use numerous factors to rank websites, while this website (with a .co.uk extension) would perform better in country-based search (U.K IPs mostly), that doesn't mean it wouldn't rank high in the serps for the same search query elsewhere in the world. The keywords within the content would determine whether it should be shown only to UK audiences.

. . . a UK business might benefit if the product is UK based and sold.

It most certainly will.

8 years ago

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Bravosi

I personally like the .biz and .net endings. They're both catchy and short. I always trust websites that have a .biz ending. Don't know why. But honestly, after all, do whatever suits you best. Analyze our comments and compare that one's to fit your personal opinion the most.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Personally, I would go for the .net over .biz because I believe that the former is more popular and commonly used by a lot website owners.

People seems to trust more what they are very familiar with than what they barely know.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

yeeeah there are lots of .com websites such that trust issues are rare. I do not think that the domain has a very huge effect on the level of trust that one puts on any website which is why there are numerous other types of websites with the other domains and they are just okay.

8 years ago

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jpk0007

Well i think that generally there is a perception in the public that .com websites are much safer and reliable as compared to the websites which have .net or .org or any other domain name. If you are able to get hold of domain name with .com then it will definitely have a positive effect on the consumers when they decide to visit your website. Domain name will be very important initially when you are trying to build the reputation of your website with the quality of your content and work.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Personally, I don't have any problems going with any Domain name as long as it's connecting well. Although, some people would shy away from being free making use of domains that are not popular. Most times, I think that the .com is the most commonly used and popular one.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

I forgot to mention the free domains that you get when you buy an off the peg website, but I would prefer not to use them anyway, and also ultimately would point a bought domain at somewhere like blogger if I felt the content was worth it and had no other option.

8 years ago

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vhinz

Choosing a domain is very important because it is the foundation of your website. And deciding which domain extension to use also matters because it could help you with your online branding. There are certain
things that you have to consider in choosing domain extensions.

First, you have to consider using domain extensions that belongs to Top-Level-Domains (TLDs). The TLDs are mainly classified into two: generic TLD (gTLDs) and country-specific TLDs specifically designated for a
particular country. Some of the TLDs include .com, .org, .net, .gov, .mil, and .edu,

Then you have to consider the purpose of your website.

.com is the most popular domain extension which originally used for commercial websites but today it is used in almost all kinds of websites. Use this domain if you are running a personal blog or you are involved in a
business. The main reason .com should be your top of the list is because it is still has the best chance of ranking high on search engines.

.net can be used as an alternative if your ideal .com choice is already taken.

.org is for organization.

.edu is for educational institution. Schools who want to register with a .edu extension are required to submit accreditation papers from
the government.

.biz can be used also as an alternative to .com that involves business.

And if you want to target local SEO, you might consider using domain extensions that matches on a specific country you are in. Some examples are .us for United States, co.uk for United Kingdom, and .ca for Canada.

There are a lot more other domain extensions to choose from which needs you to think carefully before buying your domain because that could somehow affect your website. Domain names and extensions should match with your website’s
contents so as not to confuse your visitors.

8 years ago

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overcast

My rule for domain purchase is that I make sure to see if it is easy to remember. And also easy to pronounce. So it does not affect my readers while coming to my site. I always think of things in terms of the users. And then build my blog and brand on that basis. So if you are planning to get a domain. You should be making use of these things as a note.

8 years ago

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beerthooyah

It's just that people are used in .com domain and was more popular. If you did not get this kind of domain that you want I guess you have to double your effort in promoting the website. What must be important is how well the website is manage and designed. The content also must be of high value in order for the website to gain more traffic.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

I have noticed the domain name provider with a suffix of the country although it is not that popular yet. What I mean is the country like dot ph without the dot com or dot net. Anyway, as far as the competition is concerned I think it is a good idea to buy all the domain names so that it will all be yours. But is it really practical to get hold of those available names? It may be a waste of good money.

8 years ago

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Seoclerks

A question about domain names

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