.com, .net or .org

[gerard]

Hey guys, I've always wondered about this. I understand that typically when choosing a keyword, the .com is the way to go. But when the .com is not available, what's the next best thing? Let's say that a keyword that I'm looking for is "goldfish training". How would you rate the following choices in order of most importance/relevance:

a) goldfishtraining.com
b) goldfish-training.com
c) goldfishtraining.net
d) goldfishtraining.org
e) goldfishtrainingguide.com

Is a goldfish-training.com better than goldfishtraining.net or .org? And if I want to stay in the .com world, then is it better to add another wokd onto the end of the phrase, like in goldfishtrainingguide.com, as opposed to goldfishtraining.net? And insight is greatly appreciated!

Gerard

[Tim Buchalka]

Hi Gerard,

I'd rate them as

a)
c)
d)
e)
b)

Although e) and b) would probably be the same. In my extensive testing I've found an improved bonus when you have an EXACT match with no extra characters/words to your keyword phrase, with the .com. .net, and .org ranking best in that order.

I have used dashes in the past, but given a choice I'd prefer not to use them. I would chose the .net and .org before adding words on.

But always remember with an exact match domain you are stuck with that exact name which is obviously good for one keyword, but you would want to be sure it's relevant for others.

So in this circumstance you might want to consider something like e) if it sounds more appropriate for your various keywords.

Just having the keyword in the domain will help, but that little boost I mentioned above in rankings is over and above the general advantage google seems to give you for just having the keyword in the url.

Hope this helps.

Regards



Tim

Hey guys, I've always wondered about this. I understand that typically when choosing a keyword, the .com is the way to go. But when the .com is not available, what's the next best thing? Let's say that a keyword that I'm looking for is "goldfish training". How would you rate the following choices in order of most importance/relevance:

a) goldfishtraining.com
b) goldfish-training.com
c) goldfishtraining.net
d) goldfishtraining.org
e) goldfishtrainingguide.com

Is a goldfish-training.com better than goldfishtraining.net or .org? And if I want to stay in the .com world, then is it better to add another wokd onto the end of the phrase, like in goldfishtrainingguide.com, as opposed to goldfishtraining.net? And insight is greatly appreciated!

Gerard

[gerard]

Well done, Tim- thanks! I'm looking at domains for local businesses and it seems that many of the .coms are already taken, but many .nets and .orgs are available, so your insight helps a lot!
Gerard

[Tim Buchalka]

Happy to help you out Gerard, good luck with it all

Well done, Tim- thanks! I'm looking at domains for local businesses and it seems that many of the .coms are already taken, but many .nets and .orgs are available, so your insight helps a lot!
Gerard

[Evane Abbassi]

Hi Gerard,

I'd rate them as

a)
c)
d)
e)
b)

Although e) and b) would probably be the same. In my extensive testing I've found an improved bonus when you have an EXACT match with no extra characters/words to your keyword phrase, with the .com. .net, and .org ranking best in that order.

I have used dashes in the past, but given a choice I'd prefer not to use them. I would chose the .net and .org before adding words on.

But always remember with an exact match domain you are stuck with that exact name which is obviously good for one keyword, but you would want to be sure it's relevant for others.

So in this circumstance you might want to consider something like e) if it sounds more appropriate for your various keywords.

Just having the keyword in the domain will help, but that little boost I mentioned above in rankings is over and above the general advantage google seems to give you for just having the keyword in the url.

Hope this helps.

Regards



Tim

Hi Gerard,

I agree with Tim. You actually can go different ways on your domain name. I would do the keyword search and find one or two keywords that are not the most popular and most used and use them as my domain name. Any keyword that in your search gets about 2000-3000 hits a day would do. I also wouldn't use the dash and preferably would use the .com if possible. The thing is that people automatically suppose that most ulrs come with .com, therefore, you may actually lose some hits. Once you chose your domain name, just to be in the safe side, also buy the .net and .org for the same domain name, even if you don't actively use them. This would prevent others to use your name and likelihood when your domain is famous.

Best, Evane

[rangus]

I want to sell my website Babyroo | Baby gift baskets, personalised baby gifts, unique baby gift baskets However, i am a bit concerned after reading this forum that it might not be as valuable if i got a .com

I checked godaddy and babyroo.com is on a back order do you think it would be worth me purchasing this and link it to Babyroo | Baby gift baskets, personalised baby gifts, unique baby gift baskets and start building links to the .com

Looking forward to your reply

Cheers

[Tim Buchalka]

Generally speaking the domain extension is not really going to be an issue. In your case a .co.uk extension does limit your potential audience. It all depends on where you think your market is. If you are focusing on the UK market only I would suggest your domain is fine as is. If you are looking for an international market then probably a .com extension would be better.

Cheers


Tim

[omthoke]

I've got .com .net .org. and even .info domains - all are doing equally well in terms of SERP and I've got #1 rank in google for many longtail keywords for all the domains, so I believe today extension doesn't matter, but the name of domain DOES matter a lot!

[ngovgroup]

Well here's mine

a)
c)
e)
b)
d)

I put the one with the hyphen and .org on the last, obviously .org is not as popular as much as .com and .net

[webtraffic]

This is certainly a useful thread.
Thanks for everyone input here. I will use this tactic right away.
Have a great day