SEO Report: Domain Names

This is one of the most important concerns among the SEO pros and the speculation about what kind of domain will be the best in the future is under discussion – by no means decided. There simply isn’t enough research data available yet to figure out if the day of the .com lording it over the internet are over, or if ,net and .org are still playing second fiddle. And now with plenty of new customizable domains available, which should you choose?

If you are new to the world of the web and aren’t quite up to speed, here’s a recap: there are various types of domain names such as .com, .net, .edu, .org, .gov, etc which serve as the second part of website’s domain name. You may well wonder whether these domain name extensions have any special significance to your website’s SEO or ranking.

SEO experts by no means agree on this topic. While some insist that it is just an SEO myth and that the domain name cannot affect how the search engines rank you, others argue that specific domain extensions have special significance for their website’s ranking. Many believe that extensions such as .edu, .org, .gov etc. are considered to be more authoritative and get better rankings as well as lend more secondary authority via outbound links to other sites which also benefit. However many webmasters will argue that these are considered to be authority sites not because they have certain TLD extensions but because they have more references online – delivering a stronger online presence and better back link juice.

Still other SEO experts believe that domain names that are specific to countries such as .co.uk, .com.au, .in, etc., may help websites that are country specific. If your website sells products or services that are country specific then it may well be better to go for domain names that are specific to your country. Today we have a longer list of options than before. Many users who seaqrch for country specific products or local sellers are indeed aware of the country specific domains.

Although there may be varied views about  TLDs, the goal is first to choose an appropriate domain name. Look at all the possibilities and take advantage not only of current rules and regulations, but also look to the future. If the way search engines rank should change or they should implement something along those lines you will stand to gain extra points! Also remember that not all domain types are available to the public, to be purchased by any individual or business owner. For example individuals cannot purchase .gov extensions. So, choose your domain TLD before you start working on your website’s content and design.

Currently, most commercial sites seem to prefer .com for their domain TLD. Many people, when conducting random searches for a business, will first search with .com extension and only when they don’t find the site in .com extension they will try to look for other extensions. Since .com was one of the first TLDs , it is more easily remembered and preferred over other domain extensions though they may not have any special significance on our ranking.Since these are still more in demand, .com domains will cost much more than some of the newer ones.

In addition, some of the newer extensions have been noted for spam; for example .info domain names are notorious for the spam mails that they generate. Since the cost of .info domains is much cheaper to register we can assume this is why spammers to go for .info domains. Don’t let this scare you away, however – if a newer style domain is your best bet, go for it – and also don’t forget that you can create your own domain if needed.