dot com, dot net, dot dot

do you find that it makes a difference?

[rfung]

Okay..I'm starting to get hooked on this site!...s-pe-nding too ..much..time ..must eat and pee!

Seriously though, for those who have happened to read my posts, I'm building a site that hopefully will make me well off. But why stop there? Inspired by reading stuff here, ideas are flowing like Mississippi during the rainy season.

So I have to look for some domains to purchase...this is a simple question - regarding marketing in all the different places - adWords, adSense, SEO, etc, does it matter if the domain is a widget.com or a widget.net? I can see how it might be an issue for typed in addresses, but when we're talking about linking and such, this should really not even be relevant, is this correct?

Just trying to confirm.

TIA.

[mfishy]

If seo is your only goal (no one types in your address), it does not matter.

[Robert from SI]

However...aside from SEO purposes...a ".com" is always better than a ".net"

".com" is the default suffix that the public thinks of when they think of an internet address. The ".com" version will get the lions share of type-in traffic. I'm also a believer that if you have the ".net" version of an established ".com" website you're sending traffic to your competitor...

[HighPR]

mfishy,

Are you CERTAIN that the tld/extension doesn't matter?

We tried to SEO some .sr domains for a popular keyword and they never got traction.

Also - When was the last time you saw a non-.com/.net/.org in the top ten for a truly competitive keyword phrase?

I also agree that if you expect anyone to type in the domain, that the mental default is always .com. This gives an edge to .com.

[eWhisper]

4 of the top 10 sites for my major keyword are .ws and .biz sites, so they can get top exposure.

If you want to brand your sites at all, and want people to remember the site url, I agree the .com is the way to go, although I now buy all the .net,.org, etc of my sites as well so no one can try to benefit from mistyped domains.

[martinibuster]

>>although I now buy all the .net,.org, etc of my sites as well so no one can try to benefit from mistyped domains.

It's a good practice to buy them all up and park them. And don't forget to buy the singular and plural versions, as well as the hyphenated and non-hyphenated variations.

[richlowe]

And don't forget to buy the singular and plural versions, as well as the hyphenated and non-hyphenated variations.

And it's probably a good idea to get the "domainsucks.com" domain name as well. Especially if your site might generate some controversy or bitterness.

[mfishy]

<Are you CERTAIN that the tld/extension doesn't matter? >

As certain as one can be.

OTOH, you can buy a decent domain name for a couple hundred. I would never start any site without considering a good name.