.org v's .com

whats wrong with .org?

[stavs]

I am currently looking to buy some domain names, and for the first time ever, I am considering buying a .org name because, surprise surprise, the .coms have all been snapped up.

Can anyone give me any advice on the drawbacks of using .org -

what problems have you encountered in the search engines?

are they viewed so differently?

[stavs]

any advice would be most helpful

[Woz]

Hi stavs, we're not ignoring you, honest..

We all know that .com .org and .net were setup to accomodate Commercial Organisations, ISPs & Networks, and Non-Profit Organisations respectively, and this used to be enforced when buying domain names.

But these days, the rules are so relaxed that I really don't think anyone, let alone SEDs, take any notice of the suffix.

So I would say that if you can get .orgs in your preferred domain then go ahead and make good use of them. I can see no reason why they should be treated any different.

As always of course, I am open to further opinions and/or corrections.

Onya
Woz

[heini]

stavs
you might also consider buying a .net.
I operate one and found it doing very well on all SEs.
Another point though is the impression a .net or a .org makes upon your targeted users. Like when selling B2B services a .org might not be such a good idea.

So the advantages of getting a domain with your exact keyword must be weighed against the advantages of having a domain with a suffix your users feel comfortable with.
In other words: weigh SEO matters against user friendliness.

[Woz]

>when selling B2B services a .org might not be such a good idea.

good point heini and one that I didn't think about. I guess I mix in different circles...

Onya
Woz

[stavs]

Thanks for the opinions/advice.

Why would some users be put off with the .org ? I can't see the reason for this - is it an issue of prestige, i.e. .org is seen as a compromise, whereas .com might signify a bigger, more established business?

From my research I can see that .org is least favoured by name buyers of the three major extensions: .com (obviously) and .net ? Is there really a stigma with .org? There seems to be plenty left on the shelf.

Do the search engines discriminate at all?

[heini]

stavs
when I see a .org I expext seeing some noncommercial site, like some special interest groups forum or something.

>is it an issue of prestige, i.e. .org is seen as a compromise, whereas .com might signify a bigger, more established business?
Exactly, only that a .org is not a compromise. It just fits special sites, other than .com.

>Do the search engines discriminate at all?
For what I know: No. The only exception might be .edu. Some members believe .edu getīs a boost in Google.

[georged]

I have a .org site, which Copernic rates #3 overall on the engines, for a two word phrase which got 2122 searches on GoTo last month.
Interestingly, I haven't touched this page in any way for over a year, so age and stability in the database is still an obvious factor. According to Google it only has two links to it - so link pop doesn't enter into the equation.
I have a couple of .nets with much the same story.
So from what I can see it doesn't make much difference from the engines' point of view what you get.

[Eric_Jarvis]

I think it depends very much on how savvy your potential customers are...I'd not be keen on buying anything from a .org unless I could see a clear reason why they have the domain...it strikes me as being perilously close to false pretences and I'd need a lot of reassuring about any commercial company that used one

[sean]

A few caveats in addition to the "What the heck is a commercial site doing with a .org?" factor:

-- you might lose some visitors to the .com... sometimes people focus on the name and take the .com part for granted.

-- if the .com is trademarked, that could be the reason why the .org is untouched.

-- you never know when a thread like the one below will re-surface...
[webmasterworld.com ]

[toolman]

Personally I don't touch .orgs out of respect...let them remain for non-profits, etc.

Can't say I have scientific data but I suspect a .com or a .net will do equally well if you "just do it".

[Doofus]

From what I've read, VeriSign will lose the rights to administer the .org domain in 2002. They are to be turned over to a (yet unnamed) nonprofit corporation in 2002 along with $5 million.

This is a done deal; approved by the U.S. government and ICANN, from what I understand.

I'd strongly advise against buying .org for spamming purposes. While I suspect that old ".org" owners will be grandfathered in by this new nonprofit, I also suspect that they will take a dim view of any obvious attempt to subvert the domain, beyond what InterNic/VeriSign has already allowed to occur.

Besides, it's immoral to use .org for spamming. You set yourself up for immoral counterattacks, such as DDoS or hacking.