c/n/o vs. exotic domains

[bender]

hi,

is there anything known about how google handles exotic domains like .ag, .cd in comparison to com/net/org ones?

are there any disadvantages in ranking (not pagerank, but in position #), since these kind of domains are often "abused" as alternative keyword-domains?

thanks in advance! :)

[stickledene]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld!

First off, I'm not a search engine person and am only calling upon info that Ive learnt from this forum. </disclaimer>

From what I understand, SE's are all about content. Regardless of what domain is used. However, if content was very similar then a .com domain would rank higher than, say a .nl site. However, it depends on which country you are searching from. If you do a search from www.google.co.uk you can see a difference in search results from www.google.com and I'm sure it's the same with other SE's.

So the best way for you to get your site up the listings is to have great content! Read Brett's awesome posts on how to make your web sites efficient and SE friendly! It *will* pay off.

HTH and Good luck.

Sticky

[rfgdxm1]

Google treats all TLDs the same. And, as for abused TLDs, it is quite obvious most abusive sites are using .com.

[vincevincevince]

there is a cause and effect problem here

are they not common in the top serps results because google thinks they are abusive? or are they in fact often abusive and low on content so naturally don't get / stay high in the serps?

does low public perception of these mean it is harder to get quality links? or does the lack of quality links mean a low public perception?

[rfgdxm1]

My observation is that when it comes to sites that are abusive, these tend disproportionately be .coms. Most likely because it is e-commerce site that are more likely to be abusive than info sites. E-commerce sites tend to really not want to be using these obscure TLDs because in the minds of consumers these don't seem kosher.