google.com or google.co.uk?

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google.com or google.co.uk?

Nil austenite

2:19 pm on May 6, 2004 (gmt 0)

I am trying to promote my new web site. I am mainly targeting UK customers now, but I won't mind customers from other countries as well. Would anyone be kind enough to answer few of my queries?
(Sorry to bother you with all these basic questions)

1) I bought both '.com' and 'co.uk' domain for my web site. Which one should I submit to Search Engines?

2) Do I need to submit the URL separately to 'google.com' and 'google.co.uk'? (or msn/yahoo .com/.co.uk)

3) Which search engines are more popular in UK? The .com or .co.uk ones?

4) I am planning to go for 'Pay For Performance search' from Overture. Will they charge me separately for their US partners(msn.com, Yahoo.com, CNN) and UK Partners (msn.co.uk, yahoo.co.uk, freeserve)? If I pay for their US partners, will they show my site with their UK pertner search engine's results as well?

Chardona

12:51 am on May 7, 2004 (gmt 0)

1) I bought both '.com' and 'co.uk' domain for my web site. Which one should I submit to Search Engines?

Try and stick with one. If most of your customers are likely to be outside of the UK, then use your dot COM one

2) Do I need to submit the URL separately to 'google.com' and 'google.co.uk'? (or msn/yahoo .com/.co.uk)

3) Which search engines are more popular in UK? The .com or .co.uk ones?

.COM (even Yahoo changed from yahoo.co.uk to uk.yahoo.com)

i. Yes. But Google AdWords is far better and more powerful

ii. No, you have to pay separately for each country with Overture, so it is very time-consuming

Nil austenite

1:15 am on May 7, 2004 (gmt 0)

Thanx for all the information

Receptional

2:03 pm on May 7, 2004 (gmt 0)

OK - My take is different. (You never expected conscencous did you?).

I would market the .co.uk on the engines. .co.uk does just as well on Google.com but does better on google.co.uk in UK results - so you lose little.

In addition, if the majority of your users are going to be Brits, the click through for Brits will be higher with a .co.uk domain and there is evidence from nominet that people trust a .co.uk domain more than a .com all other things being unkonwns for the surfer - apparently us Brits are less likely to do a runner!?

Dixon.

Nil austenite

2:38 pm on May 7, 2004 (gmt 0)

Cheers Mate!

MHes

2:40 pm on May 7, 2004 (gmt 0)

Receptional is correct in my opinion. However, a .com using a uk server will appear in google 'uk only' searches, but you may (haven't checked for a while) never appear in aol uk only search. The safest longterm option, if you are going for UK traffic is to have a .co.uk. You will do just as well on google.com for either domain, so its a non brainer!

Popularity of google.com in the uk is slipping. Our sites are getting more traffic from .co.uk to the point where there is little in it now. This could be more brits using .co.uk or, and here is the big question, .co.uk sites rank better on a worlwide search on google.co.uk. Anybody know if this is now happenning?