19
Apr
2011
Experiences With a .co Domain Name
Last year I took the plunge and invested in some .co domain names. .co is the country code for Columbia but there was a lot of hype around the extension with many people predicting a new domain name gold rush.
For me I was just interested in acquiring a few domains that I knew I could develop and which were memorable and content specific.
The first site we launched under the .co was DogTips.co
My reservations about this domain extension were:
1. I always like to evaluate a domain name based on how memorable it would be if you told someone over the radio. I feared that saying "DogTips.co" would have many people just assuming I missed the .uk off the end.
2. In terms of looking at the domain, I feared that many people would assume the domain was missing an 'm' and was really a .com
Both of the fears remain. If given a choice, a solid .com domain would always be my first choice. But the real dynamite .com's are all gone unless you have a BIG budget to acquire one.
So the acid test now is how well the domain ranks, does Google have any built in prejudices toward the name that will lead to a downgrade vs a comparable .com and do people actually care that they are visiting a .co rather than a .com or .co.uk
Well it seems Google likes the site – we have established some solid rankings.
It also seems people don't seem to care too much about the ending – traffic is very solid. So the only question remaining is can we get the site to no 1 for the chosen search term ('dog tips') and will the site be a commercial success. I'll report back when we have some results!
My reservations about this domain extension were:
1. I always like to evaluate a domain name based on how memorable it would be if you told someone over the radio. I feared that saying "DogTips.co" would have many people just assuming I missed the .uk off the end.
2. In terms of looking at the domain, I feared that many people would assume the domain was missing an 'm' and was really a .com
Both of the fears remain. If given a choice, a solid .com domain would always be my first choice. But the real dynamite .com's are all gone unless you have a BIG budget to acquire one.
So the acid test now is how well the domain ranks, does Google have any built in prejudices toward the name that will lead to a downgrade vs a comparable .com and do people actually care that they are visiting a .co rather than a .com or .co.uk
Well it seems Google likes the site – we have established some solid rankings.It also seems people don't seem to care too much about the ending – traffic is very solid. So the only question remaining is can we get the site to no 1 for the chosen search term ('dog tips') and will the site be a commercial success. I'll report back when we have some results!
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on Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 at 7:18 am and is filed under Business.
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