Does having a Country related domain help??

[Greig]

I do a lot of business in Europe and have always just used .com for my web address.
Just wondered if there are any advantages to using others, i.e .se (sweden) .de (germany) .es (spain) etc?

Thanks Greig

:? :?

[KM-Tiger]

This poll is relevant:-

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/ftopic9938.php

[Greig]

Thats only really .co.uk & .com.

What I want to know is, will have a .se for example help my site in the swedish search engines?

[click2britain]

Hi,

Again, it is totally down to who you are targetting. If your business is for international customers then:-

A .com I believe will work better in international markets, by creating the impression of a company able to supply services worldwide, rather than just within a national market.

Or If you are selling to local or .co.uk or .es/.de/.se market :-

Then people in the UK & Other European Countries will be more inclined to see a .co.uk/.es/.de/.se as their country specific company, and therefore you have to more likely to provide what they need.

If you would like to have different sites active & target different markets then,

It would be an idea to have the content on the .com different to the .co.uk/.es/.de/.se for the SEO purposes.

I hope this helps...

[SEOscotland.co.uk]

To answer your question.

Google for example can tell where your site is hosted.

If your site is hosted in the UK and you have a .com it assumes you are a UK site and you will find it easier to get listed in the UK search results.

If you have a .co.uk extension and you site is hosted in the US or elsewhere then you will still get listed in the UK results.

The problems arise when you have a .com extension and your site is hosted in the US Google has no way of knowing that you are targetting the UK.

Same applies for .se domains.

Short answer is, if you have a proper domain extension for the country you are targetting regardless of where your hosting is then it will be easier for you to get lisitings there.

My recommendation is that if you are serious about these sites then you will buy hosting packages in the respective countries as well as the proper domain extension.

This way you rule out all uncertainties. (Providing Google is not yet placing any weight on which country the whois registrant resides in).

You could also opt out of the whois database on registering your domain if you want to cover your bases.

[dcraigdc]

I'm pretty sure (although dont take my word for it) that if you want to create a .fr (France) domain, you actually have to have registered offices in France itself...

[MinuWeb]

I'm pretty sure (although dont take my word for it) that if you want to create a .fr (France) domain, you actually have to have registered offices in France itself...

The same for .ee and .fi

[Tin]

Spain too :)

[SEOscotland.co.uk]

There are ways around it such as having an address in those countries which you can use.

I've used PO box addresses before.

[dcraigdc]

There are ways around it such as having an address in those countries which you can use.

I've used PO box addresses before.

Now that IS interesting. So in theory you just purchase a P.O. Box and you can use that as your registered address?

Presumably you then have to have some paperwork sent through that address which I assume just gets forwarded on to the UK address? How much (roughly) does that tend to cost?

[MinuWeb]

There are ways around it such as having an address in those countries which you can use.

I've used PO box addresses before. Not for .fi and .ee where you must be a registered company to register a domain.

[SEOscotland.co.uk]

Thats true, there are always exceptions to the rule.

What countries ask for additional requirements?

Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Spain.
In Bolivia, a private person cannot register a domain; only institutions or businesses can register, whether or not they are constituted inside the country.

In addition, in Spain and Ecuador only institutions/organizations (constituted inside or out of the country) can register; persons can register a domain only as a name of a registered trademark, for which they must be the owner.

In Brazil the owner of the domain is required to be native to or be a resident of the country.

[WakingDragon]

In a practical sense there is a benefit to registering the domains for the markets you go for so that people can type in either .com or .fr for example and still get to your site.

As it will only cost you a few quid a year to have them pointed to your existing web site it seems worthwhile doing it where you can.