Domain name advice - dot net for UK market?

[mediakitchen]

I am very close to completing a UK accommodation website and have a bit of a dilemna as to which domain name to use for it.

I have purchased quite a few potential domain names and could do with some advice on which to use based on the extensions I have managed to buy.

I don't want to reveal the domain names at this stage but my favourite is the 2 best keywords for my market - lets use the domain name "selfcatering.net" as an example. I own the dot net but the dot com has a US accommodation site and the .co.uk is owned by someone who wants £10,000 for it.

I could buy selfcateringUK.co.uk and selfcateringUK.com as these are still available - don't forget this is just an example name.

I guess my question is whether I really ought to use a .co.uk or a .com or would a .net be OK? Btw I also own the .info

Sorry I can't reveal the actual domain yet.

Cheers

Paul

 

[khalid1]

always go for the .co.uk and particularly what people are searching for in google.

if people are searching for "chiropractor" then you want "chiropractor.co.uk" and not "uklocalchiropractors.net" even if it sounds better.

 

[mediakitchen]

Thanks for the swift reply. In my case the .co.uk is not available within my budget. Are you saying I should definitely not use the .net and consider an alternative domain name that I can obtain the .co.uk for?

 

[khalid1]

in my opinion yes. but check what people are searching for using google's keyword tool, and make sure they are "exact" and not "broad" searches - if people are searching for "local catering" and you are buying "countrywide catering" what's the point.

 

[fisicx]

Does it really matter? As long as the domain name is memorable it's not that important what you call yourself. I'd be tempted to shy away from adding a uk to the end of the domain name, it's looks a bit desperate.

What is important is that you use a .co.uk TLD as this will indicate to everyone (and the SE) that you are targeting the UK.

<edit> the domain name has only a teeny tiny effect on your ranking so you could call yourself robertsrooms for all it matters</edit>

 

[mediakitchen]

Thanks for the replies.

I do have a few good alternatives where I own the .co.uk but unfortunately don't own the .com. Is it very important to own the .com to protect yourself from competitors?

I was under the impression that the use of keywords in a domain name was recommended?

 

[fisicx]

Thanks for the replies.

I do have a few good alternatives where I own the .co.uk but unfortunately don't own the .com. Is it very important to own the .com to protect yourself from competitors?

I was under the impression that the use of keywords in a domain name was recommended?

Depends what you want to use the keywords for. I won't help your ranking but it may make you memorable. On the other hand, amazon and ebay seem to do OK.

If you have a memorable name then that can help establish your brand - rather than selfcateringuk you might do better with summerdays.co.uk or a word chosen at random from the dictionary.

If you buy the .co.uk and the .com has already gone but is for an overseas comapny then there is little to worry about as you will generally outrank them for a uk search.

 

[Codefixer]

IMHO having keywords in the domain name does make a difference.

It shows relevancy.

Anchor text from links from other sites.

Click through rates.

I wouldn't recommend it for every company, especially if they already have a company name or brand.

 

[bigfish]

I'd say go with a .co.uk. I have run a business before where a .com > .co.uk switch increased emails / sales drastically.

 

[mediakitchen]

Thanks guys for the replies.

I appreciate the fact that unsual names may be more memorable than keyword loaded names and that they can rank just as high. I did consider using the name "nusp.co.uk" and "nusp.com" just because it is a nice short name though it has no meaning at all

I think my .net name is as good as you can get in terms of keywords, a bit like owning hotels.net - in which case I would have thought it is better to use hotels.net rather than nusp.co.uk?

It is a difficult choice and one that is difficult to backtrack from once the decision has been made and the site goes live.

Any additional advice much appreciated

Cheers

Paul

 

[mediakitchen]

Is it worth considering using the .org.uk? I own the .net, .info and .org.uk for a particular name.

The .com is a US based company operating a similar business and the .co.uk owner wants £10000 for the domain.

I am not sure how professional .org.uk sounds - doesn't really impress me on reflection though I od recall reading that it would rank as well as a .co.uk

 

[bigfish]

Regardless, .co.uk is the best, is there not a way you can just alter the domain slightly, keeping it easy to remember, what you can register?

 

[mediakitchen]

Thanks bigfish - yes I think I will have to back and see what other domains are available - it does make sense to use a .co.uk

Cheers

Paul

 

[bigfish]

No probs really hope it goes well for u!

 

[fisicx]

IMHO having keywords in the domain name does make a difference.

But only if people are search for those specific keywords (with or without concatenation). Since more and more searches are longtail the relevancy of a keyword rich domain name is reduced.

What you should be thinking about is the long term branding. Having a memeorable name could easily outweigh the usefulness of a keyword rich domain.

 

[mediakitchen]

Thanks fisicx

Good point about memorable name. I suppose a combination of the two would be even better.

Cheers

Paul

 

[haifa]

Thanks for information....
I got the domain name here thewebpole.com and also i got the hosting,domain name register, domain appraisal, online file folder, ssl certificate etc...

 

[payrolloxford]

No matter how good the domain name is in relation to your business, I would never go with a name unless I could acquire it with both .co.uk and .com You don't want to spend time and money marketing your site, to find that later on you lose business to a competitor.

 

[robertt]

ah a thread from 2009 gets hit by spam.

nice

 

[robertt]

No matter how good the domain name is in relation to your business, I would never go with a name unless I could acquire it with both .co.uk and .com You don't want to spend time and money marketing your site, to find that later on you lose business to a competitor.

Yeah, would hate to just have loans.co.uk

 

[Professional SEO Ltd.]

If you still have avaiable .co.uk, then go for .co.uk, if you have .com or .net it doesn't really matter for SEO.

 

[robertt]

If you still have avaiable .co.uk, then go for .co.uk, if you have .com or .net it doesn't really matter for SEO.

British Internet users are six times more likely to choose a .co.uk rather than .com address when looking for information via an Internet search engine"
"62% believe a .co.uk address suggests a company is local or more relevant than a .com"
Source: Nominet Domain Name Industry Report.


Going by that and that CTR affects ranks, I would say it does .

 

[Professional SEO Ltd.]

British Internet users are six times more likely to choose a .co.uk rather than .com address when looking for information via an Internet search engine"
"62% believe a .co.uk address suggests a company is local or more relevant than a .com"

Going by that and that CTR affects ranks, I would say it does .

Of course that it is better have .co.uk as people believe that it is company based in UK.
And of course is better to have .com instead .net (same reason). But in terms of ranking improvement it doesn't have big difference.

 

[Matthewb2]

You should find a unique name that will easily identify your business in search engines and one that isn't already in use by anyone else then buy all the possible extensions on that name and webforward those extensions to your main site. If your buiness is UK based then use .co.uk as your main url