.uk or .co.uk ?

[Bashar]

I'm about to try out a small IT services business for which domain I should go .co.uk or .uk, I just wondered if there's any reason I shouldn't go for .uk and what's about the SEO or Google point of view ?
the name I chose available in both domain .uk and .co.uk but I'm really confuse!!!
Thank you...

 

[Xtm_Mike]

Buy both and protect your brand I would personally go with the .co.uk simply because it's more common, but you can choose whichever you prefer there is no difference.

I always grab both and redirect the .uk to the .co.uk

 

[WhizzPeople]

I agree with the advice of buying both domains. If .com domain is available, I will consider buying that domain too.

Setup your website using one domain and redirect all to the active domain name. Always remember to use 301 Permanent Redirects.

All the best.

 

[webhostuk]

Yes to secure your brand name its better you keep both .uk and .co.uk name.

 

[mugatea]

And what could happen if you weren't to buy both and 'secure your brand'?

 

[Clinton]

Er, if you buy the .co.uk then don't you have an automatic block on the .uk? Well it was the case in the past so might be worth checking with Nominet. Why pay for two if you only need one and can block the other one for free?

 

[Bashar]

Thank you all

 

[Xtm_Mike]

And what could happen if you weren't to buy both and 'secure your brand'?

If you purchased only the .uk (why wouldn't you, it's shorter and snappier?) then somebody could essentially register the .co.uk under the same name or vice versa... potentially impacting your business.

Er, if you buy the .co.uk then don't you have an automatic block on the .uk? Well it was the case in the past so might be worth checking with Nominet. Why pay for two if you only need one and can block the other one for free?

Any .co.uk domain names registered before 10th June 2014 got first refusal for the .uk equivalent for 5 years from the .uk release date... this expires 10th June 2019.. it's not a block, it's a reservation that will expire, if somebody is serious about securing a brand then it's highly recommended to spend the extra £5 for the .uk variant... As far as I am aware it does not apply to new registrations

 

[Bashar]

@Clinton That's the question do they will block the other one because I don't need to pay for both domain.
I have send them email just now, lets see what they will answer.
Regards

 

[Xtm_Mike]

@Clinton That's the question do they will block the other one because I don't need to pay for both domain.
I have send them email just now, lets see what they will answer.
Regards

See my reply above, it's not a block, it's a reservation and applied to previously registered .co.uk domain names.

 

[Bashar]

@Xtm_Mike so I have to pay for the other one. Thank you

 

[aflat9]

Good idea @Xtm_Mike Buy both and redirect the .uk address to your .co.uk address.
.co.uk is more established - it won't give you a noticeable boost from SEO but it will feel more familiar with customers - in turn making them click on you more - in turn boosting your rankings so in hindsight I guess it will have a slight effect!

 

[websensejim]

for brand protection, buying both makes sense. I would definitely have co.uk as your visible address though. Although .uk has been around for a while now, it just doesn't command the same respect as co.uk. Its not as cheap looking as some other TLDs but it just doesn't work as well from a branding point of view.

 

[Bookmemate]

Is your business solely focused on the UK? If not as an IT services business you could try .io , it's trendy in techy type startups and has more international appeal. If it just a UK business then I think .co.uk is the better of the two.

 

[fisicx]

.io it trendy but useless. People gravitate towards .co.uk and .com - anything else confuses them.

Remember that many people still type the domain name into google and click on the top result. They like to see familiar TLDs (like .co.uk and .com)

 

[Bookmemate]

Wouldn't it depend who the 'people' are, if his target market for the IT services are young trendy techy types then I think .io is a good option. It's also a lot easier/cheaper to get a decent domain name.

 

[Xtm_Mike]

I like .io, but you really need to be targeting the correct audience when using this type of tld.. If you're an IT services business then the businesses/individuals looking for you will generally be regarded as non-techy.

If you're targeting other tech crowds then .io will be fine.

I'm a big fan of the new TLD boom but the uptake has been really slow.. it's not catching on at all, so at the moment I am sticking with the well known extensions .net, .org, co.uk and .com

 

[Bashar]

Thank you everybody, I bought both of them already.... .uk and .co.uk
Best Regards

 

[Bashar]

here is the Answer from Nominet.....

Thank you for your email.


As long as the .uk domain name is available, you can purchase this without the .co.ukdomain name.


The only thing that you would need to be aware of is that if an existing version of the domain name was already registered on the 28th October 2013, you may not be able to register the .uk (as the rights to the .uk domain name would go to the registrant of the existing domain name - this includes .org.ukand .me.uk). We can certainly check this for you if you can confirm the domain name in question?


Purchasing the .uk domain name would not block the .co.uk from working - it would still be available for other parties to register on a first come, first served basis. If you did not want other parties to register the .co.uk , you would need to register both of the domain names.

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

Am I just old school or does anything other than .com, .co.uk and .net for a business website just make no sense?