Use .co.uk or .com for UK?

[ibz75]

I have a domain name both in .com and .co.uk. The website will be aimed at the UK market, but I thought the .com would be more brandable and easier to remember.

It will be hosted on a UK server.

What effect would this have on search results? Is a .co.uk better for SEO?

Thanks

 

[paulmatt]

Use .co.uk for UK target market, .com for global or US.

 

[cjd]

use .co.uk and have the .com divert to it

 

[OnegreatLink]

I have a domain name both in .com and .co.uk. The website will be aimed at the UK market, but I thought the .com would be more brandable and easier to remember.

It will be hosted on a UK server.

What effect would this have on search results? Is a .co.uk better for SEO?

Thanks

It would be best to get both if you do not want somebody to steal one or the other.

 

[paulmatt]

use .co.uk and have the .com divert to it

Yep, I agree.

 

[robertt]

"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

 

[ibz75]

Thanks for the response.

Can someone tell me what a 301 redirect is and how it works?

Does this mean I can target a .com at a global audience, .co.uk at UK but when someone clicks on .com it goes to the .co.uk site.

Sorry if it should be 'simples'.

 

[trebor8]

Thanks for the response.

Can someone tell me what a 301 redirect is and how it works?

Does this mean I can target a .com at a global audience, .co.uk at UK but when someone clicks on .com it goes to the .co.uk site.

Sorry if it should be 'simples'.

thats about it but your not really targeting your .com to anything. If some-one types in .com they will be re-direct to .co.uk

In google webmaster tools (settings tab)setup your .com geo targeting as unlisted (global audience)
and for your co.uk as UK, obvi...

 

[Astaroth]

When a page is requested a response header includes a code to say what type of response it is, so 404 means that the requested page couldn't be found, 200 that the page is fine, 401 that you aren't authorised to see the page.

301 and 302 both signify the page's location has moved (and gives the new address). 301 means the move is perminant where as 302 means its just a temporary thing.

You could use a response code to redirect someone based on geolocation but it isn't the norm. Most normally talk about it when redirect .com/.co.uk when they are the identical content as you want to ensure that Google knows they are the same to avoid one of them being penalised for duplicate content

 

[[PsG]Robert]

.com is for US and global!

 

[wykthorr]

I notice google sets the target audience for .co.uk domains to UK so that's probably better in your case. You could also redirect the .com to the .co.uk site. If you feel like the .co.uk extension is making your domain harder to remember then you can probably use the .com for offline promotion and the .co.uk for online.

It's usually better to get them both though, just in case somebody else thinks of the same name.

 

[trebor8]

.com is for US and global!

.com is for global, the U.S have there own domain

 

[zomex]

I notice google sets the target audience for .co.uk domains to UK so that's probably better in your case. You could also redirect the .com to the .co.uk site. If you feel like the .co.uk extension is making your domain harder to remember then you can probably use the .com for offline promotion and the .co.uk for online.

It's usually better to get them both though, just in case somebody else thinks of the same name.

I agree. If you use a .co.uk and check webmaster tools it will be set to the UK by default. If you use a .com it will be set to the US but you can always change it. It's hard to say which is the better choice. I would imagine that .co.uk will be perfect straight away while it may take a little longer for Google to see that you're targeting the UK with a .com domain. In the end either one of them is a great choice.

As others have said always redirect the one that you don't use.

Jack

 

[NetwiseHosting]

use .co.uk and have the .com divert to it

I completely agree. Buy both and redirect the .com to the .co.uk (this can probably be done direclty with your domain provider through their control panel).

Matthew

 

[pitchandstay]

Would it be a good idea to market a website as .com but then divert that to .co.uk for SEO benefits?

 

[MASSEY]

This Is The What You Should Do.

• .co.uk is the extension for the united kingdom. If you want your web page to rank well on google.co.uk then your main web address should be domain.co.uk
• Buy the .com and redirect it to the .co.uk. There is no seo benefit in doing this.
• If you wish to use the .com to create landing pages with links to your .co.uk then there will be good seo benefit.

Thats all there is to it really.
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[ecenica]

Personally I always think .com domain names look better, however as others have said, technically you're best going with a .co.uk.

That said, if you own both domain names, and your web hosting company let's you use 301 redirects then as others say, you really don't have to worry.

If you look a the super-brands, nearly all of them use .com as their main domain names. .com also takes up less space on your business cards then .co.uk, plus is easier to type. For example, iPhone/iPads often present a '.com' key when entering a URL.

Minor advantage I know but as the web turns more mobile it may become more important.

^RM.