Mar
16

Using A Domain With An Unusual Extension For Your Business

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In your search for a business domain name, you never want to get too cute or artsy that your domain ends up being associated with a geographic region you do not reside in. While .co used to be associated with Columbia, it is now so widely registered that Google is treating it as a generic domain extension. Your .co website now has a good chance of competing with the .com. But, there are other domain extensions which come across as geo-specific.domain extensions

Domain Scarcity

Don’t let good domain scarcity drive you to seemingly good alternatives that are not well thought out. In the event you come up short within your budget, the niche specific keyword domain extensions are going to make more sense for your business domain than domain extensions that are being used to complete a word (ignoring the dot in between the letters) such as mortga.ge, in which case the .ge extension represents the state of Georgia. If your business is in Georgia, great. If not, you’ve got a problem.  If you want your website to rank well in a particular region or country, it’s wise to set the geo-targeting from within Google webmaster tools. But, if your domain extension reflects the extension of a particular country that is not your own, your website will have a more difficult time ranking and you won’t be able to set your geographic region.

Local Search

Geo-specific domain extensions do work well for local search and you will have a much easier time finding an available domain if searching for one with your geographic domain extension. Is it the best choice for a domain? That depends. If your business service area does not extend past your region, you should be fine. If you plan to do business in other states, you will have a much more difficult time showing up in search results for those areas unless there is no provider in that area and your location is closest.

Other Options

If your budget is your biggest barrier, as it is for many small businesses, you might still be able to lease a premium domain and afford monthly payments. This option opens up domains your company might never be able to afford and you might be able to work out a deal with the domain owner to apply payments towards an eventual purchase.

Don’t let the lack of obvious domain names drive you to poor decisions. Before choosing a domain with an unusual extension, do your homework and keep an eye out for domains that become available. Domains expire every day and in a bad economy, people who don’t want to sell may be forced to do so.

 

Image By: Widjaya IvanCC BY 2.0

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Although I give away a LOT of info, I do promote some third party products that I use and find great value in.
Usually, I will receive a commission when these products are purchased from this site.
But as I said, I NEVER promote anything unless I find it valuable in my own business.