Secure a .com
I strongly recommend purchasing a .com domain name as opposed to a .net, .info, .biz or anything else. If your chosen domain name is not available in a .com, keep looking until you find one that isn’t taken. You’ll find it worth the extra effort as .com domain names are by far the most common and most remembered. When telling a potential customer to go to your website, you may tell them to go to “mysite.net,” but what they may actually hear is go to “mysite.com.” If that happens, which is often the case, you’ll be sending someone to a competitor rather than your own site.
Once you secure your .com domain name, you might also consider purchasing the .net and other extensions as well. Securing the alternate extensions, whenever possible, can be a great strategy to keep a competitor from purchasing and building a site with a similar name as yours.
Country Code Top Level Domains (TLDs)
If your site is designed to targeting an audience in a specific country other than the United States, its best to purchase the domain extension that is assigned to that country. Here is a list of TLDs by country: http://www.domainit.com/country-domains.htm
Most Popular:
- .co.uk (United Kingdom)
- .ca (Canada)
- .fr (France)
- .us (United States)
Before you purchase the URL for the specific country you are targeting, I still recommend purchasing the .com. While not technically assigned to any country, .com domains are the ‘default’ extension used in the US. Securing the .com prevents a US competitor from sneaking into your particular branding efforts.
If you are trying to reach visitors in multiple countries, you might want to set up unique websites, each using the TLD for the specific countries you are targeting. As a side note: be sure to have your text translated in the language you are trying to target. In the case of other English speaking countries it is important to translate using local language nuances.
Find all posts on Securing a Marketing-Rich Domain Name, or follow the links to previous posts.
Laying the Foundation for a Successful Online Business
Securing a Marketing Rich Domain Name Introduction
Build Your Brand