Which should I use... .co.uk or .com?

scwebsites · Sep 15, 2010

I have for years created websites under my own name, but have recently decided to create a web design business and website, I already have many clients and get more through word of mouth. I figure having a company website will bring even more clients, plus I want to write a blog addressing some of my clients most common questions and some general website advice etc.

I have chosen my name, registered the domain, but because I am very fussy about keeping my new 'brand' to myself, I have registered .com .co.uk .net .eu .org .org.uk blah blah blah.

Whilst all but the main TLD will be a 301 to the TLD I use, I'm confused whether I should use the .co.uk or the .com for my site.

All of my clients are UK based, and I always visit my clients in person, so my clients will likely always be from the UK. However, I would like to build up my blog to attract visitors (not clients) from all over the world.

If I use the .co.uk, will I be dramatically decreasing the number of visitors I get from other countries?

If I use .com will I loose my identity as a UK company and get less UK traffic, UK traffic being most important to me.

or... do you think from a business point of view I should forget about attracting visitors from other countries and just concentrate on my UK clients?

accelerator · Sep 15, 2010

I had to think about this a while and decided I would use the .com. The reasons are mainly for ease of use, it's easier to tell people, easier to remember, easier to type. You won't lose much UK traffic if you host the site on a UK server.

TBH if I was regging a web design name that was a made up word, I would probably do without a few of the lesser extensions like .org.uk as people wouldn't type them in by mistake, but fair enough if you want to prevent others using them. If that's the case you might think about the .co as well.

Rgds

DomCollect · Sep 16, 2010

http://www.seopackages.com/seo-guides/what-is-the-best-tld-for-your-domain.html

co.uk;-)

Phil

accelerator · Sep 16, 2010

I'd say I wouldn't let SEO considerations dictate your decision, because the extension is only one relatively minor factor. In terms of SERPs position, then links in will have a much greater impact.

I would let "brandability" considerations dictate your decision. If you want to brand as UK targetted, then go with the .co.uk, but if you want a snappier more "branded" approach, go with the .com.

Rgds

HariSeldon · Sep 16, 2010

jayweb said:
All of my clients are UK based, and I always visit my clients in person, so my clients will likely always be from the UK.

Nominet's Domain Name Industry Report concluded that 72% of UK internet users would visit a .uk address over a .com so a no-brainer in my opinion.

When asked about searching for a particular company on the Internet, 72% said they would visit a British web address above any other.

http://www.nominet.org.uk/digitalAssets/26156_Nominet_Domain_name_industry_report_2007.pdf

.

scwebsites · Sep 16, 2010

Thanks, after much deliberation I have decided to go for .com

My thinking is that .com TLD websites appear in UK search results just as much as .co.uk do, but if someone was searching on Google in Florida for example, I wonder how many .co.uk websites would come up? Much fewer I suspect.

My server is in Nottingham I believe (Heart Internet Dedicated Server) and I will tell Google that my site is UK oriented via webmaster tools, so I think it is very unlikely that I will loose any UK business. I will 301 the .co.uk to the .com anyway.

Branding is going to be massively important to me, and I think the .com will look better when I market the site. Almost 90% of my business currently comes via recommendations, so I think the .com will be more memorable if one of my clients tells someone else to look at my site and portfolio.

scwebsites · Sep 16, 2010

Oh dear, just as I posted that, HariSeldon makes a post that could make me rethink this whole thing.

Thanks HariSeldon, and I don't mean that sarcastically, very useful info.

accelerator · Sep 16, 2010

I think the effect Hari is talking about is what users would click on in the SERPs. If this was an affiliate site for selling a product I would say .co.uk absolutely no question. However, with a web design business, I would say this SERPs effect is less vital to your business.

Rgds

HariSeldon · Sep 16, 2010

I agree with accelerator to a point; if I am searching Google to buy a product or service then I have noticed myself consciously filtering out .com sites and I'll always choose .uk in the first instance.

If I'm searching for information though I'll click any old link regardless of extension.

The only rationale I can think of for my behaviour (accepting that as a UK domainer there'll be a certain amount of bias anyway) is that I quickly get bored when shopping so I just want to find something at an acceptable price and get it ordered. There are enough .com sites in Google UK serps that have prices in dollars or are based overseas and so irrelevant to me that I've conditioned myself to only start looking at such sites if I can't find what I'm looking for elsewhere. The Nominet report would seem to suggest lots of other users behave in the same way.

There are of course exceptions, if I see play.com in the serps then I'll click it as I know that's a UK site. Conversely I won't click amazon.com (as prices are in $) but will keep going through the serps and would click amazon.co.uk.

I guess this suggests that if you have a brand then the extension isn't important as people know what to expect whereas if you don't have a brand it actually could be quite important if your target market is local rather than global.