.com or .net?

Only popular website I can think of that uses .us is image shack, and I think they got lucky.

 

Yep, they are very lucky.. but that's just because they were one of the first...
The name 'shack' isn't even good, if it would hostyourimagewith.us (it's a stupid name, but you understand what I mean) than it would even be better, but imageshack is just a stupid name and a stupid host full of ads

Well.. Only .com & .org are the ones I use.. (.info too but for proxies)
And .us if it's cool (like unblocking.us for a proxy)

Something in between..

Greetz

 

That's cleaver, unblocking.us XD

 

I'm not even going to touch us domains haha I'm from the UK, so if I was going for a regional domain then I'd go for the .co.uk, or, maybe for novelty value, .co.ck....

 

.net is ok if its a good domain. I have a site that is ranked very well as a .net and there is no way id get the .com because its parked and the guy is asking a ton of money. I built another site similiar to the first one and also put it on a .net because the .net was short and memorable but the .com was taken. I wouldn't worry about it. If the domain is parked and selling for cheap though Id snatch it up and redirect it if you could. Otherwise just continue on. If you can get the .com thats the best of course, but its hard these days.

 

I'm not exactly sure how much money the people suggesting to use .com have invested in domain names, so let me just jump in an chime in with my experience (and a lot of money spent with "domain names"):

1) If you're building a business, go with .com. If it's a business, spend $$$ to acquire the .com of your "perfect domain" and don't settle for a crappy "whatever use" .com domain just because it's available for reg fee. I just spent some good money picking up a .com just because it was going to be a business and not some random information website.

2) Everything is trashing on .NET when in reality, it's just as good as .COM in the search engines. I don't care what anyone says about search engines and TLDs... you can get the SAME results with BOTH tlds. I have PLENTY of .NETS ranked #1 on Google

3) It's ALWAYS been argued that if you could pick up Cars.net, you would DEFINITELY get it. Everyone that says "NO .NET" would definitely still buy cars.net if they saw it available right now. If you wouldn't... well then that's just sad. The "BIG 3" in TLDs are COM/NET/ORG. Cars.net would definitely be a better choice anyday over CarsClassified.com, CarPurchasesOnline.com, CarFactoryInformation.com, etc. I wouldn't even hesitate to build a site/business on a domain of THAT caliber.

4) I have LOTS of domains. I've paid the hefty prices of acquiring the .coms of domains that I own in .net. At times, I decide to develop. I'll develop a .net, even when owning the .com. The leak over traffic is ridiculous (at least for my experience). DEFINITELY nothing to even boast about... a total of probably 15-30 uniques/month on the .com with 6000+ on the .net. It's happened with a lot of domains... so it's either I really know how to brand a domain or the domaining fairies love me.

Well, I just woke up, so I'm hoping I covered what I needed to say. Conclusion: had this been an information site, I would say go for the .net. Since it's a business, cough up the cash and get a domain name that you really like in .com and just go full speed. If you CAN'T find a good .com, I would settle for a <GREAT DOMAIN>.net over a <RIDICULOUS DOMAIN>.com anyday.

 

Good advise from the post above me, alot of people can learn from that.

 

Always dot com if you can get one - dot net if as last option.

 

Good post man. If its a serious business site, get .com. If its a information orientated site .net is fine if the domain sounds easy to remember.

 

fka200, what a brilliant post! Thanks for taking the time to reply in that detail, it's a great help, and I've repped you.

The problem that I think I'm going to face is, should the site get popular, the owner of the parked domain might develop the .com and then steal my traffic. While it's just a parked domain, it's fine, as no one is going to go on it again when they realised it's parked, but if he then develops it then, should people have heard about <myname>.net, they might mistake it for <myname>.com....

Anyway, I think there's a bit more thinking to be done. Maybe if I can get the .net ranking high in the SEs before the .com is, then I'll be fine

 

For commerce/selling sites .com all the way. A .com intristically says so much more about the way you operate than you will get from the .net.

 

That's the main reason why I always suggest .com/.net (trying to own both) when establishing a legit business online. It's all about brand/image and you want to make sure you protect it.

I'd e-mail the owners of the .com and see what's up with them. I've expected some domains to be priced extremely high (when just parked) and sometimes I get surprised and buy for a very reasonable amount. Sometimes you will even get "just take it for $50" type responses.

Re-read my original post and wow... lots of grammar errors. Apologize Responding at 8AM after a night of partying probably isn't so smart either, so I'll hafta re-read this later on today as well, LOL. And if you feel like there might be anything I can help you with, feel free to PM me.

 

Always try to aim for a unique .com if your trying to develop a site. Getting .net works and they do succeed, but someone will always try to brand your name using the .com extension. Another thing to remember is that if your a non-US resident or entity, you should stay away from .us. Some lame company manages it and they've close a many of domains down for violation.

 

Listen Man , Me also will say Dot com is better and best TLD over the internet . But when you can't find .com domain of your choice , In this case .net is better . Mostly .net users use this TLD for business purpose.

Best Regards