The domain name I wanted is already taken as a .com but is available as .net. I don't now much about website marketing so I'm asking here if naming a site as .net instead of .com makes any difference in marketability, google rankings or availability to users? There's also the option of opting for a dash (ala hey-you.com) format but I'd rather not have a dash inbetween. so does having a .net place you at a disadvantage in anyway? thanks
I would say, go for .net my own website was not available in the .com so i took .net and it is working absolutely fine.
I would keep looking for another name. You are going to have to market your site AND educate your prospects that you ARE NOT THE DOT COM. Much of any marketing you do will end up also helping the other site. Why start your new site with it already having such a large hurdle to overcome?
Damn, I actually never thought of it like that, definatly gonna do that from now on, real good advice YMC.
No, Gentile2, it does not make a bit of difference bewteen the extensions. It never has, nor will it ever. I have TheList.FM, and I tried to get the .net, but that was also taken. I went with the FM, and it actually looks better, and it also perks curiosity among some. In fact, part of me feels that I'd rather have that extension than the .com. If you are going to do online advertising, and whatnot, and they have to click on a link, what difference does it make anyway? On top of that, a couple of years from now, many, many webmasters will have to go with the .net extension as more and more .com's will be all bought up. Before too long, .net will be just as popular as the .com. Don't sweat it.
You should try looking for a different name even. I know that you feel one domain name is perfect, but maybe you can find an equivalent replacement in .com format? I know it will definitely help, but if your targeted domain name is SEO'd for a reason, than just take the .net.... its not too big of a deal.
Very true, it burns my ass to know I'm sending accidental typeins to the parked .com and they make money from my work. Its always best though if your serious about the site to buy all the top level TLDs for it. Get the .com .net .org .info and .biz and 301 redirect all them to the .com
Keep looking for a new name. I’m sure that every know-it-all on this forum will try and tell you that the extension has no affect whatsoever on SEO , but their opinion wouldn’t be any more valid than if I were to say that it does.
I was always under the impression that the dash in the domain name adds to SEO very greatly am i wrong?
The dash isn't the issue as much as the branding. It would be like me trying to open McDonald's Farm Supply in a town with 5 McDonald's restaurants. While some would know right away which was which, others would not. Even if I changed it to MacDonald's Farm Supply; the confusion would still exist. And going further to Mac-Donald's Farm Supply does little to change things. Getting a dot com domain with a hyphen because someone already has the version without the hyphen is pretty much the same issue as many people just don't think to use a hyphen and run names together because it's been done that way for so long. Sure most people follow links, but why give even 1 visitor to another site simply because you settled for a lesser domain name?
Putting in a dash is not bad for seo. It never has been. It's just that it is more common for subdomains. And you see those subdomains all over the search engine pages. It will always be like that. But, I, for one am not talking about seo. Screw seo. And I could be wrong, but I don't think Gentile2 is focusing on just seo but on marketing itself, and how it looks to potential customers. Go with any extension that is available for a really catchy domain name. Most of a webmaster's revenue comes from click ads, and links, and not that many will make the mistake of typing in .com if they see an ad in a magazine or newspaper. It's fucked up assumptions. Jesus, I wish people would use their common sense. Oh well.
search engine always give the importance on the front of a domain .so you can use .com ,net or alse .