Does the extension matter for SEO? I was planning on a .com.au domain instead of .com, will this hinder my SERPS? And if it's no problem, is there anywhere that lets you register .com.au for just one year? the minimum seems to be two.
Well all TLD's or domain extension are regarded as equal in terms of SEO.i have been using info domain for quite a while and i didn't find any difference.
.com.au shouldn't be a problem - I've been noticing that the SEO advantage of .com, .net and .org domains seems to be much less lately.
If you think your SEO strategy can overcome the difference of your domain extension, than I would suggest you to go ahead with a .com.au extension. And yes, .com domains are renowned and definitely have more weight over other domain extensions. Hope this helps.
You are obviously talking about localizing results if you are going for the .com.au TLD. Keep in mind that those extensions (are suposed to) come up in Australian results, so if you are marketing your product to the world, dont bother. Just go the .com It is known that the search engines do give preferential treatment to .com, .net. and .org however, I have ranked .info domains higher than powerful .com domains before, so it is all really a matter of a few things: -The content -Your off page strategy -Good balanced relevant keywords