Are .com domain names better for SEO? Getting your own domain name on the internet is your identity in cyberspace. As you search about looking for domains and extensions, you encounter several domain extensions. A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of which Internet domain names consist of. You can select from
- Country code top-level domains (ccTLD): used by a country or a dependent territory. It is two letters long, for example .in for Indian domain names.
- Generic top-level domain (gTLD): is three or more letters long. Most gTLDs are available for use worldwide. The most popular ones are the .com, .net and .org
So why is the .com so popular…
It is around for a long time and net surfers are more likely to type .com in front of your domain name, if they do not remember your extension. So you might end up with free traffic on your site just because of the domain extension .com.
If you have any other domain like .info you will have to emphasize to other that it is not .com but something else. With .com it is usually implied and taken for granted.
Several other tld like .info and .tv etc. are recent additions. .com was one of the first domains to be around and commanded a premium among domain names. So there was a mad rush to buy and park pricey and popular .com domain names and sell them at high prices.
Have you ever just typed ‘yahoo’ (and not yahoo.com) in the firefox address bar and pressed ‘GO’ without adding any domain extension. You guessed it right! you are automatically taken to yahoo.com. And this is valid for any domain name and not yahoo only. So is that not a great that just by choosing a domain extension .com you have great traffic at your doorstep. Just get a good keyword for your domain.
Domain Registrars offer .com at competitive prices with other domains at $7-9/yr and is in fact one of the cheaper ones. So if you have a choice get a .com domain extension as first choice!