What domain name should I get? Please help! .net, .com.au, or other!? (20 posts)

Topic tags: domains
  • Hello!

    Ok I am starting the process of building a website, very exciting, so first things first I need to register a domain name.

    I can not get ‘artbitch.com’. Sigh.

    However, I can get some .net, .com.au, .org, options.

    Which one should I go with if I only choose one?

    Are there rules or reasons for choosing particular extensions on domain names or is it just personal preference?

    I know that some names like .com.au need to have an attached ABN or business in order to register them, which, changes things depending on what you are doing and possibly running as a business and making money etc.

    Any help!

    Thank you!!

    *)

    AB

  • Hi Art

    There are a few things you should consider in picking a domain name. If you’re within the US and NOT a nonprofit you should try to find a good option that ends in .com

    .org indicates the site is a nonprofit organization. 

    .net is just not that popular and unless you have a particular reason for wanting n-e-t then you should pass this one over.

    .au is for Australia so unless that’s your location, or location of your business you shouldn’t opt for this option.

    I’ve recently posted an article on this very topic if you’d like to take a peak:http://juleswebb.com/blog/selecting-a-domain-name/

    What is your site going to be about? “artbitch” would be an interesting url!

  • Thanks Jules!

    Perfect reply, thank you so much.

    Will read your article also, I am in Australia so .com.au would be great however, this is important as the extension can either include or exclude certain target audiences all over the world as am sure you know.

    I noticed another popular website in Australia had .net so thought maybe it was ok? But if you say avoid this then I will.

    I would love .com but it is taken by some German music label/band and so am a bit stuck. ‘Art-Bitch’ however is an option as well as ‘theartbitch’.

    Facebook had occurred to me, ‘drop the ‘the’ and all.

    Am definitely staying away from the whole non-profit thing, thank you, thank you.

    Which name do you think sounds best?

    AB

  • @arty

    Well…. you do seem to be a bit stuck. I have to say I like Art-Bitch.com better than theartbitch.com –But I’m not real clear on what the purpose of your site will be.

    I’m assuming that art is the main deal, but what medium? Does it vary? Will your site be a multimedia website? If you end up doing a fair share of videos or podcasts you could consider artbitch.tv  

    Can you give me a little insight?

  • @arty There’s a great article at SEOmoz about domains - http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/domain.  They specifically suggest avoiding hyphens and TLD’s like .info, .ws, .cc, and .name as they can come across as spammy. Also, another good article is  http://www.seo.com/blog/easy-steps-choosing-domain/.  

  • @arty I purchase my domains with .com and .net, while a friend of mine went further and purchased .org’s.

    On an interesting note, I saw a Tweet that Virginia Tech purchased a couple .xxx domains. A lot of money is going to be spent to protect brands now that the domains have opened up….

  • Hi Art, I’m also downunder in Sydney. Could I suggest a .com.au solution so everyone here knows you are Aussie and everyone everywhere else knows it too! We are generally well liked as a country. I use netregistry, they handle around 70% of domain registrations in Oz and are sort of the generic choice. If you go to the site a couple of times they will start serving you banners for excellent value registrations, around $12.00 per year, min two years. And yes, you do need an ABN number. Hope this helps.

  • I’d say go with the .com.au for the above stated reasons but just curious  why you couldn’t get the .com? was it not available? If so, try theartbitch.com 

  • Thank you so much everyone!

    Jules, Kristi Hines and Cartier, Lianne, and Dea, thank you.

    I just posted in another thread as you might have seen saying how nice it is to read these comments,  thank you much.

    Ok, am going to read through them all and take some time, but as a quick answer the website will be for people interested in the arts both locally in Australia where I am and also the world (the art community specifically those already subscribed to AB on FB) to share projects, ideas, and ultimately submit to so we have a nice, great big, community of sorts which is all about supporting each other and the arts.

    Make sense?

    It will be wonderful, I just need to spend some time setting up the architecture.

    I know it will be well received as already receive requests.

    Definitely would like to take the .com.au as you say Lianne, will try, it might have to be a business though right?

    *)

    AB

  • Good discussion…what about some of the newer options like .co and .me? I’m assuming other options beside .com will naturally grow in use over time.

  • Hmm I think we have gone full circle and ended back at .com or .com.au and with no hyphenation in the name. .org, .net, and other are out.Just need to check that .com.au will be ok for personal use and doesn’t need an ABN or business name to attach to.*)

  • @arty hi, as you are based in australia, i would strongly recommend you to go with .com.au for your business website domain, we are too an australian IT company having .com.au domain, and believe me 99% of our australian clients have same domain extension. Choosing this will help people in recognizing your australian base (this will greatly influence your local customers area) and will also greatly help you in search engine optimisation in major search engines like Google (google’s australian search engine, even google uses google.com.au for au area)

  • I’d add my vote for the .com (.com.au)…but I would suggest getting the .net and .org if you believe your site will become popular to prevent dilution of your domain name.

  • Will look into this.

    I think that .com is better but can’t use this option as someone else has it.

    My audience is NOT just Australia and so I think .com.au would be limiting as people overseas will see it as being exclusively Australian.

    Might have to use the .com.au anyways so see what happens from here.

    Thank you!

    *)

    AB

  • Hi @arty

    I am from Oz too and I took advice that said go with .com but I am wondering whether I amde the right decision now that I read comments by @moinshaikh

    I am very new at all this too. Just starting out. 

    Thing is .com is taken so you are probably stuck with .com.au at this point. The advice above suggests that this is not a bad thing. I don’t think people will see you as exclusively Australian, in the same way that I don’t see .com sites as exclusively USA. You may need to make it clear in your marketing messages that you are world wide.

    You go girl.

    Good luck with it all ;)

  • @libbythompson you’ve made no mistake by choosing .com what i said above was in perspective with australian horizon for business limited to australian locality. And yeah, while you start off with your business, at initial level we generally focus on our local market right? Then gradually we move to wider area and then finally we reach entire global. So whole thing is that at starting point i like to go with my local domain (.com.au in case of australia) then i will move to choose another domain with same name with extension of .com to reflect my global presence. Example:

    At start i will choose xyz.com.au (because it is starting of my business and right now i am present in australia only so au people are more important for me, then i grow and my business reaches global so i choose xyz.com ( i can redirect my .com.au website to .com as well) to reflect my global presence.)That’s what i said.

    Finally, once again, whether we choose .com.au or .com, it doesn’t need to be considered as right or wrong ultimately what matters is website content and message you give to people! :) @arty

  • Hey thanks for clarifying @moinshaikh. Much appreciated ;-)

  • Interesting read – I’m in Australia, but I prefer .com as it isn’t limiting to international clientele. I don’t like country suffixes and I have quite a few colleagues who do the same.

  • Hi AB, where you are located isn’t really relevant it’s where your customers (or potential customers) are located (and yes you will need an ABN for the .com.au). My last business was a .com.au because I offered web design mainly to Australians (all traffic came via Google) and .com.au’s will outrank .com’s pretty much every time. 

    My new business is a .com because the target is worldwide but mainly the US so a .com.au makes no sense (plus search engine traffic isn’t a big part of it)

    Stay away from hyphens, underscores etc. I don’t mind .co’s if you can’t get the .com just because it’s short and sounds good. .com’s will generally rank better. 

  • HI AB, I am in Australia too. I recommend Netregistry for a hosting company. I agree, with @thedannorris –  it depends on where your customers are located – Australia versus Global. You may want to revisit your short term/ long-term goals for your business. Also remember, business goals inevitably, change. Based on what you have said, I would suggest getting both a .com and a .com.au (you will need an ABN for a .com.au), if at all possible. There is also a school of thought that supports the idea of owning all the other extensions to avoid someone using them (e.g. net, .org etc). You can always point the .com to the .com.au (or vice versa) to begin with or hold on to the .com. Yes, don’t use hypens and underscores – they are generally not recommended. However, a hosting company will provide you with recommendations for “best practices”. Essentially, you don’t want to set up a .com.au only to find out someone is doing the same/similar thing with a .com (food for thought). Also from a search point of view, “theartbitch” and “artbitch” may well compete in the same space. Essentially you want your brand name to be unique as possible, to avoid as much competition, online. An SEO specialist would be a suitable professional to consult with to perform keyword research for your new website/business. I would also suggest conducting further research to make sure you are not stepping on anyone else’s trademark (seek legal advice here – I am NOT a lawyer). Please note, what I have said are only suggestions – there are in fact many ways to approach domain (and internet marketing) strategy to achieve a viable outcome.


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