The .com
version of a domain name is aimed at international
rather than specifically US companies or
commercial organisations. A .co.uk domain
name suggests a UK-based operation although
there is no practical restriction on who
can buy a .co.uk domain. So how do you decide
which to register or whether to register
both?
Cost is no big issue as
.co.uk domains cost just £9.99 each
and with the .com version at £19.99
it hardly breaks the bank. So for under
£30 you can have both versions.
.com tends to suggest more
substance and more prestige than a simple
.co.uk. There is a strong suspicion that
some of the top US and international search
engines and internet directories are more
sympathetic to including .com domains than
others and may also rank them more highly
than other types of domain. On the other
hand some specifically UK search engines
and directories probably prefer .co.uk names
for inclusion in their lists so a .com may
not get you the best possible ranking in
the UK.
So if you are not planning
to sell in the UK at all just the .com will
do. If you are only selling in the UK however
don't think that just the .co.uk is enough
on its own. Although a lot of UK residents
will use google.co.uk for example there
are still many who still prefer the international
version, google.com. So there are potential
UK customers looking for you on both!
You will also find in general
that .co.uk domains will not get ranked
in non-US and non-UK search resources whereas
.com will. For example msn.fr (France) will
accept .fr and .com domains, google.de (Germany)
favours .com and .de. So a .com domain helps
here too!
So our advice is
simply:
1. If the UK market is
of no importance to you buy just .com domains.
2. If you are a UK site
and you are not concerned with your position
in the international search engines (which
to me means you are not a commercial site),
then buy just .co.uk versions of your domain
names.
3. If you want to sell
in the UK and search engine performance
matters to you then buy both versions.
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