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larslarson123
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Joined: 4 Dec 2008
Posts: 96
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2009 15:38
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When choosing a domain name for a review/price comparison website, would it be best to use a .com or .org domain? Anyone know which generates more traffic or makes people generally feel better about the site so they're more likely to buy?
As always, thank you 
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 607
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2009 16:38
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The majority of Internet users automatically associate .com with Websites in general and commercial sites in particular. That fact makes a compelling reason to go with the .com TLD as your first choice, especially for the type of site you are considering.
That's one point of view.
On the other hand, if you opted to use a .org TLD for the same review/price comparison site, you might gain some credibility from the perception that you are an impartial organization, with no vested interest in any of the products you are reviewing.
But, as far as generating traffic is concerned, it's the marketing and promotional strategies that you implement that'll make the difference, not the domain ending.
Hermas
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 2224
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2009 20:05
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Hi Lars,
I concur with Hermas on all accounts.
Generally speaking, the .com is associated with an internet site more than any other extension.
If you ever have a choice - non-profit org excluded perhaps - make the .com your first choice.
Second and third choices would be .org and .net.
.biz, .tv, and .us are also decent choices.
Several years ago, .org generated a feeling of trust more than any other site because that extension was usually favored and chosen by honest non-profit sites.
It still carries some of that reputation but to a lesser extent now that it is no longer exclusive to goodwill organizations.
.com usually gives you a slight edge but I'm perfectly comfortable using .org and .net.
There's been a rumor circulating that SEs favor the .com extension. I disagree with it. I see .net and .org sites outranking .com sites all the time. There are far more .com sites so we see them on top more often than with other extensions.
I think that said phenomenon has clouded perceptions a bit and may be why the rumor has had traction for a while.
~Newbie Shield~
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larslarson123
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Joined: 4 Dec 2008
Posts: 96
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2009 02:07
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Thanks guys.
I'd have to agree that I'm sort of split. However, before I started internet marketing, I actually did think that you have to be some sort of impartial organization or obtain a special credibility to get .org.
I have a feeling there are a lot of random searchers that would feel the same... I've got plenty of time to think, just wondering!
Are there any domain endings that you actually do need to get a special certification or something? like .gov?
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 607
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2009 03:47
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TLDs such as .GOV .MIL .EDU are restricted to US governmental agencies, the US military, and accredited educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities. The .PRO TLD is limited to doctors, lawyers and CPAs and requires proof of the appropriate credentials.
Hermas
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Newbie Shield
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2009 08:15
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larslarson123: However, before I started internet marketing, I actually did think that you have to be some sort of impartial organization or obtain a special credibility to get .org.
Hi Lars,
You're welcome.
That used to be the case and like many others, we tend to give the .org a little more trust than most other extensions.
Hermas is right about .gov, .mil, .edu, and .pro. I've verified this with techs from a hosting company.
~Newbie Shield~
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larslarson123
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Joined: 4 Dec 2008
Posts: 96
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2009 19:03
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Nice, it's good to know that there a few you can really trust.
Or can you? That's assuming you can trust your government and teachers haha.
I might just have to go with both .com and .org
Can't lose that way!
I'm sure it's good to focus on a certain niche, but is it better to focus on a single website? If you can maintain quality throughout a number of sites, would this be more effective for getting the most traffic and customers?
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 2224
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2009 19:39
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larslarson123: ...I'm sure it's good to focus on a certain niche, but is it better to focus on a single website?...
Hi Lars,
Personally, I'd perfect one site at a time. When ready, consider branching out with a related site or something entirely different.
Risk diversity - same as with stocks.
larslarson123: ...If you can maintain quality throughout a number of sites, would this be more effective for getting the most traffic and customers?...
Yes.
That said, if you spread yourself too thin too quickly, you'll buckle under the heavy responsibilities - especially if each site is a blog.
There is a hell of a lot to do each day just managing and promoting a single site. It's no small task when done properly.
It's good to air that type of question though.
Some believe in pouring everything they got into a single site (provided they can see that it seems to be doing fairly well) while others like to diversify with three or so different topics. Some folks even like to engage in "niche domination".
Once a webmaster-marketer reaches a certain level of experience and competence, they are usually able to see which style will suit them best. It's a personal call and only time will tell.
~Newbie Shield~
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Sonni
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Joined: 10 Jun 2008
Posts: 416
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2009 20:52
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I was focusing on one site then I got bored and lost inspiration on the topic so I decided to start a new one so I could write about something else, didn't want to lose motivation either. It was the best choice and helped to have a little diversity and look forward to writing again. Got to be careful though not to have too many.
On the com and orgs I have both and one doesn't seem to fare better than the other, however, from what I've read it's all in the back links.
I could be wrong since I'm no expert, but I think more about back links than I do com or org.
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Newbie Shield
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# Posted: 3 Jan 2009 16:08 · Edited by: Newbie Shield
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Sonni: from what I've read it's all in the back links.
Hi Sonni,
A lot of it is in the back links. But the new kid on the block is stickiness and that requires providing valuable content. Stickiness has to do with time on the site and page views.
Search engines assume that if a visitor is spending time on the site and viewing more than one page, the site must be relevant to the search and must contain something valuable.
That just supports my longevity and valuable content sentiment all the more. It's what we as visitors want anyhow. That makes creating sites that are visitor-centric more valuable than ever.
At some point last year, Google had around 120 tidbits or so in their algorithm. They now have around 200. A big change has taken place in the algo and I think that it's largely due to the stickiness factor.
Web 2.0 and anything interactive or community-based such as comments and video are likely to be a big part of the new algo as well.
Back links are still powerful - at least for now.
I very much appreciate the way the algo seems to be evolving as I think that visitors should come first and I'll be watching intently as the impacts unfold throughout the new year.
~Newbie Shield~
Edited to add "interactive"
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Sonni
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Joined: 10 Jun 2008
Posts: 416
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# Posted: 3 Jan 2009 21:43
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Thanks NS I've never heard of stickiness that's a new one for me. I do try to write the best I can and figure I'll write better as I go along. Live and learn on the net everyday.
I'm always open to changing things for the better and get back links if I can. Mostly I get those from article marketing. It seems there's a lot of variables to this and requires a strategy if you're to be successful. You have helped me lots and I thank you.
Sonni
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MyOwnBoss
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Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 109
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# Posted: 5 Jan 2009 01:04 · Edited by: MyOwnBoss
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Newbie Shield: Hi Sonni, A lot of it is in the back links. But the new kid on the block is stickiness and that requires providing valuable content. Stickiness has to do with time on the site and page views. Search engines assume that if a visitor is spending time on the site and viewing more than one page, the site must be relevant to the search and must contain something valuable. That just supports my longevity and valuable content sentiment all the more. It's what we as visitors want anyhow. That makes creating sites that are visitor-centric more valuable than ever. At some point last year, Google had around 120 tidbits or so in their algorithm. They now have around 200. A big change has taken place in the algo and I think that it's largely due to the stickiness factor. Web 2.0 and anything interactive or community-based such as comments and video are likely to be a big part of the new algo as well. Back links are still powerful - at least for now. I very much appreciate the way the algo seems to be evolving as I think that visitors should come first and I'll be watching intently as the impacts unfold throughout the new year. ~Newbie Shield~ Edited to add "interactive"
Heh. The stickiness thing makes me laugh. A couple of years ago, everyone was saying make your site as ugly and painful an experience as possible so your click-thru rate will increase for your ads or affiliate links. I was constantly explaining that my clickthru rates are good and my conversion rates are excellent and that people spend an average of several minutes on each page of my sites. It's just funny that now people are saying try to get your traffic interested and your conversions will increase.
As for .com, etc. :
From human trust POV - I think .com and .net are tops and .info and .biz are bottom.
From search engine POV - I have .info's that rank well ahead of many, many .coms. I believe the extension has no impact.
For ranking:
NewbieShield is right. Right now, backlinks (number and quality) are the single most important factor.
My opinion - 2nd most important factor is keyword relevance. If you're doing research for the weight loss niche and you notice a lot of people asking how to fit into last year's pants, you've got 2 choices:
a name like: Thunderthighassassins.com is cute and catchy from the human standpoint. On the other hand, a name like: howtofitintolastyearspants.com looks stupid from the human POV, but you can get to the top of Google results very, very easily for the keyword "how to fit into last year's pants".
I think for the absolute best results I'd pick a main site like thunderthighassassins.com that you can brand and monetize, then pick several like howtofitintolastyearspants.com (and other keywords) that redirect to your main site. That way, get to get a lock on the keyword searches and still have a catchy, brandable mainsite.
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larslarson123
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Joined: 4 Dec 2008
Posts: 96
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2009 17:31
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Very interesting feedback guys, thank you.
So on the topic of backlinks, how does one most commonly acquire these? Is it when someone publishes your articles, etc.? Maybe it's a silly question, but can you buy backlinks? Is there a secret to obtaining as many as possible?
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Sonni
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2009 18:06
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I mostly get back links from article marketing Ezine Articles ranks high so if you get people coming to your site from the resource box you now have a quality back link. You can exchange links and you can buy links. There's some black hat stuff I don't know anything about, or maybe even buying them is black or gray hat I don't know. Not very techie, but I do read a lot.
Sonni
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VictoriaNTC
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Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 544
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2009 19:15
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Newbie Shield: At some point last year, Google had around 120 tidbits or so in their algorithm. They now have around 200. A big change has taken place in the algo and I think that it's largely due to the stickiness factor.
Oh don't I know...just look at the SEO For Firefox stats!
I say avoid .biz certainly.
Victoria
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larslarson123
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2009 06:20
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Cool, I'm really glad Ezinearticles is effective, because I really enjoy submitting content and I get a ton of clickthroughs
Do you guys notice that more people read your articles as you submit more and more of them? If quantity helps, I'll be sure to be in great shape in the coming months.
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 2224
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2009 09:14
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Hi Lars,
Glad you're doing well with EzineArticles. That's a powerful platform.
Good writers develop a reputation and a following over time - same as with any community. Good clickthroughs at EzineArticles is a very good sign :)
Congrats,
~Newbie Shield~
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Marktech
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Joined: 8 Jan 2008
Posts: 219
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2009 12:19 · Edited by: Marktech
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I've heard that one should stay away from the .biz type of domain - it makes the visitor think you are trying to sell them something.
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larslarson123
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2009 15:08
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Nice, thank you NS. I have a lot of experience writing for newspaper-style publications so articles come very naturally for me. It's refreshing to be able to write about anything that pops into my head instead of trying to chase down a lead and get interviews, etc. It's no problem when I want to incorporate quotes and other research info tho which is really handy.
Sounds like the consensus is stay away from .biz! lol
I'm leaning toward .org 'cause it makes me feel like more of a badass haha but we'll see.
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Dan_dare
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Joined: 3 Jan 2009
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# Posted: 9 Jan 2009 02:06
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I'd say .com is best, If you are going to deal with a normal user. If your target customer is a professional operator you can use .org, but org indicate a big company or a bit organization.
Good Luck!!
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genius
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Joined: 5 Oct 2008
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# Posted: 9 Jan 2009 10:26
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.com is simply the best TLD and there is no doubt about it. on the other hand, .org is best for a non profit organization. so if you are not representing a non profit organization, go for .com
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larslarson123
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# Posted: 9 Jan 2009 14:46
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The polls are in......
.com is the winner!
thanks for your feedback everyone :)
I seldom make any important decisions without consulting my friends on the web first! Hopefully working together we can make our journeys go a lot smoother.
have fun out there
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Homeboy
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2009 20:03
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I guess I'm a bit late, but yeah, I'd go with .com anyday, lol.
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larslarson123
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2009 20:34
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Hah better late than never, glad to confirm the polls lol
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