katropa
07-06-2007, 02:22 PM
How do I pick my domain and where should I host it?
I frequently see posts on this forum asking whether one should host a .COM or a country specific domain and what impact it will have on the SERP's. Since I'm in the same boat at the time I have done some research and have come up with the following two conclusions that will ensure that your SERP's will be seen world wide (with exceptions explained below):
Get a country specific domain (i.e. mywebsite.com.au) and host it anywhere in the world.
Get a .COM domain (i.e. mywebsite.com) and host it in your own country (Australia) or the country you wish to target.Which one of the above choices you pick in the end ultimately will be governed by the cost. In most cases (at least here in South Africa) the country specific domains are cheaper than the .COM domains and hosting them in the USA is much cheaper (larger disk space, bandwidth plus PHP & MySQL).
I'll explain:
Lets assume our web content is Australian specific and you are #1 in the Google SERP's: You see, Google dishes up its country specific search engine (i.e. google.com.au), even if you type in "google.com" in the address bar and therefore gives a Googler the option to choose from searching "the web" or only "pages from Australia". Should the Australian Googler pick any one of the search options you are guaranteed to be seen in the SERP's as Google will pick either ".com.au" or ".com" web sites hosted in Australia (and I assume other search engines do the same that have the option).
Exceptions:
Your SERP's will also feature in the UK (i.e. google.co.uk) as long as the Googler does not select "pages from the UK". If you want to target the UK you need to get a "mywebsite.co.uk" domain and it does not matter where you host it. Or you need to get a "mywebsite.com" domain and host it in the UK in which case the Australian Googler searching for "pages from Australia" will not be able to see you.
If you choose to register a .COM domain and host it in the USA you will not be seen by Googlers in other parts of the world if they choose the "pages from ..." option when searching.
Conclusion:
If a Googler form the UK (i.e. google.co.uk) is looking for something in Australia (eg. Kangaroo) be assured that he/she will not choose "pages from the UK" during his/her search. Sooner or later he/she will search "the web". However if you need to market a non-country specific (global) product (eg. sheep) world wide, you will have to register/host a domain for/in each country to cover the globe for the reasons given above.
SEO Benefits:
Also if a "mykeyword.com" domain has already been taken you can register a "mykeyword.com.au" or "mykeyword.co.za" and reap the same SEO benefits as your competition. Also if Googlers pick the "pages from ..." option during their searches you have less competition to face.
Therefore in my opinion it is good enough to choose any one of the 2 hosting options I have given above. :D
I frequently see posts on this forum asking whether one should host a .COM or a country specific domain and what impact it will have on the SERP's. Since I'm in the same boat at the time I have done some research and have come up with the following two conclusions that will ensure that your SERP's will be seen world wide (with exceptions explained below):
Get a country specific domain (i.e. mywebsite.com.au) and host it anywhere in the world.
Get a .COM domain (i.e. mywebsite.com) and host it in your own country (Australia) or the country you wish to target.Which one of the above choices you pick in the end ultimately will be governed by the cost. In most cases (at least here in South Africa) the country specific domains are cheaper than the .COM domains and hosting them in the USA is much cheaper (larger disk space, bandwidth plus PHP & MySQL).
I'll explain:
Lets assume our web content is Australian specific and you are #1 in the Google SERP's: You see, Google dishes up its country specific search engine (i.e. google.com.au), even if you type in "google.com" in the address bar and therefore gives a Googler the option to choose from searching "the web" or only "pages from Australia". Should the Australian Googler pick any one of the search options you are guaranteed to be seen in the SERP's as Google will pick either ".com.au" or ".com" web sites hosted in Australia (and I assume other search engines do the same that have the option).
Exceptions:
Your SERP's will also feature in the UK (i.e. google.co.uk) as long as the Googler does not select "pages from the UK". If you want to target the UK you need to get a "mywebsite.co.uk" domain and it does not matter where you host it. Or you need to get a "mywebsite.com" domain and host it in the UK in which case the Australian Googler searching for "pages from Australia" will not be able to see you.
If you choose to register a .COM domain and host it in the USA you will not be seen by Googlers in other parts of the world if they choose the "pages from ..." option when searching.
Conclusion:
If a Googler form the UK (i.e. google.co.uk) is looking for something in Australia (eg. Kangaroo) be assured that he/she will not choose "pages from the UK" during his/her search. Sooner or later he/she will search "the web". However if you need to market a non-country specific (global) product (eg. sheep) world wide, you will have to register/host a domain for/in each country to cover the globe for the reasons given above.
SEO Benefits:
Also if a "mykeyword.com" domain has already been taken you can register a "mykeyword.com.au" or "mykeyword.co.za" and reap the same SEO benefits as your competition. Also if Googlers pick the "pages from ..." option during their searches you have less competition to face.
Therefore in my opinion it is good enough to choose any one of the 2 hosting options I have given above. :D