SE Preference

[JKomp]

Hi, youknow how SEs favour domains with keywords in them, do SEs have any preference with regards to .com or .net etc? I realise .com addresses are better, but for different reasons.

[cyanide]

no the domain extension is not a factor in ranking.
However country-specific domain extensions tend to have a heavier weight for localized search within that country

[timcrafton]

no the domain extension is not a factor in ranking.
However country-specific domain extensions tend to have a heavier weight for localized search within that country

So might it be advisable to register mydomain.mycountry and mirror my site to the URL? Or would that be a nono in to SE.

[JKomp]

I thought as much, had a client insisting that they had read otherwise. thanks for clearing that up.

[cyanide]

no problem, jkomp

So might it be advisable to register mydomain.mycountry and mirror my site to the URL? Or would that be a nono in to SE.

If by saying mirror you mean duplicate? ... then yes, it's a no-no. A duplicate content filter will be applied.

I have many Canadian clients that are targetting Canadian consumers. I usually advise them to pickup the .ca and .com . .ca because it's country-specific and .com because it tends to be more memorable.

But .... install the website on the .ca and just forward the .com from your registrar.

[timcrafton]

If by saying mirror you mean duplicate? ... then yes, it's a no-no. A duplicate content filter will be applied.

I have many Canadian clients that are targetting Canadian consumers. I usually advise them to pickup the .ca and .com . .ca because it's country-specific and .com because it tends to be more memorable.

But .... install the website on the .ca and just forward the .com from your registrar.

I thought I had read something about that before... So I am not sure I understand what you mean with your last paragraph, could you elaborate on that for me a little, sorry for being a total noob :)

[cyanide]

no problem Tim. We were all noobs at some time lol

Well, it just means you should never have 2 identical websites online.
With multiple domains, when signing up for a hosting account, you sign up with just one of your domains, upload your web pages as you normally would. Then for any additional domains, just point them to this website.
It's pretty standard for a domain registrar to have some kind of domain forwarding service.

Is this more clear? or not... let me know

[JKomp]

Or stick some quality content on that seperate domain, on the same subject as your main domain and link it to your original site. This is only worth doing if you are going to make the effort to develop both sites to a high quality.

[timcrafton]

Is this more clear? or not... let me know

Ok, yes I see what you mean, just have .mycountry domain redirect to my .com domain. I think that is what you mean, correct?

Or stick some quality content on that seperate domain, on the same subject as your main domain and link it to your original site. This is only worth doing if you are going to make the effort to develop both sites to a high quality.

I have read (on this forum I think) that having multiple domains registered to the same person/entity link backs can actuall penalize you too. I don;t know if this is correct or not.
So basically, if I sold widgets on my main site, and I made "All about Widgets" as an Info site, then linked my content back to my widget store that could help improve my ranking, even though I am the owner of both domains>?

[JKomp]

I can only talk from my own personal experience and what i have found to work for me and my clients - but yes that has worked for me.