.co vs .net

[dannyx]

Hello, I have a website, not published yet, so changing the domain extension is not the slightest problem.

The choice is only between .co and net so nothing to mention .com etc.

At the moment, the website is on .co, but I also own .net and it fits nicely with the brand name, it fits with it and sounds good. (I don't want to reveal the exact name of the brand yet )

And my question is what do you think about it? Is the fact that the site is English / Spanish and I promote bitcoin operators, some of which accept US players but are not targeted anywhere, a general basis for my .net domain to be blocked? After all, it's the domain of the USA. And I would prefer my site to be safe.
I know that it is practically irrelevant for SEO. I would probably stay, but the nice wording of the brand name from .net raised my doubts before the publication.
So what do you think about .co and .net comparisons in general and about the "problem" above.

[chaumi]

As you say, it probably doesn't matter which you use...but personally I would go with the .net

And to give you extra piece of mind....there is at least one major poker site that's on a .net that carries considerable authority (and Google US rankings along with ROW), and almost certainly you'd find casino .nets as well if you looked. I'm not aware of any .co's in a similar position, though there may well be one or two. It's just more likely that none have been built that have been created, constructed, and aged well enough (and perhaps worked well enough with other 'tricks') to get the authority.

And I wouldn't say .net is a 'domain of the USA', it's a global TLD.

[Mattbar]

Personally I like .co domains and use a few of them. As chaumi says though not much in it and depends on preference, just go with the one you like best and you think fits with your domain name best.

[universal4]

Off topic posts, as well as those that referenced or quoted the off topic posts have been removed


I agree that I think one can build brand awareness no matter what the tld extension is used.

Rick
Universal4

[Former Member 14]

I was around when we only had .com, .net, and .org (as well as certain country specific extensions)... And only a few domain registrars.

Old timers will remember, NetworkSolutions... Man they charged an arm and a leg back then.

Frankly, the extension isn't the problem, it's whether the owner is prepared to put the work in to Brand that Brand name, regardless of the ext.

Albeit a little later in the ext life, but Coffee.Club comes to mind.

I recall when people were knocking those extensions, too.

[Sherlock]

I would not play with .co if you want to do Spanish market, because god knows how google takes that Colombian domain. He can take it as generic, but with Spanish language on it idk.

Another thing is it is cctld managed by Colombia. So ask yourself whether the domain - in case you have success - is more in danger in the USA or in Colombia.

Also .co are roughly 2x as expensive, but that does not matter because you have them both.

[Cash Bonus]

I would choose the .net extension to work on for my next website.

The explanation Chaumi has given you is very good.

[gil.langelaan]

As you say, it probably doesn't matter which you use...but personally I would go with the .net

And to give you extra piece of mind....there is at least one major poker site that's on a .net that carries considerable authority (and Google US rankings along with ROW), and almost certainly you'd find casino .nets as well if you looked. I'm not aware of any .co's in a similar position, though there may well be one or two. It's just more likely that none have been built that have been created, constructed, and aged well enough (and perhaps worked well enough with other 'tricks') to get the authority.

And I wouldn't say .net is a 'domain of the USA', it's a global TLD.

Totally agree with you.

[dannyx]

I would not play with .co if you want to do Spanish market, because god knows how google takes that Colombian domain. He can take it as generic, but with Spanish language on it idk.

Another thing is it is cctld managed by Colombia. So ask yourself whether the domain - in case you have success - is more in danger in the USA or in Colombia.

Also .co are roughly 2x as expensive, but that does not matter because you have them both.

Thanks for all the answers.


I didn't think about that. Theoretically .co is treated as global ... but even though the English version will be more important, I am also planning a Spanish-language version, of course not for Colombia, but globally.

I was a bit convinced of .net, I like .co and .io and initially I chose between them. I wanted to have .co in the logo so that there would be no confusion with com (although I think it's a margin). With .net there is probably no such need.

I am not a native of English, but at the end of the domain name is BET and it seems to me that "nice on the ear" I am composing with NET, BET.NET. But in this situation, perhaps I am wrong.

[baldidiot]

I would not play with .co if you want to do Spanish market, because god knows how google takes that Colombian domain. He can take it as generic, but with Spanish language on it idk.

Old Cuttsy said that they treat .co as generic, you can set the international target in GWT as well.

[dannyx]

Additionally, in the case of .co and .io domains, it often says "Not under ICANN" "US Laws not applicable". However, while researching the topic I found out that for example the .co registry is handled by a 100% American company. So you don't really know how it is, anyway in case of a small website it doesn't really matter.

I also read that the advantage of net over co is length of registration which is maximum 10 years and in case of co 5 years.
However, I think that there is no difference and I have never renewed domains for such a long time. 5 years is totally ok.

[Sherlock]

Old Cuttsy said that they treat .co as generic, you can set the international target in GWT as well.

That is not the issue. Many cctlds that are not considered as generic, in fact very well can be used as generic and they rank worldwide. I tested it and I use it. Indeed you must have international content on the domain. .co for sure can be generic - but I have doubts it always is generic, like .net is

When you have spanish content on Colombian domain, I imagine you might have negative points with the Spanish content in other LATAM countries.

Edit: I still think how to write it with occams razor. I think .co is a normal generic domain unless used for Spanish speaking countries with spanish content), where it might behave unpredictably (e.g. ranking well in Colombia, but get minus points in Argentina or Peru).

[dannyx]

I will stay with .co
As already said, it doesn't really matter, it's important to have good content etc.
At most, he will give up the Spanish language and use, for example, Portuguese for it. Alternatively, he will block Columbus in htaccess using Spanish. However, these are not very important issues.