domain names

[ricstew]

.com, .com.au, .net, .net.au, dot whatever does it really matter?
cheers
Jan

[kiwi]

as i understand it for seo it does matter

ie if you are www.ricstew.com.au youd get ranked higher in an australian only web sercah as opposed to www.ricstew.com

But people have written books on SEO so it to me is a bit of a dark art

I do know .com.au is much more exe than .com

[Longshots]

well here's the thing

Lets say you own and market yourself as:

www.ricimages.com.au

You'd be naffed off if someone comes along and registers

www.ricimages.com

and then it gets more fun if someone registers the singular:

www.ricimage.com.au

And then someone else registers

www.rigimages.net.au

Why would I think about this ? - because unfortunately all of those issues have happened to me - so all of those variants do matter in the end, and if this is your business, then you're going to need to factor a number of domain registrations in your annual costs.

[Kym]

+1 to William's post
Also .com.au requires a registered Austrian Business with an ABN

[Speedway]

If you are a business it would pay to register .com.au, .com, .net.au, and .net to cover the popular ones and protect your exclusivity other more obscure ones are not such a problem. If not a business it is not a problem. As Kim said you need to have an ABN to register .au.
Keith.

[Longshots]

And again - sorry to sound repetitive - but when you think you're covered - ie people cant imitate you, then remember to either buy the singular or plural version of your domain name.

[ricktas]

Agree. I have both www.ausphotography.net.au and www.ausphotography.net registered.

[kiwi]

I have www.ausphotography.co.nz and www.australasianphotography.net.au too

[farmer_rob]

+1 to William's post
Also .com.au requires a registered Austrian Business with an ABN

I think I might register austrianphotography.com.au - or should that be austrianphotography.com.at ?

More seriously, if you are looking at it from a business perspective, I think you need both the .com and .com.au.

I think the .net and .net.au mark you as cheap or small-scale or non-profit or hobby (just my opinion).

In choosing a site name, I'd take longshot's comments about plurals on board, and consider what other variations might bleed page views away - minor spelling errors etc. (There would be value in owning macrosoft.com, but also micrsoft.com and mjcrosoft.com). I also think you need to be able to spell it easily over the phone - but I maybe misreading your potential customer base.

[Kym]

I have www.ausphotography.co.nz and www.australasianphotography.net.au too

Give you AU$0.20 for the two of them :p

[ricstew]

Hmmmm.....much more complicated than I anticipated. My first choice is gone. I can get .com but not .com.au in 1st choice. ( didnt check net etc spose I should ) If I put photography after it, they all are available but I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. I already have an abn....

hmmmm
cheers
Jan

[ricktas]

For businesses always try and stick with .com or .com.au

.net and .net.au are for networks (which forums fit into)

.org and .org.au are for organisations, and are generally for NFP, community groups etc. I know a person who bought a .org.au and was forced to give it up cause they were not using it for the 'intent' of the domain extension.

Then you have the .biz and .tv etc, which do not seem to get much favour at all.

Lots of choices, but the .com and .com.au are the most common.

[ctorry]

This is a really tricky area.

I know there are actual business' around that watch domain names expire on a daily basis, once it expires anybody can grab it. The old business often takes the new acquiring business to court to get the domain name back or pays a large fee to the new acquiring business, in any case this can be a costly exercise. I strongly recommend that all domain name renewals are paid on time - I think it is every two (2) years that they are due.

[jjphoto]

There are rules that you have to follow when you register a domain name and the company that you use will list them on their site.

JJ

[Redgum]

Thank God my name's not John Smith or Bob Brown. :)

[ricstew]

What sort of rules John? I am still wavering on what to do.....the old boy says " just make a decision! " but it aint that straightforward!:eek:

[agb]

deleted

[jjphoto]

What sort of rules John? I am still wavering on what to do.....the old boy says " just make a decision! " but it aint that straightforward!:eek:

I couldn't find a decent link to point you to but if you go through the process of registering a name you'll normally be required to ensure certain things, such as that your business name is substantially similar or relevant to the domain name or that you have a registered business name etc. In a nutshell, the AU domains are not really open slather for anyone to register any name or for any purpose and if it is decided (presumably be the AU registrar ?) at some stage that you've done the wrong thing then the name can potentially be taken away from you. I'm no expert but that's my basic understanding. The rules for other domains (non .au) are quite different.

Sniff around the Melbourneit.com.au site or go through the process of registering a name and you'll see for yourself. I think Melbourne IT is the AU registrar so call them for advice, they are very helpfull.

JJ

[ricstew]

Many thanks John. I may give them a burl :)
cheers
Jan

[Longshots]

I found Melbourne IT to be quite expensive. You could also try

http://www.netregistry.com.au/

and

http://www.smartyhost.com.au/

I've been very happy with them

[jjphoto]

Or http://www.cheapdomains.com.au/

I haven't used they yet, but I will.

JJ

[ricstew]

I wonder why the price differences?

[ricktas]

I wonder why the price differences?

Same as anything you buy, some sell stuff cheaper than others

[stockshots4u]

Many good replies here and probably many more questions to come.

Both of my Photography Websites have been registered as .com and .com.au, the first one (3 1/2 years ago) uses .com and the newest one - late last year, .com.au. For the small amount of money concerned I feel a lot more comfortable knowing I have them both covered, plurals I never thought about.
You have to think of your target areas/countries, eg the latest one, I wanted to concentrate on Australia as prints are easier to post and handle and going by the Google Analytics report, it seems to work. (yes I know, still early days;) and it takes a while for the search engines to find you!! etc, etc)

John

[Sobriquet]

I have found http://www.australianwebsites.com/ to be great price wise and also changing DNS servers etc.