A key factor in deciding which domain to buy is its price. Expensive domains come with more credibility and typically rank better on the search engines. However, if that isn’t important for your website, the cheaper domains also come with some cool extensions.
So, should you choose an expensive #TLD or opt to save some money?
Credibility
The first thing your website visitors will see is the website name and the accompanying extension of the domain. It doesn’t bode well for your business if your website’s address drives people away before they even open the website.
To make the website name look credible, pick a TLD that your audience is familiar with, as these suggest dependability. For example, a website address ending in “.com” is more trustworthy than one ending in “.akdn.” This is especially true if these visitors lack technical knowledge, and therefore don’t understand the purpose of domain suffixes.
Consider your neighborhood
If you still want to pick an uncommon TLD, you will still have to do some research into audience reception. There are many TLDs that are considered “shady”; and there are various reasons that lead to a bad TLD reputation, but they essentially boil down to the same thing.
Each TLD gets its score based on the ratio of bad and good domains using that extension. So, a domain is considered “bad” or “good” based on the amount of spam and malware circulation that comes from the domain in question.
In addition to a lower rating, stories and rumors may start to circulate concerning the TLD. Many people know to avoid opening websites with certain extensions due to a high risk of malware. No matter how cheap the domain, a bad extension reputation means you should avoid purchasing that domain.
Even if your own website is safe, the TLD will raise suspicion and lower traffic to your site. Essentially, a bad neighborhood domain will drive potential visitors away from your website.
SEO
Your domain extension will also affect your search engine ranking. Basically, many people (especially the older generation) have a habit of adding .com at the end of every URL. Some people also type the URL, including the extension, into Google search rather than the address bar. People may also type the name of the website into a Google search.
These types of searches, which are performed on a daily basis, mean certain websites can rank much higher on search engines based on their domain extension. So, don’t cheap out on a domain if it is important for your website to rank high in search engines.
Coolness factor
Don’t ignore the “coolness” factor. Based on your line of work and your desired domain name, choosing a cheap TLD can actually be a better choice, because it can add to your coolness factor. For example, if you are creating a website for a tattoo shop, “.ink” is a cooler extension than “.com.”
Another good trick to make the extension a part of the domain name. Grab a list of domain extensions and play around with it; it can result in some really attractive and memorable domain names.
Availability
Lots of domain names that are short and memorable are already taken on expensive TLDs. TLD that isn’t as popular will often have some of those names available. Besides short and memorable names, there might be a company with the same name as yours in another country.
If that company has already registered the domain name you want on expensive TLDs, there is still a chance that you will find it on cheap TLDs.
Brand Protection
Maybe you already have the domain name you desire on expensive TLD and you want to protect your brand. The only way to prevent other people from purchasing domains with the same name as yours on cheaper TLDs is to buy them yourself. If you buy all those cheap TLDs, it doesn’t mean you will have to run multiple websites which are all same. You can just have all other websites redirect visitors to your main website.
Offsite
If you are creating an extra site for purposes such as registration, choosing a cheap domain is reasonable. People will only end up on that extra site by way of your main site. This also means that SEO for that offsite isn’t important. Additionally, people visiting that extra site already trust you and your sites. When using cheap TLDs for an offsite, you avoid the usual drawbacks and save some money.
Any other type of website that can avoid these drawbacks, such as a website for a private group, should consider using a cheap TLD. That is, if you are creating a website for the exclusive use of your employees, the domain extension won’t matter; so, why not save some money?
Thanks.