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ricstew
31-01-2011, 3:26pm
.com, .com.au, .net, .net.au, dot whatever does it really matter?
cheers
Jan

kiwi
31-01-2011, 3:34pm
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
31-01-2011, 4:11pm
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
31-01-2011, 4:44pm
+1 to William's post
Also .com.au requires a registered Austrian Business with an ABN

Speedway
31-01-2011, 4:57pm
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
31-01-2011, 5:25pm
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
31-01-2011, 8:08pm
Agree. I have both www.ausphotography.net.au and www.ausphotography.net registered.

kiwi
31-01-2011, 8:17pm
I have www.ausphotography.co.nz and www.australasianphotography.net.au too

farmer_rob
31-01-2011, 10:21pm
+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
31-01-2011, 10:33pm
I have www.ausphotography.co.nz and www.australasianphotography.net.au too

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

ricstew
31-01-2011, 10:40pm
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
01-02-2011, 6:24am
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
01-02-2011, 8:00am
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
01-02-2011, 8:54am
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
01-02-2011, 11:13pm
Thank God my name's not John Smith or Bob Brown. :)

ricstew
02-02-2011, 8:55am
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
02-02-2011, 9:03am
deleted

jjphoto
02-02-2011, 9:04am
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
02-02-2011, 4:52pm
Many thanks John. I may give them a burl :)
cheers
Jan

Longshots
02-02-2011, 7:49pm
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
02-02-2011, 9:38pm
Or http://www.cheapdomains.com.au/

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

JJ

ricstew
03-02-2011, 6:30am
I wonder why the price differences?

ricktas
03-02-2011, 7:37am
I wonder why the price differences?

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

stockshots4u
06-02-2011, 5:05pm
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
06-02-2011, 7:48pm
I have found http://www.australianwebsites.com/ to be great price wise and also changing DNS servers etc.