Why are .com names more valuable?
.com names have several benefits over other types of domain name:-
They are recognised as standard, as even after a few days online newcomers to the web
will learn that most site addresses are of the form "www.SITENAME.com".
They offer "instant" search possibilities; type the domain name into Netscape
Navigator 3.0 or greater, and Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater, and the "www"
prefix and ".com" suffix are added automatically by the browser software. You
can try this for yourself if you have one of these browsers: just type
"igoldrush" into the location bar and you will be taken to the top page of this
site.
They are recognized as the top domain for business. Just like a web site with its own
domain name, rightly or wrongly [this is a can of worms I would prefer to leave firmly in
the cupboard], has more cachet than a site hosted by a provider, a business site hosted on
a .com domain is somehow more desirable than one under a .net, .org or other domain name.
Why should I want a .com name?
For all the reasons outlined in the answer to the previous question, .com names represent
the premium real estate of the Internet. If you are lucky enough to find an available .com
name that you like, buy it immediately as they are being registered at a furious rate.
What is the .com "trick" that you can play with web browsers?
I discussed this in an answer to a previous question. If you simply type the domain name
into the location bar, Netscape 3+ and Explorer 4+ will automatically fill in the
"www." prefix and the ".com" suffix. This speeds up finding sites that
you visit often. Of course, this is no good if the address of your target site has a
different form, such as search.SITENAME.com. It can be interesting to type random words
into the location bar and see what sites pop up.
Can I buy a .com domain even if I am not in the US? Definitely! .com domains are available in any country, even though the registration
process takes place through InterNIC in the US. Note that you will be billed in US$ for
any transactions carried out by InterNIC.
Which top domain should I choose for my company, ".com" or
".country"? That's up to you. My view is that .com is more international, and can often prove
cheaper than a ".country" domain. This is especially true for countries such as
Japan, where a ".jp" top domain costs nearly twice as much as an equivalent
".com" top domain. On the other hand, some companies in more inward-looking
countries may actually prefer to have a "local" top domain. At the end of the
day it does not really matter very much as your company will still be accessible from
anywhere in the world no matter what top domain you chose.
Introduction
