How important is the .com to you?

[Shawn Gossman]

Now they have all sorts of TLDs to choose from making it easier to get a good short domain name.

You can even get a .FORUM domain name.

But for some people, the .com is the only way to go. It's because it's the more standard one that everyone automatically remembers. If the .Other TLDs were used more throughout the generations, that could change the equation.

I fall under the .com-only pool. While I have some of the other ones, the .com is important for me on sites like this and my blogs.

How important is it to you?

 

[_Al]

It's not in the least bit important (to me). If its available, sure, I'll use it, but I'm happy with a .net TLD instead. From what I have read search engines don't really care either. They're more interested in content and not TLDs. If I have a well written website on a .xyz domain that will rank better than a bad .com site.

I don't think people are these days either. It's rare that people actually t y p e i n d o m a i n s these days. Everything thing is either Google searched or a hyperlink. When was the last time you saw an advert for a website on tv and went and typed in the domain? Many adverts on the radio will say "search for [product]" rather than providing a domain name.

Dotcom preference is a legacy of a time which is long passed. Just admit it. You're old. Way back when I would avoid .cc domains because I knew they were free and therefore, silly old me, assumed that the quality wasn't going to be there. That's a fallacy.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I don't think people are these days either. It's rare that people actually t y p e i n d o m a i n s these days. Everything thing is either Google searched or a hyperlink. When was the last time you saw an advert for a website on tv and went and typed in the domain? Many adverts on the radio will say "search for [product]" rather than providing a domain name.

You know. I think you're right! I don't hear go to so-and-so.com anymore that much these days.

Dotcom preference is a legacy of a time which is long passed. Just admit it. You're old. Way back when I would avoid .cc domains because I knew they were free and therefore, silly old me, assumed that the quality wasn't going to be there. That's a fallacy.

You might be right again. It might be that I'm old school and I need to modernize a bit

 

[_Al]

If you keep telling me I'm right I might start to believe you so be careful.

I was of the same opinion for a long time and for a long time the Googles of the world did pay attention to TLDs and it did matter, but that changed. See: Google's handling of new top level domains | Google Search Central Blog | Google for Developers



Some people are still hung up on dotcom. I had an argument about this exact same thing with someone who refused to even consider an alternative.

There is a caveat: There are people who are old (like you and me) who will still feel that a website ending in dotcom is in some way superior to a different TLD, but that's an emotional reaction with no basis in fact. Eventually, all these old people (like you and me) will retire and die so the benefit of a dotcom is actually reducing each passing day as the demographic which still has a subjective opinion on dotcom become less relevant.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Generations and cultures.

What we find to be offensive, annoying, or just plain wrong in today's world is being accepted by younger generations.

We were the same thing as those before us.

I'll try not to be "Get off my dot com, you pesky kids!" anymore LOL.