Are there any pitfalls of using .net as the extension for your primary site?

Question

Just wondering if there are any pitfalls using .net as the extension for a primary website. If you have some idea for a domain and the .com extension is already taken. I know it may take some traffic away possibly if people try to use the standard .com extension. In regards to SEO or any other basic effects this may have, are they any that anyone is aware of?

Thanks

Answer 1

If you can't get the exact .com you want you could try a variation of the name

"And don't sweat it if you can't get the exact domain name you want. You can always be creative and get close with a couple of extra letters (e.g. backpackit.com or campfirenow.com)." - Getting Real by 37Signals

I've seen plenty of users that don't even know how to use the browser's address bar, they just type www.sitename.com into Google. With modern browser's combined search/address bar a site's extension becomes less important with good branding and searchable site.

Also consider your target audience. Net savvy users are more likely to notice/remember it's .net and not .com.

Answer 2

Its all about familiarity. People know .com. Pressing Control-Enter automatically adds www. and .com to anything you put in the address bar in IE and Firefox.

Get good enough advertising, and people will know your site is .net.

Answer 3

Domain names don't matter any more. Google has replaced the address bar - as long as people remember your product/company name, they'll get to your site. All other traffic comes from links in email, etc.

Answer 4

You'll annoy a few old geeks who remember that .net was supposed to be for connectivity providers. Of course, if the purpose of your primary site is to supply internet connectivity then it's OK.

There's also a disadvantage that most browsers will try a .com before a .net, so users will have to remember more of the address.

Answer 5

Just remember that less Internet-savvy people tend to add www. and .com to everything, regardless of what is actually printed on your correspondence/advertising/invoices.

Our corporate Intranet address was intranet.company.com until HR put out some training material that pointed people to www.intranet.company.com and I've actually seen people type www.website.net.com when told to go to website.net.

What seems obvious to you and me is gobbledegook to many people using the Internet. If you feel your visitors are in the gobbledegook group, try to find a .com domain you can use.