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Dot CO Domain Names Rock

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If you’ve been reading PPC Ian for a while, you know I’m a huge fan of domain names and domain name development. So far this year, I’ve set a new record in terms of number of domains registered! I’ve been mostly focusing on dot com, dot net, dot org, dot me, and now dot co. Moreover, I’ve developed at least 18 domains so far this year. In short, I’ve caught the domaining bug and can’t get enough of this stuff. Today, I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss dot co and why it’s the perfect time to register your do co domains!

Dot CO, The Next Big Domain Extension

Dot CO

So you may be thinking, what the heck is dot co? Dot co is actually the country code top level domain (ccTLD) for Colombia. However, it’s being marketed as the next big global top level domain (gTLD). Just think about it: When you hear dot co, do you think of Colombia? Or, do you think about such concepts as: company, corporation, commerce, commercial? I personally think of the latter and so do the folks behind dot co and domainers worldwide. In fact, over 100,000 dot co domains were registered within the first half hour of this new TLD going live! Another great data point: Overstock.com bought o.co for $350,000. Can you believe it?

It’s Your Chance To Buy The Domain You Really Want

If you’ve ever tried to register a domain name, I’m sure you’ve run into the same problem as myself: Most of the great ones are taken! These days, if you want a great generic dot com, dot net, or dot org, you’re going to have to go to the aftermarket. I actually went to the aftermarket earlier this year to register IJL.net. You may wish to read about my experience buying domains on Sedo, one of the top places to buy premium aftermarket domains.

Now, let’s say you want to build a big portfolio or simply don’t have the big bucks to shell out for that perfect domain name. This is exactly where dot co steps in. In my opinion, most end users (especially those coming from PPC and SEO) aren’t really going to care whether you have a dot com or dot co domain. Dot co in the end user’s eyes is about as close to dot com as you can get! So, go ahead and register that domain name. You’ll finally be able to get the name you want.

Dot CO Is Great For PPC and SEO (Maybe Not So Much For Branding)

So I know what you’re thinking. How can I build a big brand around dot co? Most users are only familiar with dot com and will try to go to my site, but enter dot com and end up elsewhere. I’m totally with you and am not going to argue. If you’re trying to build a big brand, it’s all about dot com.

However, let’s say you don’t care about building a huge brand. Rather, you’re trying to build a direct business that gets most of its traffic from PPC and SEO. In this case, I’m all about dot co! In other words, whether you have a dot co or dot com, I don’t think your PPC click through rate will differ much. In terms of SEO, I also expect dot co to thrive. Why? I’ve built out four dot me (another great ccTLD being marketed as a gTLD) sites this year and all are doing very well organically. In terms of SEO, I expect dot co to follow in dot me’s footsteps.

Dot CO Is Not Cheap

So, where can you register dot co and how much does it cost? Registration is very simple. I recommend going with GoDaddy, one of my favorite registrars. In terms of pricing, you’re looking at 29.99/year which is very expensive in the world of domains. For the same price, I could buy three dot coms instead! As such, I have been relatively conservative in my dot co strategy. I only register dot co domains that have at least 20,000 exact match searches based on Google’s Keyword Tool External. Otherwise, the domain must have some serious special meaning for me to shell out that much money. While this may not seem like too much money when you’re registering one domain, it can really add up when you’re trying to build a large portfolio.

Interested in learning more about domain names? I also highly recommend my article about ccTLD domain names in PPC. One of my sub-goals this year: Buying as many great ccTLD domain names as possible. In addition to dot co and dot me, I’m also focusing on dot in, dot mx, dot es, and others!

Comments

  2. Hey Ian,

    You’re definitely the one who turned me onto the .co domains, but I haven’t yet purchased any. I appreciate you laying out all the benefits in this post – because of the higher prices (and my inexperience with PPC), I want to make sure I’ve done enough keyword research and planning before I pull the trigger!

    Thanks again.

    – Eric

  3. Great stuff Ian, I find .co domains really interesting.

    The thing I’m bothered with is obviously I will be able to get a high searched for keyword with a .co domain, but won’t it be extremely hard to rank high for seo purposes? Especially organic ones, so what’s the point of having one unless your just planning on keeping it and selling it in the future….

    For example: I just did a quick check on available .co domains for top keywords and carmenelectra.co is available but what would I be able to do with it? I doubt I would be able to rank high for it…

    Also I heard .com , .org, and .net are the best, and .info is horrible… so where does .co fall under for seo purposes?

  5. Profit Addiction,
    That is for sure! There was a huge amount of fanfare around dot co. There still are some great ones out there (I registered another one tonight), however I do agree that you have to move fast. It seems like dot co has done even better than dot me. I’m still finding more dot me domains available than dot co domains, even though dot me has been around for a few years now!
    All the best,
    Ian

  6. Eric,
    Thank you so much for the comment and positive feedback! I very much appreciate it!
    All the best,
    Ian

  7. Dino,
    You bring up some awesome questions. First, I’ll start with your domain selection question. I agree with you that CarmenElectra.co is probably not a good domain. Why? Even if you get traffic, it’s not really traffic that you can sell anything to. For that very reason, I try to focus on product and lead focused verticals that have really great affiliate opportunities and high CPCs on Google (I’m a big fan of monetizing with Google AdSense).

    One of the domains I registered is 401kPlan.co. I purchased this domain because it gets a lot of searches 60,500 on phrase and 8,100 on exact (I know, I broke my own rule with this one going below 20,000 exact searches). I know from prior experience with my existing website portfolio that the 401k vertical tends to do well in AdSense. Last, as an end game, I know that Fidelity is a huge domain owner in this vertical and may buy my domain one day (perhaps 5-10 years from now) if I can rank it and dot co takes off.

    In terms of your second question (how do I know that dot co will rank organically), I believe it will based on my experience with dot me. I view dot co and the new dot me (dot me got a ton of fanfare a few years back when it launched). The four 5-page dot me minisites I’ve launched this year have done better than the dot orgs I have launched, both in terms of traffic and also in terms of getting indexed by Google fast!

    I’m really a fan of all the TLDs you mention, although I’m a bit careful with dot info. The problem with that TLD is it’s so cheap to register that the market has been flooded with questionable sites. As such, I do believe search engines may have discounted dot info. At the same time, I wouldn’t write it off. Epik.com has had some success recently with dot info and I follow those guys closely as some of the best and brightest in the domaining world.

    Dino, thanks again my friend. I very much appreciate the questions. 🙂
    All the best,
    Ian
    PS – Great job on your blog commenting on JohnChow! You and Profit Addiction are always up there whenever a new post goes live!

  8. Alex,
    Thanks for the comment! How are you doing? Please see my response to Dino Vedo for a sample dot co domain I registered.
    All the best,
    Ian

  9. Some of the .CO domains I have bought…

    APPS4IPHONE.CO
    AUTOVALET.CO
    CHEAPVANHIRE.CO
    CHESSGAME.CO
    CURTAINFABRICS.CO
    DOITONLINE.CO
    FLIGHTCHECKER.CO
    HAJJTOURS.CO
    HOUSEREMOVALS.CO
    PARCELS2GO.CO
    PLAYIN.CO
    PORTACABIN.CO
    PROMOTIONALADVERTISING.CO
    TEMPCOVER.CO
    TOHFAY.CO
    TOPUPONLINE.CO
    UKVISA.CO

  10. ASH,
    Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for sharing your dot co domains! I very much appreciate it and see some great domains on your list. I’m impressed, you own quite a few more dot co domains than myself. Question: Do you plan to develop these domains or are you thinking about holding to sell them at a premium later? Thanks again for stopping by!
    All the best,
    Ian

  12. Hey, I noticed that you’re not PPC Ian in your comments anymore. Anyway, thanks for sharing this. I also like how you explained all the benefits of having a .co domain, really thinking about this for couple of days now if I want to get one or not.

    Regards,

    Gary

  14. Dino, Sweet domain! I can’t wait to see how you develop it. Thanks for sharing. I registered some really amazing dot me domains last night and will be writing a post about that shortly.

    Gary, I think I’ve been “Ian” on my blog for a while. However, when I comment on other blogs I will go under “PPC Ian”.

    Thanks so much to both of you for the comments, much appreciated!
    All the best,
    Ian

  16. .co is the next big thing, but its so expensive. Its also a good way to get new domain names with good keywords that were taken up already with the .com

  17. Bidet,
    Thanks for the comment, much appreciated as always! I very much agree with both of your points.
    All the best,
    Ian

  19. I have been trying to find a .co website that is getting SEO traffic…as of yet I haven’t seen one. Does anyone know of a .co website that does get traffic?

  21. @Ian- you hit all the sweet spots in this post about .Co. You’re prediction about .Co ranking well was dead on. I am currently ranking for some pretty competitive keyword terms. Kudos on 401kplan.co

    @Dino- I know this is an older thread, but it’s definitely one that is still relevant. I’d be happy to share my case study on how .Co is ranking in the SERPS with you. Let me know.

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