3 replies to this topic

[jsp1983]

Just wondering, which one has the edge over the other for SEO? I'm presuming age is weighted more than country-specific domains.

I have two domains available for a site I'd like to develop. One of the domains is a .info domain, contains one keyword and has been registered for about four years. The other domain is a .co.uk, has two keywords in it (but not a phrase) and has been registered for less than a year. Would I be best choosing the .info domain for the site?


*** Oops... Didn't see the domain forum!

Edited by jsp1983, 29 April 2009 - 02:37 PM.

[Randy]

It depends.

If your target market is UK users, you'll be best off using the .co.uk domain name since it will stand a better chance of ranking for the majority UK searchers.

If you're shooting for a more worldwide audience, then I'd lean towards a non-geo specific TLD. More because of user perception than anything else. .info wouldn't be my first choice, but of those are the only two choices I'd probably go with the .info.

Domain age in and of itself isn't such a huge factor, if there's not been anything up on either domain. It's more a question of how long a site has been active, the age of links pointing to the site, etc than it is simply the age of the domain. Meaning I could have owned one domain for 10+ years and finally started to do something with it yesterday, for all intents and purposes it will be as if I just bought it yesterday. After all, it had never been truly active before.

[jsp1983]

Forgot I'd started this thread

Okay, that makes sense - I've read lots of posts and articles with people discussing 'domain age', but they've never specified whether or not a site is sitting on it.

I'll go with the .co.uk domain, as the site is primarily for a UK audience.

[Randy]

Well there's no way to prove it one way or the other, but I have to wonder sometimes if people don't get Domain Age confused with Link Age.

For instance if a domain is 5 years old but has never had any links pointing at it it seems to be treated as if it's brand new. Conversely if you have two domains, one that has had links pointing at it for years so have a lot of age on them, and a second brand new domain; And if you decide you're going to use the 2nd domain and 301 redirect the old domain to it so that those links count towards it, the 2nd newer domain seems to get up to speed much more quickly than is the norm.

Simply put I've never been convinced it's a Domain Age thing. Because everything that can be explained by Domain Age can also be explained by Link Age. And some things that fly in the face of Domain Age are quite easily explained by Link Age.

Who knows if one or both are part of the equation, or which might carry more weight. But if I had to handicap it I'd put my odds towards Link Age.