Are non .com extensions really that bad?

[Xcel]

Have been considering purchasing a domain or two with a lesser known extension and developing sites but seems everybody is down on the domain if its not a .com .net or .org , so now im unsure whether its worth it or not

is it really that bad if its a less known extension , dont search engines give more rank for keywords on the domain name ? are you penalised if its lesser known tld ? wouldnt having a domain like www.diet-pills.in give you better search results than www.dietpillsinfo.net ?

Then people say they arent worth developing / buying or have no resale value because its not .com or whatever because people wont remember the name but surely its alot easier to remember something like www.xbox-360.fm than www.xbox360-gamers.com

I tend to think the average web surfer would really think twice about the extension or if they noticed it wouldnt concern them, especially if its just an information site etc.

Whats your thoughts? is there any success stories of people building up profitable sites with lesser known tld's?

Thanks

 

[Jim_Westergren]

I agree with you and I think in about maybe 2 years we will be used to more TLDs and think more with it.

I would say, go for it man.

 

[equity78]

I agree with JIM but hope you have better examples becuase your names in the alt exts are very poor IMO lose the -

 

[mole]

I think in about maybe 2 years we will be used to more TLDs and think more with it.

I don't think that's just a thought, but a fact :o

 

[equity78]

not hyphenated .fm s mole

 

[Xcel]

I agree with JIM but hope you have better examples becuase your names in the alt exts are very poor IMO lose the -

yeah was just an example, btw is having a " - " really bad if you are just after search traffic etc? I realise its alot harder to brand a site with a - but would say free-games.com perform better in search results for "free games" than freegames.com all other thing been equal?

 

[Jim_Westergren]

yeah was just an example, btw is having a " - " really bad if you are just after search traffic etc? I realise its alot harder to brand a site with a - but would say free-games.com perform better in search results for "free games" than freegames.com all other thing been equal?

"-" is only bad because it is hard to brand and people forget it and goes maybe to the non-"-" version.

About search engines, (that is my specialty), freegames.com will do slightly better than free-games.com but only a little. But the versions without "-" are usually taken and free-games.com ranks definetely higher than lets say freegamesforyoutoplay.com so if you are only looking for traffic from the search engines than that is fine.

BUT, the domain name is only one variable out of 118 listed ones and is not being put that much weight. For example link popularity, title and headings are more important.

 

[Xcel]

thanks for the info Jim ,
I did a quick test search for "funny games" and the - the name funny-games.com comes up trumps! :D
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=funny+games&btnG=Search

its a tricky business figuring out how to win in this website game :p