.com vs .co.uk: Where does .co.uk fall?

[seven]

Of .com and .co.uk where does .co.uk stand next to .com? Is it superior in the United Kingdom? In general, where does it's value percentage-wise stand next to .com?

I've seen a lot of different opinions on this and would like to see a more definitive consensus answer.

 

[Pound]

In the UK, I can't remember the statistic but a government agency said that the majority of people in the UK will type in x.co.uk before x.com

 

[Peter]

As with all statistics they can be manipulated to demonstrate the point the statisticians want.

I do not believe that .co.uk is better recognized than .com anywhere. An advantage .co.uk can have is that it can be used for things specific to the UK. It would be pointless for example having a shop on it that only supplied the US.

Most people I know (even those who know very little about computers and the internet) tend to think of .com first. The reason is that most advertising etc that people see has url's that end with this extensions.

 

[Pound]

As with all statistics they can be manipulated to demonstrate the point the statisticians want.

I do not believe that .co.uk is better recognized than .com anywhere. An advantage .co.uk can have is that it can be used for things specific to the UK. It would be pointless for example having a shop on it that only supplied the US.

Most people I know (even those who know very little about computers and the internet) tend to think of .com first. The reason is that most advertising etc that people see has url's that end with this extensions.

sure the .com is more well known but I think the reason you and I will both think of .com first is that .com is global and domaining is also very global. For the average UK inhabitant, with not much internet experience, all the signs around them are .co.uk and people will type in .co.uk because they know it will be a UK site, rather than one in America or elsewhere.

 

[.X.]

The extension prospered, because the UK uses it's own country code CCTLD, Which i think is awesome! I wish the USA would use .us , The average web surfer uses .com way more than any other extension, But the country code CCTLDs are making there way into the internet slowly, .co.uk was one that prospered fast.

 

[Peter]

sure the .com is more well known but I think the reason you and I will both think of .com first is that .com is global and domaining is also very global. For the average UK inhabitant, with not much internet experience, all the signs around them are .co.uk and people will type in .co.uk because they know it will be a UK site, rather than one in America or elsewhere.

As x points out the average web user uses .com as a matter of course.

You seem to have missed my point. I was talking about people who are not web savvy and even people who have never used pc's before. They hear .com so much that they associate the internet with it.

 

[Coopey]

You may find this interesting:
http://www.domainnews.com/general/0220070218/british-internet-users-prefer-uk-over-com/

 

[Peter]

Sid I would not look too deep into what that article states to be honest.

Firstly there are meant to be over 11,000,000 internet users in the UK and that study only polled 2,324 which is less than 0.03% of internet users. Also disregard any comments Nominet come out with as they are 100% biased as they are the registry for uk domains.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I'm a UK internet user and I love the .CO.UK extension and it is highly recognised by everyone I know.

I prefer to use a .CO.UK version of a site if I can help it because It feels less americanised.

 

[gazzip]

I think the .co.uk is more popular amongst smaller businesses in the UK, I don't think the average enduser or business owner really thinks much about direct type in traffic at the moment.

Google is King...not .com :hehe:


JMO

.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I think that you are wrong in saying that end users don't look to acquire their domain in .CO.UK format.

Surprisingly out of all of my other extension names... my .CO.UK produces the most revenue. Naturally this may not be any reflection of the true money making ability of .CO.UK as it is just my experience. It would be interesting to hear the stories of others with .CO.UK names.

Cheers

- Luke

 

[gazzip]

I think that you are wrong in saying that end users don't look to acquire their domain in .CO.UK format.
:

Who said that ?


.

 

[dezinerite]

As with all statistics they can be manipulated to demonstrate the point the statisticians want.

I do not believe that .co.uk is better recognized than .com anywhere. An advantage .co.uk can have is that it can be used for things specific to the UK. It would be pointless for example having a shop on it that only supplied the US.

Most people I know (even those who know very little about computers and the internet) tend to think of .com first. The reason is that most advertising etc that people see has url's that end with this extensions.

I do agree. I think the .uk is popular in the UK, but people there also like to use the .com. If your focusing on having international visitors (and many people do) you're going to want to have a .com.

sure the .com is more well known but I think the reason you and I will both think of .com first is that .com is global and domaining is also very global. For the average UK inhabitant, with not much internet experience, all the signs around them are .co.uk and people will type in .co.uk because they know it will be a UK site, rather than one in America or elsewhere.

They'll go for .uk if they're looking for stuff like online shopping, news, dating or Br. dictionary...but if they were looking to join global online communities or importers, they wouldn't really look for .uk, they know it limits them to sites within the UK.

 

[dhscott]

If a business in the UK can buy the .com and the .co.uk, they'll get both... I don't see where there's a problem of preference there.

 

[floatingworld]

...many SMEs in UK which only trade in the UK will use .co.uk and if they think of .com at all will just use it as a cover.