Doesn't anyone know if .IO domains can rank in USA?

[sky]

Seriously... I think maybe my last post wasn't worded clearly enough,
so no one responded. I'd like to clarify the situation because I could
really use some input from the namepros experts.

I really want input on this so I can make a good decision because my
<keyword>.io domain is going to expire in about a week or so, name.com
is charging $100 to reg/renew .IO domains. The main registrar, NIC.io
charges about $44 USD per reg, but to reg a .io directly through NIC.io,
you join their 'registrar' program which requires a significant initial outlay
of cash, which I can't/won't do as it hardly seems profitable.

I've been domaining for awhile, I know ".io" is nothing hot as a TLD/ccTLD,
in and of itself. But I think I have a unique one that just 'works' due to the
affinity between the keyword and the extension .io, and the keyword itself
is very very strong (searched for a lot). Otherwise I wouldn't have reg'd it.

So it comes down to how well it can rank in SERP around the world and
particularly in the USA. If I can get SERP, I believe I can get a lot of traffic
and ad revenue. If not, $100 to renew is probably way too much.

All things being equal - if it was a .COM, the domain I have
would be worth a lot with that keyword. Fortunately the .COM and .NET don't
even show up in Google SERP for that keyword, which makes me think that
with good content and time my <keyword>.io could be in the first few
SERP hits for the keyword search, as long as Google would let a .io domain
show up strong outside the Indian Ocean, etc... (like .tv, another ccTLD does).

Can anyone give me some info/perspective on the potential viability
of getting SERP for a strong keyword .IO domain that is developed with good content?

Thanks!!:

 

[dartagnanh]

I've only heard of one particular domain extension that has negative feedback. The domain.tk extension. They say sites with .tk extension doesn't appear in browsers in certain countries. With this, I assume google may not look kindly too with this extension for this domain type.

If you think you'll profit much should your keyword.io get a good serp by google, (and considering that feedback regarding your questions seem very scarce), then there's only 1 way to find out. Of course you'll have to go ahead and invest $100 bucks for your experiment and spend at least 3 months of writing good content and SEO work. If you do things right, you'll definitely see your site within the first pages of google serp after the 3rd month at most. If not, then your fears may prove to be true. I'm sorry if my reply is not the kind you expected to see.

 

[sky]

It might be worth one more $100 investment to find out. I guess I'll see if other registrars don't mark it up as name.com. I like name.com a lot over all (for .COMs and .NETs), because it's a very clean powerful interface and complete and succinct. But I don't like their mark-up on .INFOs $3.99 (compared to GoDaddy's $0.89) or their $66 mark-up on .IO

 

[Timewarp]

This seems like a gamble that you can't win.

If you have a good idea for a web site build it on a more reliable TLD.

The best you can hope for with .io is that it will rank similarly to other extensions - there is no way it is going to rank better. Everything else about that extension is a negative - price, reliability (maybe it will be $200 next year), no resale value ect...

 

[sky]

This seems like a gamble that you can't win.

If you have a good idea for a web site build it on a more reliable TLD.

The best you can hope for with .io is that it will rank similarly to other extensions - there is no way it is going to rank better. Everything else about that extension is a negative - price, reliability (maybe it will be $200 next year), no resale value ect...

But the salient point is that the keyword and the extension go together in a unique intuitive name that makes it catchy as a combo, and therefore more likely to get a good percentage of clicks since the keyword gets a *lot* of search engine traffic and ads.

I thought that might more than offset the downsides But thanks for your feedback. I haven't renewed it yet. Still thinking about it. Any other thoughts welcome. Thanks for everyone for taking the time to share their perspective.

 

[soggyindo]

i've never looked into this further, but do i remember rightly... with google's webmaster accounts you can transfer one ccTLD to act like another? ie, virtualy convert an .io into a .us.

it's something i've thought might work well for .tv's, etc