Is it important to get the .com .org and .net?

[Krumble]

I am going to be setting up a Wordpress spash site with a forumattached for teachers. I am a high school teacher and I know in myarea something like this is needed. Whether or not this can take offinto a robust high traffic forum that teachers use in daily planningis something I will only know in the future.

My question to the veterans is how important is it to get the bigTDLs? Since teachforums was available in the .com, .org, and .net Ijust snatched all of them. In the future though do you think it isimportant to grab many of the extensions or can just the .com be justas useful?

Thank you for any feedback.


Regards,

Krumble

[Acro]

Always get the .com - whether you need the other TLDs depends on how much you need 'brand protection'.

[hugegrowth]

The .com is key, if you are a domain investor and buying dozens/hundreds/thousands of domains, I would try to get the .com and getting a .net or .org would be on a case by case basis.

If you only have one or a few websites, then it's probably worth getting the .net and .org too. On the other hand, if someone else bought the .net or .org version and promoted another site on it, you might benefit from that as the .com owner.

[David G]

Depends heavily on the categories, i.e. health, wellness & disease names where you should always try to get the .org plus the .com. Keep in mind with some categories such as health .org can do as well (oossibly even better) vs .com

I also think .net is the worst major extension and you should consider .net mostly for brand protection but after you reg the com and org first and taking .net should not be considered in most all cases.

[kennygoodman]

Hi Krumble

is it a global forum or are you aiming for country specific traffic.

E.g if you are going for the UK for example then you should definitely get the .co.uk as well

Kenny

[Krumble]

Kenny,

It is a edu forum focused on primary and secondary education. If I was to dream bigger it would be international but I need to contain the dreams before they take over my goals. I am basically collaborating with a network of teachers to create a content driven website that is consistently up to date. One problem with a lot of education sites framed around primary and secondary is they are created and never maintained leaving millions of dead links and useless content.

My plan was to launch the site and start gathering content from the many folks that wish to help in the production of such a forum. If that stays active and I gain an active and growing forum base I can then think about angles to make money from the website. I am so new in this business I need a solid foundation first. At least that is what I think I should be aiming for.

Regards,

Krumble

[Onward]

For your purpose - I would set your site up on the .org and point the .com and .net to the site.

[DaddyHalbucks]

Depends on your attempt at global reach.

.COM is usually a necessity for good US marketing.

[SiberForum]

COM is recommended but that is not a must in any case.
Also that is good idea to check how domain name sounds.

[CureCancer]

never mind

[ecomindia]

net-net, you got all the combination of extn to be used - ALL as per usage.
you just need to see the suggestions above and decide where your objective fits the best!

btw, when i was a beginner, a well known company had .org unregistered, which i did and enjoyed the traffic & revenue from it.
then i dropped it understanding the legal hassles. keywords in my lines are "traffic & revenue".
So, if your brand builds up in .com, will you like to leave the other extn to be misused or loose the traffic, revenue and prospects?

Just think! Also, at cctld level, you can always claim .co.in / .co.uk / .org.uk etxn legally if you are strong & correct!

---------- Post added at 12:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 PM ----------

Also, qustion yourself 2 things
1) Do you have a pocket to keem them renewing for next 5 years (all extn)
2) will you definitely develop it, monetize in the first year itself?

if not, then avoid registering other extns.
Sometimes, people register other extn, develop it, and then .com'ers start enjoying the sudden traffic.

[DaddyHalbucks]

COM is recommended but that is not a must in any case.

Correct.

.COM is only needed if you want to be the definitive global leader.

[Dopa.com]

Always get the .com - whether you need the other TLDs depends on how much you need 'brand protection'.

Agree!

[DaddyHalbucks]

Always get the .com - whether you need the other TLDs depends on how much you need 'brand protection'.

Very good advice.

[quicksite]

It all depends on how far your going to take the .com! It's always in your interest to purchase:

.co, .net, .org, .tv, .info, .mobi and .me!

Why would you say this?

This sounds like snake oil to me. How could possibly be ALWAYS in one's interest. For example, I have about 300 domains and .co, .tv, .info, .mobi, and .me have NEVER been in my interest and I can assure you they NEVER will be. The only interest they are in is registrars who sell them. So please explain. (.tv for sure has its case by case branding purposes, but your statement was so categorical I would ask that you defend it when you are talking to a teacher trying to do something probably on a shoestring budget. Irrespective of that, even if he/she had a million dollars, I would love to hear the defense of your statement --- unless it was a joke that is

[chipmeade]

If your plan is to invest time and money into the site, grab the .org and .net for under $20 a year. Brand protection, allows for splinter sites, allows for email flexibiity, and overall better depth when it comes to SEO. The greater the speculation, the less important other TLDs are.