.co vs .com – Which One Should You Use & More Successful Online?

You’ve got a name and now comes the difficult part. What domain extension is the most appropriate for your web address? You already know about .com extensions, but there are other possibilities out there. We’re here to settle the .co vs .com score once and for all so that you can get registered and feel good about it.

Ready? Let’s GO!

.Co vs .Com: Overview

The domain extension is part of web address. It tells your user where to find you on the Internet. The .com extension is the most popular and the most familiar. It’s widely populated, and if you don’t have your .com domain name yet, there’s a good chance yours is already taken.

On the other hand .co extension isn’t as widely known, but it can work to your advantage. Technically, it’s the extension for the country of Colombia, but you can register .co as a second tier extension name without being a Colombian.

.Co vs .Com: Which Is Better?

Both extensions have some pros and some cons. Let’s break it all down.

.Com vs .Co: Advantages of .Com

The .com extension is the most widely known and the most widely used. If your customers don’t know your exact web address, there’s a good chance they’ll type in .com while searching for you. Using .co vs .com makes that harder.

Using .co vs .com can make it a lot harder for your customers to remember your domain name. Google also shows a preference for .com addresses. While it’s possible to rank well for a .co address with good search engine optimization (SEO), you’ll never outrank the same domain name at a .com address. That .co vs .com SEO isn’t as thorough.

This legacy .com domain name extension is better overall for business and marketing purposes because it’s just more familiar. It’s more widely trusted as a legitimate website among internet users and the most likely to stick in someone’s memory.

.Com vs .Co: Disadvantages of .Com

The .com extension is bloated. There are over 100 million registered users with a .com extension as opposed to just about two million .co registrants. It’s getting harder and harder to find a unique name that hasn’t been taken already.

A massive downside to the .com extension is that many domain names are taken, but the users have no intention of using the domain. Instead, they’re resellers also known as domain speculators. They can make the domain name prohibitively expensive to purchase for your own purposes.

.Co vs .Com: Advantages .Co

The .co domain name extension is a fresh extension being used by many up and coming startups. It’s better with a more tech-savvy crowd because trends are moving away from the classic .com extension.

And no wonder. With just under two million users, it’s a lot easier to snag your desired domain name with that extension than it is with .com. If you don’t want to be saddled with trying a variant of your business name just to snag .com, using .co vs .com can save you a massive headache to make the switch.

The .co is less bloated as well. With proper SEO, you can still rank really high in google searches. There’s a good chance your domain name is dormant over at .com, so switching to .co vs .com SEO allows you to have your desired username and with no competition.

.Co vs .Com: Disadvantages of .Co

Many other countries use the .co extension as part of their business rankings. It can be confusing to some users who associate .co with foreign extensions. If part of your appeal to your user base is that you’re “Made in the USA,” you may have to put some extra effort into your marketing to correct that assumption.

The .co extension really tried to prevent bulk purchases of domain names to cut down on domain speculators. The downside to that is the .co extension is more expensive than .com. While still very affordable, if you’re on a tight budget (or just on principle), it could add extra expense you don’t care for.

It’s also less likely to be the first thing someone looks for when searching organically for your site. If your SEO isn’t on point, they may miss your .co address altogether.

The Good And The Bad – Pros & Cons

Too long and didn’t read? Here’s the short version.

.Com

We recommend the .com extension for anyone who has a traditional fan base. If you can manage to get your proper domain name at the .com extension, we recommend going for it. The .co vs .com SEO question is clearly skewed towards .com.

.Com Pros:

• Legacy extension
• First one to come to mind for the average user
• SEO is better

.Com Cons:

• Domains are more difficult to find
• Many registered users

.Co

We recommend .co if you’re a startup and your target audience is pretty tech savvy. Also, if you can’t find your desired domain name or any logical alternative, it’s time to move to a different extension.

.Co Pros:

• Domains are more readily available
• Less bloated
• Appeals to a tech-savvy audience

.Co Cons:

• Users may not be able to find you through organic search
• More expensive

.Com vs .Co: Final Thoughts

We still prefer .com extensions unless you’d have to mutilate your preferred name too much to have a location there. If that’s the case, switch to .co and make sure your SEO game is on point.