My problem with .co domains (1.Viewing)

I have tried purchasing .co domains and go.co says they are the official .co site so I will use that domain as an example for my post.


I have been domaining for a long time and have visited a lot of .com websites to see who owns the .com of a .ca

The biggest problem I have with .co domains is they keep taking me to the .com website.

For me when I type go.co my browser finishes it off to the .com and I have to go back and backspace the m from com but even that is not enough because it puts the m back in unless I hit the space bar after I type .co

Of course it is doing that because at one time I visited the .com but a lot of clients will visit the .com equivalent of websites they visit so if I was relying on the .co domain I would forever be worried that I was leaking traffic to the .com.

Dot ca does not have this issue and that gives it a leg up over .co for me.

.co in my opinion is a great “typo” domain. A lot of internet users don’t realize that they forgot the M for .com and end up in .co. It happens quite frequently for people who type fast and do not enter the M.

From a business point of view, I personally would avoid .co at all cost. It can be very easily confused with a .com.

[notify]MapleDots[/notify]is right. .ca has an advantage because it’s much harder to make a typo with .ca’s. .co is a great squatter extension looking to capitalize on the .com. .ca is a great extension to capitalize on being a damn proud Canadian!

Would you use .ca over a .co for a worldwide business site? If those were your only two choices?

Quite a few start-ups use .co and nowadays with apps and links I think the type in aspect isn't as important. Plus if people type it in and get the .com, usually they are aware and just correct it.

I think the .co looks good and marketing it as a worldwide option, rather than just a country code, makes sense to me. Not a tier one extension but it has it's place for use imo.

domains said:

Would you use .ca over a .co for a worldwide business site? If those were your only two choices?

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That is actually an interesting point. Since .co is technically also a ccTLD it would make sense that one could use a .ca instead.

So pretend you are from the USA and are ordering a part for your car. If you see a .ca chances are you understand the company is in Canada and if the website says it ships to the USA then you are good to go.

As an end user from the USA would you feel better doing business with a .ca or a .co?

I think the .ca would have a decent amount of pull with the end users because many of them are comfortable dealing with Canada already.

domains said:

I think the .co looks good and marketing it as a worldwide option, rather than just a country code, makes sense to me. Not a tier one extension but it has it's place for use imo.

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Same here. I'm not invested in .co at all, but if the word 'company' is part of the brand then .co is a good alternative. And with startups being run by the younger generation, getting a short exact match SLD (left of the dot) is more attractive in .co, .io or others then a longer .com.

If I can offer one datapoint, Elliot's blog listed the Y Combinator startups for 2020 and only 50% were using .COMs

https://domaininvesting.com/ycombinator-summer-2020-domain-name-stats/

Seems like the new generation doesn't need the .COM or is ok with buying it for big bucks later on


Don't get me wrong, I think .COM will always be king among the biggest brands, but startups seem comfortable launching on other TLDs right now

I honestly believe that those startups looking for a single-word .COM either can't afford it or the word is already being used by another company. So that brings up the old "reign in Hell or serve in Heaven" question, with more and more deciding to rule in a less-appealing TLD compared to settling for a longer .COM.

These companies are playing the long game and for the most part, are winning. Short premium words in .CO and .IO are becoming increasingly attractive and expensive as time goes by.

I bet a lot of Americans, at least not in border states, wouldn't know that .ca is Canada. Some might guess it, but they wouldn't know for sure.

There aren't many (or any?) start-ups using a .ca in the US or worldwide (outside Canada). But many are using .co