.co.za vs .com

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Pooky

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What are the benefits of having a .com domain over a .co.za domain, or vice versa?

I'm sure it partly depends on the content of the website.

If the content is aimed towards South Africans then is it always better to have a .co.za?
 
It helps people to identify if a site is in SA or any other country.
I don't see any other purpose for it.
 
Pooky said:
What are the benefits of having a .com domain over a .co.za domain, or vice versa?

I'm sure it partly depends on the content of the website.

If the content is aimed towards South Africans then is it always better to have a .co.za?
Click to expand...

Just get both, if they are available. It costs so little to register a domain that you might as well cover both bases.
 
Pooky said:
What are the benefits of having a .com domain over a .co.za domain, or vice versa?

I'm sure it partly depends on the content of the website.

If the content is aimed towards South Africans then is it always better to have a .co.za?
Click to expand...

I think it depends entirely on your audience. If it's just South Africans, then .co.za. If you're hoping to reach international users (even if it's just future plans), then .com (or both).
 
.co.za is good if your target audience is South Africa.
.com is good is you're targetting visitors from all over ther world, or even just the US.

If you have a storefront like Takealot, it's best to have both a .com and .co.za, host the site at the .com, and use the .co.za to redirect to the .com.

Takealot.co.za redirects to Takealot.com.
Same with Afrihost.co.za which redirects to Afrihost.com.
 
Looking at a domain with a .co.za extension, a South African can immediately deduce that the content is aimed towards South African people, and therefore it is more likely to be relevant. It is informative as to what the site has to offer before I even have to click on the link, thus it is probably going to get more relevant visitors -- less bandwidth is used, and you get less page bounces.
 
It's really all about marketing and branding at the end of the day. From a technical perspective it makes absolutely no difference at all. It's kind of like deciding whether to have a P.O. Box in Soweto or in Sandton, and what that says to your target audience.
 
Pooky said:
What are the benefits of having a .com domain over a .co.za domain, or vice versa?

I'm sure it partly depends on the content of the website.

If the content is aimed towards South Africans then is it always better to have a .co.za?
Click to expand...

If you plan to target just the South African audience, then I highly suggest a .co.za. Reason: Since you'll be targeting the South African audience, then people are more likely to search for your service, product etc. using "google.co.za". Just because they are using SA version of Google, then domains with .co.za will be given more weight (i.e seem as more relevant by Google).

Try searching for a phrase on google.com and google.co.za and you will see that the results are not the same.

On the other hand. If you dont plan on getting some free organic traffic from Google. Then get a .com if you want. Simply because most people assume that all website URL's are 'something.COM".

For my blogs, I always use .co.za for those targeting the SA market. But those targeting the US, I make sure it's a .com.
 
SpartanX said:
Just because they are using SA version of Google, then domains with .co.za will be given more weight (i.e seem as more relevant by Google).
Click to expand...
Applying "International Targeting" on Google Webmaster tools correctly, makes it pretty much irrelevant whether you use a ".com" or ".co.za" domain to get great search positions on google.co.za!
 
As mentioned it depends on your target. If I am looking for something in SA, I often add site:.co.za to the search terms to try and limit the hits. If you are a .com, my search will miss you.
 
hilrap said:
Applying "International Targeting" on Google Webmaster tools correctly, makes it pretty much irrelevant whether you use a ".com" or ".co.za" domain to get great search positions on google.co.za!
Click to expand...
Takealot is .com and they still get targeted traffic.
 
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