I'm a newbie here... please expect some stupid questions

Question: How important is it to register the domain name of my business with multiple extensions?

Say I have a .com domain name and I am successfull in bringing up that site and traffic. What if a another person takes advantage of the domain name and builds a site with the same name but with some other extension?

Thanks,
Ullas

ullasckm, this is not a stupid question at all... in fact, it's a very common question, and almost everyone who registers a domain considers this question in some capacity.

If you can afford it, I would register .com, .org, and .net

And if you can also afford it... if you domain contains more than one word (e.g. mydomain.com), I would also consider registering one with the dashes (e.g. my-domain.com).

All this, as I am sure you're wondering, would add up to a lot of cash, so don't spend more than you budgeted, you can spread buying them over a month or two

Remember, this is what I would do, and may not be the best thing...

You can always just register the .com and not worry about it

Sherif

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Thanks.. that helps... i didn't think of other complexity that would arise with the use of multiplewords in domain name...

If you are just starting or building your website most people just go with the one .com however if begin to get lots of visitors and it becomes a very competitive market I would buy a range of domains such as .net or .org and so forth.

Theres not really much need to if you have a very unique niche, just make sure your aware of your traffic levels, competition status and domain rivals so you always win!

As for hypens being included in your domain name its a great method, the hypen is interpreted by Google Bot as a space so its great if it matches someones keyword in the search results.

Theres also services out there (Godaddy) for one that you can track multiple domains so that you find out if someone is interested in that domain, so say someone searches for yourdomain.net and you have yourdomain.com you get a log file for the number of searches and get a chance to register it before they do, its quite a useful techique.

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I agree with Sherif and Rob. Stick with the three main top level domains if you can afford it. IMHO, the alternate domains are a waste of money.

I registered four sites last week but I only registered the .com domains. I did not bother with other domains as I am not worried that someone will mimic me in the future or take the other domains. I could not justify the cost.

I suggest if you are serious about your business/website i think you should register maximum possible extensions.

I had read a blogpost where in a very popular blogger had a .org and a *.blogspot.com to his name and someone to take advantage registered a .com and then used a script to scarp content from the original blogger's site and earn money out of it. When the original blogger found out about it it was a lot of headache for him as the person who did the stealing work was quite adamant and the original blogger had to file a case under the DMCA!!

So, although this is an extreme case this can happen to you and hence i believe it is very essential to get as much extensions as you can and have a 302/301 redirect.

Thanks!!

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