Choosing domain name - ccTLD vs Vanity URL

[flashie]

I have to choose between a country specific domain name that is long and difficult to remember, vs or a .me domain which is short and contains the exact keywords I'm optimising for.  The challenge is that I'm only targeting local search traffic for the service I am advertising.  Does a country specific domain name have any benefits in terms of weighting when I'm only interested in traffic from that country?

[SEO5Team]

In our experience, having a country specific domain name makes a lot of difference in your placement for that keyword . For example, if you're only looking for Canadian traffic and want to rank high in Google.ca , then having a .ca extension makes a difference. You should also host the website with a hosting provider in that country itself.

[flashie]

Thanks SEO5, that confirms much of what my experimentation seems to suggest.  So, in summary, a country domain that is not keyword dense is a better option than a keyword rich vanity URL (like a .me) if you're after local traffic.  One last question -- we're hosting in the US but our target market is in Africa.  Would this have negligible effect, or is it worth considering a locally hosted site?  I know there is some subjectivity involved, but I'm keen to understand whether the cost benefit of hosting internationally is actually not a good move in the long run.

[SEO5Team]

to be on the safe side, find a hosting provider in Africa. If you type in "franchise" in the google.co.za search engine, the majority of the first page listings are the .co.za extension, so even if the local hosting makes a small difference might as well take advantage of that.