Targeting specific Geographic areas. Use 1 large.Com or several smaller country specific TLDs?

[Hurf]

Hi,

I have a small number of exact match domains, both country specific TLDs and also the Generic TLD dot com and dot net.

They are:

ExactMatch**.Com**
ExactMatch**.Net**

ExactMatch**.Co.Uk**
ExactMatch**.Ca**
ExactMatch**.Co.Nz**
ExactMatch**.Co.Za**

We have already successfully launched our UK site using the exact match .co.uk and this is currently number 2 in the UK SERPS for the Google, Yahoo and Bing.

They are/will be niche specific classified ad sites, which are Geographically targeted by country (to Engish speakers in the main) and each region is likely to have a minumum of 2,000 unique listings submitted over the course of a year of so.

My question (FINALLY) is this:

Am I better to build one large global site (will grow to approx. 12,000 listings) using EXACTMATCH.Com with .com - targeting US users and then geo-targeted sub directories (ExactMatch.Com/Nz etc)  - each sub dir targeted to the matching geographic area in webmaster tools, or use the ccTLDs and host each site in the country with perhaps (each site growing to approx 2,000 listings)

I could use the ccTLDs just for marketing/branding  onlyand redirect these to the specific sub directory of the .com site?

I am aware that there is one main ccTLD that I cannot get .Com.Au (as I am not a resident of Australia - and it is already in use.) so I was wondering if the single site with .Com/AU/ etc might help me better target that country?

If I use each ccTLD as separate sites I suppose I could use the largely redundant .net to target Australia?

Your thoughts and advice would be most welcome.

Thanks!

An additional bit of intormation (or two) the .com is circa 2004.

The product advertised is a reasonably bulky (perhaps 6kgs boxed) physical product and therefore the seller is unlikely to want to ship globally - will this make them shy away from a global site - even one divided into global sub sections?

FYI Seller can specify in their listing Will Ship To .......

I would be open to looking at using the front page of the .Com site as a page which visitors select the country they wish to buy/sell on.  (IF it is the general consensus that it is better to create one large site.)

Consider also please how the end user is likely to percieve the benefits to them of one LARGE SITE versus TARGETED SITE - I know the .Com would be divided into geographic sub directories, but I am not sure if they won't see an additinal benefit to the ccTLD - Does this add a degree of reassurance and relevance that a .com/ccTLD cannot provide?

I suppose I am biased by the fact that ebay use ccTLDs?

Thanks again - and please forgive my tone which may suggest I am playing devil's advocate here. I am very torn on this issue.

[SteveOllington]

For me, one large .com everytime... hands down!

The benefits of the combined link juice, and authority, etc,... gained will far outweigh geo tld benefits.

Plus more usage data

[Hurf]

Thanks for that Steve. I hear what you are saying. I like the thought of the extra width one site would create. However, I think one consideration (which has just occured to me) should also be how users feel about advertising on a larger global site - versus advertising on a site which caters for their country specifically. I suspect they may be more inclined to see their own ccTLD as better targeted to their prospective buyers? There is also the issue of shipping costs - as they will be advertising a physical product.

That said, each site will have a search by country/county/state/city search in place however, so I am in two minds about this - Hence my original question ;o)

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

[RyanKent]

I agree with Steve. One site is definitely the approach I would recommend. A few thoughts:

• The time, cost and efficiency of building and maintaining a single site is far better then trying to maintain dozens of sites. You will gain all the advantages of consolidation.

• .com addresses are very well accepted throughout the world. You can definitely rank at the top in local searches and compete with country-specific domains. If you wish to have a country specific domain, you can keep it and re-direct users to your .com. It's not what I would advise, but it would address the concern you shared about uses feeling less comfortable.

• You can also use geographical re-direction. A user from England can automatically be directed to your English page, while a user from Spain can be directed to your Spanish page. This could be a consideration.

• Your 2004 URL definitely gives you an advantage compared to newer URLs.

I could go on but, you have every advantage by moving to one domain. The only reason to take any other approach is your perception that a local URL is perceived as preferable over a .com. You might find for many people, the opposite is true. I have a lot of contact with Greek users and many of them will prefer doing business with a .com over a domain from their own country.

[Hurf]

Very insightful Ryan. I can see that the aged dot Com does add some additional weight along with the fact it is an exact match.

Maintenance is of course reduced if all of the sites are brought together - as are running costs.

The geographic redirection definitely makes things easier and quicker than forcing the user to select, as long as they have the ability to manually override the selection and choose the country they wish to see.

I was interested in your comment about some users preferring to do business with a .com site in certain circumstances. I think as long as I heavily emphasize the GEO location by using local currency payment options, spelling variations and flag in the header image I can go some way toward providing an increased feeling of relevance.

Thanks for your input.

[SteveOllington]

Okay yeah I see what you mean. I guess it really comes down to how much of your objectives are based on the local advertising then. If it's a huge portion of your revenue then maybe the separate sites. Although I still wouldn't. I would have assumed the benefits of one site would outweigh the advertising issue, as I would have thought it wouldn't make that much difference, but then I don't know enough about the market and what advertisers might want.

[Dynadot]

We're a domain registrar and we definitely recommend trying to purchase your domain name in as many TLDs as possible to avoid copyright issues later on, but if you don't want to build out sites for each domain, you can simply forward your other domains to your main site. That way you still capture the traffic that goes to those TLDs and send them to your main site.

You should keep in mind that if you are targeting a certain audience, for example, the UK, Google will rank .CO.UK better for searches coming from the UK, so that could be handy if you decide to break into certain markets outside of the US. It really depends on the market you are targeting as many countries outside the US consider .COM to be "too American."

[RyanKent]

"We're a domain registrar and we definitely recommend trying to purchase your domain name in as many TLDs as possible..."

Please do not take any offense, but as a domain registrar it would naturally be your position to advise others to buy as many domains as possible. You likely would also advise customers to register the domains for as long as possible too. Both courses of action generate revenue for your business. That does not make it wrong advise, but rather you are not an unbiased source on this topic.

"Google will rank .CO.UK better for searches coming from the UK, so that could be handy if you decide to break into certain markets outside of the US."

The TLD or ccTLD is one of over 200 factors which involve a page's placement in search results. Site owners can also demonstrate relevancy to a given country by hosting in that country, setting their language code for the target country, earning links from the country, etc.

It would be helpful is if you can present any solid evidence to support your recommendations. Information from Google, Matt Cutts or highly reputable sources of information would be great.

[Dynadot]

Thanks for your response RyanKent. You're right, we aren't totally unbiased, but we can offer some perspective from being in the industry. We really do recommend considering purchasing the TLDs for your target markets because once someone has purchased the TLD you want it can be very difficult (and expensive) to get it from them even if it is a trademark-based domain. Plus owning the ccTLDs of your target markets gives you the option of building out those sites if you desire. Otherwise it is just as easy to forward any additional TLDs to your main site.

[RyanKent]

I understand your position and agree it is a good strategy for large and mid-size businesses. I would agree it is a good strategy for small businesses as well, but it may not be practical. Ideally every business who registers a trademark would expand their registration to every country, but the cost is simply not affordable to everyone. Domain registration is much less expensive, but it also requires an annual fee. There is a lot too consider.