.co vs .com: Which TLD Should You Use For Your Website?

The right domain extension – or Top Level Domain (TLD) – can make your website appear more trustworthy and credible. Two of the more popular options are .co and .com. However, you might not be sure which one is the best fit for your business.  

It’s easier to make a decision when you understand the differences between these domain extensions. For example, you’ll need to consider the domain price and availability. Plus, it’s important to secure a web address with good SEO, in order to boost your search rankings and bring in more traffic.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at these two popular domain extensions. Then we’ll help you pick between .co and .com by exploring four important factors. Let’s get started!

What Are Domain Extensions?

A domain name is the web address where visitors can access your site. When you’re on a web page, you can look to the search bar to find the domain that represents that website (for example, mywebsite.com):

The Domain Name System (DNS) matches each domain with an IP address. IP addresses enable servers to display the correct pages to visitors. However, those addresses consists of very long strings of numbers, so domain names are a much more user-friendly way to navigate the web.

While you can choose almost any words to occupy the main part of your domain, you’ll also require a domain extension, or Top Level Domain (TLD). While .com tends to be the most recognizable domain extension, there are hundreds of options, including popular choices like .org and .net as well as niche TLDs such as .pet and .golf.

In order to get a domain name, you’ll need to purchase it from a domain registrar. There are dedicated registrars, but most web hosting providers also sell domains.

Any domain registrar will offer a search feature you can use to explore the available options. At NameHero, for example, all you have to do is enter a relevant key term, and you’ll be presented with a list of choices:

If you’re looking for a .co or .com extension specifically, you can use the toggle to enable the premium domain search.

Typically, it’s best to choose a domain extension that’s easily identifiable (such as .co and .com), since this can help you build trust with customers. Additionally, it can make your website seem more professional and credible, as opposed to less familiar choices like .mobi or .management.

An Introduction To .co vs .com

There are various organizations that monitor domain extensions, but one of the primary ones is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). There, you’ll find a complete list of different extensions that you can use for your website.

New extensions are constantly added to the list. However, .com is one of the original seven domain extensions, which is one reason it’s so largely used. In fact, .com is the most common TLD, and accounts for nearly 50 percent of global websites.

On the other hand, .co was initially a Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD), created specifically to represent websites in Columbia. However, it’s now used more generally for websites across the world, and tends to be seen as an abbreviation for “company” or “corporation”.

.co vs .com: 4 Key Considerations

Now that you know a bit more about .co and .com, here are four key factors to help you choose the right domain extension for your website.

#1. Your Target Audience

Since it’s globally recognized, .com makes a great option for most commercial websites. Internet users are more familiar with this TLD, so it can be easier to demonstrate your credibility and build trust with customers.

Additionally, because it’s by far the most common domain extension, most people will simply assume that your website ends in .com. Therefore, choosing this TLD makes it easier for new visitors to find your website.

On the other hand, .co doesn’t even rank in the ten most common TLDs. This makes it a fresh alternative, which can be especially suited to up-and-coming businesses or exciting startups.

Plus, it’s still a widely-trusted extension while being a little different from the traditional .com. As such, .co is ideal if you want to appeal to younger generations.

However, it’s important to consider that some people may still associate this domain extension with its Columbian origins. This may cause issues if part of your brand and marketing relies on presenting a very regionally specific image.

#2. Price

The price of domain extensions varies widely. However, since .com TLDs tend to be highly coveted, you can usually expect the .com version of a domain to cost more than the .co version.

For example, the domain “thesecretword” costs $3,465.60 with the .com extension. But with .co, it’s only $34.95:

However, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to domain pricing. For example, the domain “copycatred” costs $34.95 with the .co extension, but only $16.98 with .com:

Therefore, it’s a good idea to conduct some thorough research and make sure the price of the domain you want fits within your budget. Plus, you’ll need to be aware of any extra costs involved, such as for domain privacy protection.

Of course, you’ll also require a web hosting provider to make your site available to the public. It’s a good idea to shop for this service at the same time you’re selecting your domain name.

At NameHero, for example, you’ll get unlimited storage and free website migrations. Better yet, you can boost website performance with features like LiteSpeed caching. Plus, some plans come with a free domain name.

#3. Availability

One of the main issues you can encounter in your domain search is that your ideal domain might not be available. This is especially true with the .com extension, since it’s so popular.

This might make it hard for you to find a unique name that represents your brand and isn’t already in use. Or it may be a ‘parked domain’ – registered by an owner, but not active. The owner may be saving it for later use, or planning to resell it.

Unless the owner has purchased domain privacy protection, you can find their contact details through a WHOIS lookup tool, then try to negotiate a sale. However, there’s no guarantee that the owner will be interested. Plus, this can end up costing a lot of money.

If you don’t have the budget for that, you may have to adopt a more flexible approach to finding the right domain name. Often, you can add or remove descriptive terms to change the length of the domain. Or you might opt for a more unusual spelling.

On the other hand, .co is a less popular extension, so it may be easier to find your preferred domain without making adjustments. Plus, since this TLDs isn’t as widely use as the .com domain extension, it’s less likely to be parked for resale.

#4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Contrary to popular belief, Google does not consider domain extensions as a ranking factor. In fact, Google makes it clear that no TLD has more weight or influence in the way it crawls, indexes, and ranks URLs.

However, Google does handle country code TLDs slightly differently – but only for people searching in the relevant country. This means that if you use a .co extension, Google may geotarget your website to internet users in Columbia. But this doesn’t make your content any less discoverable for other audiences.

While the extension you choose won’t make a difference to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you can help your website rank higher in search results via your domain name. For instance, you can find relevant keywords using a tool like Google Keyword Planner:

Then you can implement these terms within the main part of your domain (before the extension). This can impact your decision between .com and .co, as it may be best to opt for whichever extension is available with your desired combination of keywords.

Conclusion

If you want to make your website appear professional, it’s usually best to opt for an easily-identifiable domain extension like .co or .com. This can help you build trust with customers and establish credibility for your brand.

To recap, here are some tips for choosing between .co vs .com:

1. .com is a great option for generic commercial organizations. However, .co can be a good fit for startups or businesses that target younger audiences.
2. .com extensions tend to be more expensive, due to their popularity. Often, .co represents a budget option.
3. If you’re looking for a very specific domain, you’ll have a better chance of finding it available with a .co extension. But if you’re happy to make some adjustments (or negotiate with the domain’s current owner), you can often still acquire a .com domain.
4. The .co extension can make you more discoverable to users in Columbia. Apart from that, however, SEO won’t be affected by your choice of extension.

Do you have any questions about how to register your preferred domain name? Let us know in the comments below!