undefined
Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
  • Products
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Pro Home
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Home
    • STAT
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Home
    • Compare SEO Products
    • Moz Data
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis
    • Keyword Explorer
    • Link Explorer
    • Competitive Research
    • MozBar
    • More Free SEO Tools
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
    • SEO Learning Center
    • Moz Academy
    • SEO Q&A
    • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Agency Solutions
    • Enterprise Solutions
    • Small Business Solutions
    • Case Studies
    • The Moz Story
    • New Releases
  • Log in
  • Log out
  • Products
    • Moz Pro

      Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

    • Moz Local

      Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

    • STAT

      SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

    • Moz API

      Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

    • Compare SEO Products

      See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

    • Moz Data

      Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis

      Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

    • Keyword Explorer

      Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

    • Link Explorer

      Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

    • Competitive Research

      Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

    • MozBar

      See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

    • More Free SEO Tools

      Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO

      The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

    • SEO Learning Center

      Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

    • On-Demand Webinars

      Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

    • How-To Guides

      Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

    • Moz Academy

      Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

    • MozCon

      Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
    Moz API

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

    Find your plan
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Small Business Solutions

      Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

    • Agency Solutions

      Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

    • Enterprise Solutions

      Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

    • The Moz Story

      Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

    • Case Studies

      Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

    • New Releases

      Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

    Surface actionable competitive intel
    New Feature

    Surface actionable competitive intel

    Learn More
  • Log in
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Dashboard
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Dashboard
    • Moz Academy
  • Avatar
    • Moz Home
    • Notifications
    • Account & Billing
    • Manage Users
    • Community Profile
    • My Q&A
    • My Videos
    • Log Out

The Moz Q&A Forum

  • Forum
  • Questions
  • Users
  • Ask the Community

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

  1. Home
  2. SEO Tactics
  3. On-Page Optimization
  4. .us VS .com

Moz Q&A is closed.

After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

.us VS .com

On-Page Optimization
3
10
11.7k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as question
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
  • activitysuper
    activitysuper last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 11:52 AM

    In general from what I have experienced a location specific extension such as .co.uk geo-targeted to the same location gives the best results when ranking BUT when I look at results from the US, page after page shows results of .com, surely if my above statement is true then a .us domain extension should rank better then a .com.

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • activitysuper
      activitysuper @john4math last edited by Feb 9, 2012, 7:24 AM Feb 9, 2012, 7:24 AM

      mmm I do agree to disagree from the testing I have done, I have seen better rankings for (emd).co.uk against (emd).org.uk from index.

      To the point where .co.uk would rank page 1-3 and .org.uk would rank page 5+

      But everyone does things differently, I tend to take .co.uk over anything else when im taking ranking factors into account.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • john4math
        john4math last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 4:46 PM Feb 8, 2012, 4:46 PM

        I agree with SEOConsult all the way.  It's all correlation.  In my experience, .us domains tend to be worse (bad content, more ads, less well put together, bad user experience, etc) than .com domains, so I would expect those sites to do worse in the SERPs.  It's not the .us domain that's making the sites worse in general.  If you put together a terrific .us site, it would do fine.

        The main issue I have with .us vs .com and .org.uk vs .co.uk is that people have to remember to enter those extensions.  If you have the yourbrand.us domain, a lot of people are going to put yourbrand.com in when trying to get to your site.  They may give up there.

        Also, I am more likely to trust a .com domain over a .us domain, and I'm more likely to click a .com in the SERPs over a .us domain.  Do you have many .us domains you ever visit?  I can't think of any off the top of my head.  Even del.icio.us migrated to delicious.com.

        activitysuper 1 Reply Last reply Feb 9, 2012, 7:24 AM Reply Quote 1
        • ClickConsult
          ClickConsult @activitysuper last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 1:53 PM Feb 8, 2012, 1:53 PM

          We all have our own views on certain aspects of SEO I guess, however I strongly view all extensions as equal value (unless of-course you're using a .us when targeting a UK audience).

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • activitysuper
            activitysuper @activitysuper last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 1:50 PM Feb 8, 2012, 1:50 PM

            What im saying though is if I had a choice between a EMD that was .org.uk or .co.uk I would take the .co.uk every time purely on the bases the extension's 'power' is a lot strong then a .org.uk.

            For example if I had 3 new websites with the same template, same content, same title tag with the domain extension (.co.uk, .com, .org.uk) being the only difference, in a UK search im 99% sure the rankings would be as follows:

            .co.uk then .com then .org.uk

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • ClickConsult
              ClickConsult @activitysuper last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 1:22 PM Feb 8, 2012, 1:22 PM

              There will be more factors than simply the extension, have you got an example you could send over where you're seeing the EMD .co.uk outranking the .org.uk?

              That's correct what you said regarding how Google looks for a GEO within WMT's and then if there's nothing set within WMT's it'll look for other clues, such as the domain extension.

              If you have a ccTLD though, Google will set a default location within WMT's that you can't change (there are some ccTLD's that are excempt from this rule, .co.uk and .org.uk aren't excempt though).

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • activitysuper
                activitysuper @activitysuper last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 12:26 PM Feb 8, 2012, 12:26 PM

                Thanks,

                I understand what your saying that a .com and a .us domain are equal and other factors will determine rankings...

                But argument against your statement is how comes a EMD that is .co.uk out ranks a .org.uk 10 fold?

                This info sheet from Google imply's geo-targeting in webmaster tools will improve your rankings for the chosen location but also says if no location is specified then the domain extension will be the indicator.

                https://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=62399

                Cheers

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • ClickConsult
                  ClickConsult @activitysuper last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 12:11 PM Feb 8, 2012, 12:11 PM

                  Basically, you're focusing on the main correlation (the domain extension) that you can see between all of the points and assuming that's the main factor.

                  It's nothing to do with the extension that when you're conducting a search, you're only seeing .com's in the results. A .com domain has just as much chance as a .us domain as ranking when targeting in the US.

                  There are other reason why there's not a .us ranking within the results for the queries that you're searching for, it's just a correlation that you're seeing.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • activitysuper
                    activitysuper @ClickConsult last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 12:05 PM Feb 8, 2012, 12:05 PM

                    Thanks for reply,

                    Can you put the above in layman terms! Finding it a little hard to decipher (my fault).

                    ClickConsult activitysuper 5 Replies Last reply Feb 8, 2012, 1:53 PM Reply Quote 0
                    • ClickConsult
                      ClickConsult last edited by Feb 8, 2012, 11:55 AM Feb 8, 2012, 11:55 AM

                      Correlation not causation - sorry Rand, I stole that phrase from you!

                      When targeting for the US, a .us domain has just as much chance of ranking as a .com domain has, it's simply a correlation that the results you're seeing down have a .us ranking - not a causation.

                      activitysuper 1 Reply Last reply Feb 8, 2012, 12:05 PM Reply Quote 0
                      • 1 / 1
                      1 out of 10
                      • First post
                        1/10
                        Last post

                      Got a burning SEO question?

                      Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                      Start my free trial


                      Browse Questions

                      Explore more categories

                      • Moz Tools

                        Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                      • SEO Tactics

                        Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                      • Community

                        Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                      • Digital Marketing

                        Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                      • Research & Trends

                        Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                      • Support

                        Connect on product support and feature requests.

                      • See all categories

                      Related Questions

                      • rigelcable

                        Hreflang Errors 404 vs "Page Not Found"

                        For a websites that differ between catalogs (PDPs) what hreflang error causes the least harm? Obviously the best solution is to only have hreflang for shared products, but this takes more work to implement. So when no identical product exists... 1. Hreflang points to 404 or 410 error. 2. Hreflang points to 200 status "Page Not Found" page. This obviously has the additional issue of needing to point back to 100+ urls. I want to avoid having Google decide to ignore all hreflang due to errors as many correct urls will exist. Any thoughts?

                        On-Page Optimization | Aug 12, 2020, 8:18 PM | rigelcable
                        0
                      • ahislop574

                        Moz bar not working on https://www.fitness-china.com/gym-equipment-names-pictures-prices

                        Moz bar not working on our website about gym equipment names https://www.fitness-china.com/gym-equipment-names-pictures-prices How long fix it?

                        On-Page Optimization | Oct 14, 2023, 3:17 PM | ahislop574
                        0
                      • Bee159

                        Word Count - Content site vs ecommerce site

                        Hi there, what are your thoughts on word count for a content site vs. an ecommerce site. A lot of content sites have no problem pushing out 500+ words per page, which for me is a decent amount to help you get traction. However on ecommerce sites, a lot of the time the product description only needs to be sub-100 words and the total word count on the page comes in at under 300 words, a lot of that could be considered duplicate. So what are your views? Do ecommerce sites still need to have a high word count on the product description page to rank better?

                        On-Page Optimization | May 5, 2017, 12:20 PM | Bee159
                        0
                      • KathleenDC

                        301 vs 410

                        Hello everyone! I'm going through a large list of old 404 links that search console has given me and a lot of these links need to be 301'd. My question is, should I 410 some of these links if I can't find a good place to 301 to? Or is there another thing I should do that is better practice. Thanks!

                        On-Page Optimization | Sep 2, 2016, 10:47 AM | KathleenDC
                        0
                      • AMATechTel

                        Listing all services on one page vs separate pages per service

                        My company offers several generalized categories with more specific services underneath each category. Currently the way it's structured is if you click "Voice" you get a full description of each voice service we offer. I have a feeling this is shooting us in the foot. Would it be better to have a general overview of the services we offer on the "Voice" page that then links to the specified service? The blurb about the service on the overview page would be unique, not taken from the actual specific service's page.

                        On-Page Optimization | Jan 9, 2015, 1:39 AM | AMATechTel
                        0
                      • Ron_McCabe

                        Any idea how Google is doing this? Is it schematic? http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/28/google-adds-full-restaurant-menus-to-its-search-results-pages/

                        Google is now showing menus on select searches.  Any idea how they are getting this information? I would like to make sure my clients get visibility this way.

                        On-Page Optimization | Mar 27, 2014, 10:30 PM | Ron_McCabe
                        0
                      • HiddenPeak

                        Blog on Subdomain vs. Subdirectory - Best Practices

                        Hi, I have recently been told that it no longer impacts authority or rankings if a blog is set up on a subdomain (blog.domain.com) rather than a subdirectory (/blog). However, I am reluctant to do so because I remember learning how blog subdomains did not adhere to SEO best practices. Would anyone be able to shed some light on the latest SEO best practices regarding this topic? Many thanks, Erin

                        On-Page Optimization | Sep 30, 2013, 4:26 PM | HiddenPeak
                        0
                      • VebianWebandMobileDevelopment

                        My Domain Name - short vs relevant

                        I'm creating a website for my new web design company in Vancouver. I'm looking to target such keywords as "Web Design Vancouver", etc. I have another company with a hyphenated domain name which is terrible when I'm on the phone and my client asks me for my domain (hard to say, always spelling it out). Also I wanted to have a good snappy name for my new business so I found a 6 letter .com and matching .ca for my company. My question is: is it best to use a short domain name or is it better have my keywords in the domain name? eg. xyz.com vs xyzvancouverwebdesign.com Thanks

                        On-Page Optimization | Apr 26, 2011, 4:36 PM | VebianWebandMobileDevelopment
                        0

                      Get started with Moz Pro!

                      Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                      Start my free trial
                      Products
                      • Moz Pro
                      • Moz Local
                      • Moz API
                      • Moz Data
                      • STAT
                      • Product Updates
                      Moz Solutions
                      • SMB Solutions
                      • Agency Solutions
                      • Enterprise Solutions
                      Free SEO Tools
                      • Domain Authority Checker
                      • Link Explorer
                      • Keyword Explorer
                      • Competitive Research
                      • Brand Authority Checker
                      • Local Citation Checker
                      • MozBar Extension
                      • MozCast
                      Resources
                      • Blog
                      • SEO Learning Center
                      • Help Hub
                      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                      • How-to Guides
                      • Moz Academy
                      • API Docs
                      About Moz
                      • About
                      • Team
                      • Careers
                      • Contact
                      Why Moz
                      • Case Studies
                      • Testimonials
                      Get Involved
                      • Become an Affiliate
                      • MozCon
                      • Webinars
                      • Practical Marketer Series
                      • MozPod
                      Connect with us

                      Contact the Help team

                      Join our newsletter
                      Moz logo
                      © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                      • Accessibility
                      • Terms of Use
                      • Privacy

                      Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.