Welcome to Find It Friday in which we help you find the answers to your how to blog questions.
The Question
This week Aine Casey asks us the following question:
Would love to know the answer to the question when setting up a website for a company operating in Ireland, is it better to use .COM or .IE
The Answer
If both are available, I would recommending registering both as many people will presume the domain name has a .com ending and may type that in automatically. The .ie will signify that you are an Irish company.
However, do bear in mind that your business may expand and you may wish to target consumers or companies abroad so it is always good to have a .com address if it is available.
As far as I am aware, one will be the principal address so if .ie is the principal one and someone types in .com, it will automatically divert to the .ie address which will demonstrate you are a company operating within Ireland. Check this is done correctly with your web developer so the SEO effects aren’t spread across the two domains.
Some will recommend registering a variety of domain names, for example, registering a .eu domain too.
If the .com of your chosen domain name isn’t available but the .ie is, then by all means register it as a .ie. If someone is googling your business name from Ireland, google should provide the .ie company first in any case. My only qualm is when someone knows the url but presumes it is a .com and comes to the wrong site (I’ve done this with other businesses in the past).
I hope that helps.
Do you have a question on how to blog effectively?
Leave a comment below and we will be happy to help you find the answer.
Marie Ennis-O’Connor BA, MIAPR, holds an Honours degree in History from University College Dublin. She is a graduate of the Irish Academy of Public Relations and has worked in a variety of PR roles over the past 12 years. Marie is editor of several award-winning blogs ranging from life sciences to health to business. She is a panel member of the newly established Bloggers International and is a regular contributor to Health Works Collective, an online community for thought leaders in international healthcare. She is a featured blogger on Webicina, an online service that provides curated medical social media resources in over 80 medical topics and over 17 languages, and has been awarded a top blogger accolade by Empowered Doctor.com and most inspiring writer by WegoHealth. Marie is also in demand as a trainer in social media marketing and travels the country teaching small business owners how to get online and maximise their online presence.
