As a general rule it’s best to grab the .com version if you can, as it is the TLD extension (Top Level Domain) that most people will use automatically, as it’s the most popular.

If you really want a particular domain name and the .com isn’t available then you could go for the local country (or state) version like .co.uk or .ca

If you are going to be building a primarily information based (non commercial) blog, then going for a .org is a good second choice as people tend to recognise these sites as “non-profit” free information sites.

Having said that, for Search Engine Optimization purposes and how the search engine’s treat your site for ranking, it really doesn’t matter which TLD you go for, there are some very popular sites and blogs that are on .net for instance.

The one exception I would say is .info domains.

I would advice stearing clear of using a .info as they have been used very heavily over the last few years to build spam adsense sites, because they are so cheap to register.

You may be tempted to go for a .info if you’re starting up with limited funds and want to save a couple of bucks, but it could well hurt the value of your site in the long term, so don’t be tight, pay the extra and get a .com, .org or .net domain.

So once you’ve decided on your domain name, pop over to www.HWNic.com and register it.

Note: it’s worth trying to pick up your own name domain name as well if it’s available, as this is a great way of setting up your own personal blog.
I use mine (www.mattg.net) to post stuff about my friends, family and life in general.

In the next post I’ll go through another option for your new blog, which is to buy an existing blog…

Tags: Blog Setup

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