.com or .me for freelance business?

[benesmartin]

Hey there,

Which domain do you think is better and why?

(1) surnamename.com or (2) surname.me?

Since Google treats both the same in terms of the rankings, my biggest concern is about the branding. (1) is longer but is .com (people usually see .com as more trusted one). (2) is shorter, easier to remember, but less tech savvy people might be confused with .me.

Purpose of the site is personal/freelance profile. Other domain versions are already taken.

Shoot the ideas! Cheers, Martin

[LureCreative]

I would really try to get a ".com" even if you have to slightly alter your URL to not just be your brand name. Alot of people will add their city or a service that they are associate with or provide after their brand name ("www.abcwebsitedesign" or "adcnewyork" as examples).

[elerman]

I would argue that .me is easier to remember since, .com is basically an embedded second nature to add after a brand name in terms of direct or navigational traffic. However, since you're interested in .me you should consider creating the .com and forward the .me domain back to it in-case you would like to use it on business cards or other material.

I personally think .com is the way to go and it is almost instinctive to type that in as searcher or user.

[Katarina-Borovska]

Hi Martin,

I believe I would. What about name-surname.com?

If the namesurname.com is taken, there is a risk that your own namesurname.me will be often confused as .com and you will just send traffic to the .com domain owner.

Obviously, I don't know your intentions but perhaps make the 'surnamename' order your signature/brand - sign your articles in this order, if you have videos, introduce yourself in this order, make your social media named after it. This say it might be a bit unusual, but perfectly memorable and maybe seen a bit 'cool/different'.

Are you considering surname.com?

Thanks

Katarina

[benesmartin]

Hi Katarina,

Thanks for your response.

The thing is that the version _**"**name surname . com" _is already taken. Otherwise, I would definitely go for this option.

That is why I am not 100 % sure about the _"surname name . com"_version.

Would you go for it anyway istead of **"surname . me" **?

Thanks, Martin

[Katarina-Borovska]

Hi Martin,

Why do you think .me is easier to remember? I agree, people might remember the surname (instead of name & surname), but at the same time they might assume it's .com. And if this goes to 'page not found', will they figure out it's .me?

I think you cannot beat .com - it has a psychological effect and people expect professional websites to be .com. Is there an option for you to have the format namesurname.com? Or is the domain taken? That's what works well in general.

.com is a global standard for business online and many businesses fight for and pay thousands for .com's. I hope this helps with your decision a bit.

Thanks.

Katarina