DSF

So, our new website has launched.
We own the .co.uk and .com for our brand name.
For historical reasons, the main site is on the .co.uk domain with the .com domain redirecting to .co.uk
Email accounts are on the .com domain

In terms of being a UK brand, do you think it's best for the site to show as being .com or .co.uk

I'd prefer for everything to be .com but our new website development company are advising that .co.uk communicates more of being a UK based company in terms of UK customer support, UK based company, made in UK etc

What do you think?

.co.uk is better for seo purposes if you want a decent ranking on Google UK.

If your target market is always going to be the UK I would go for .co.uk as well. Even if you were eventually going further around the globe on the trade side I think this would not harm that with advertising it is UK based. It is becoming less important these days than it once was for the domain name when it comes to search engines and all sorts are being used but a .co.uk does give extra reassurance as to where people are buying from. I would tend to keep the email and website on the same domain as well.

Ditto on what Gooner and Andrew say in my opinion.

As you own the .co.uk you can now register .uk

James

As GoonerGary said, a .co.uk is much better for search engine placement if you're a UK-based site but that also only works if you have a UK-based server, otherwise the symbiotic relationship between location and TLD is invalid. I have around sixty clients, all of whom own their .com domains as well as the .co.uk domains and their main domain is dictated by the type of business that they run. For example, if they are able to sell worldwide (and want to) then they will invariably use the .com domain rather than the .co.uk as it signifies a global brand. If, however, they want to stick to just the UK then they'll tend to go with a .co.uk domain and simply have the .com mirrored to the main .co.uk site. Those with .com domains do tend to rank better than those with the .co.uk and as I do all their SEO I can guarantee that it's the same for both site types - so the domain itself does have an impact on placement.

Speaking personally, I would always go with the .com first and foremost as it inspires confidence in the end user that the business is, at the very least, forward thinking enough to consider being a global brand even if it hasn't reached that point yet. If I can't get the .com and .co.uk, I'll just try for different names until I can get them. Some of my clients will opt for .net and .eu but I don't particularly like those. What Andrew said is correct, that it's best to keep the emails on the same domain as the main website otherwise it can get confusing. I have one specific client who, right up until two weeks ago, used an aol.com email address on his site despite having had his store running for more than ten years under the same domain. It's crazy. Other clients will have their emails on a .co.uk domain and website on a .com and it just makes no sense to me. It's all about consistency and brand recognition.

Is there a use for .com? If I find a site that is .com, I'm thinking oh this will be an American site (technically it is global). Go to canon.com for example and they will direct you back to their .co.uk site! If your marketing is about being British or you are selling a British product , I would not confuse your buyer with 'foreign' generic domain names.

I've always found .com less of a mouthful to say and easier to remember than .co.uk when people ask what is your website/email address, so I'm always inclined to use .com

One thing I would to add, if your idea is to expand into other countries I wouldn't let .co.uk put you off. I launched a 'global' product recently with a co.uk domain and had a large order enquiry from Dubai. People will want to know where their purchase is going to be despatched from and the UK is a trusted country. On a .com site, they might have to hunt for your address details on your site to find out where you are. I also plan to launch a German only product, I have a choice of .de, co.uk or .com difficult to decide! What would a customer expect?

When I am looking for something I always check the domain if there is doubt, if I see it is .co.uk then I am happy that this is operating as a UK company.

I think it just instills confidence in people wanting to deal with the UK, take the .com also but just point that to the .co.uk domain.