Traditional Domain Extensions Are More Trusted

 

According to new research traditional top-level domains are significantly more trusted than the newer domains available.

The research has found that customers are less likely to click on the newer Top-Level Domains’s such as .biz, .london, .info, .digital, .online, etc which in turn could cause a negative effect on your SEO, reputation and sales.

Website’s that have non-traditional domain extensions are viewed with more suspicion than the traditional .com or .co.uk URLs, which means if you use a newer domain extension it could have a negative impact on your click-through rates and SEO.

The research showed that 70% of adults trust more traditional domain extensions like .com or .co.uk more than the newer domain extensions as the newer ones are more associated with dodgy/spamming websites.

Surprisingly the younger generation, those aged 25 to 34 are a lot less trusting than those aged 55 to 64. The research showed that 78% of the younger generation trusted traditional domain names more than newer domains compared to 61% of the 55 to 64 age range.

With fewer domains available these days, more and more new companies are choosing these newer domains and although Google don’t treat these domains any differently than the traditional domains, you may find that the newer extensions are less likely to be clicked on which could damage your brand reputation and possibly have a negative effect on your SEO and sales.

Obviously as time goes on, more and more businesses will chose to use these newer domain extensions so the perception of the domains may change but for now it is something companies with the alterative domains should be aware of as they will need to work harder on their SEO, brand awareness and building trust to counteract the negative stigma around newer domains.