The new domain extensions are here. Gone are the days of the simple .com .co.uk and .au domain names for your personal trainer website.
You've probably seen them being advertised having been re targeted on Facebook after visiting a domain registrar like 1and1 (who we use), Crazy Domains and GoDaddy.
We've had a few questions recently like; should I get a .PT domain for my new site; should I transfer to a .PT domain or; how will a .PT domain effect my search engine optimization.
What Are The New gTLD's?
The new general top level domains are unusual domain extensions at the end of your website address. In other words, anything that comes after the .(dot) in your domain name that isn't the recognizable .com, .co.uk, and .au. Some of the new gTLD's range from the very generic .shop, .app, .love and .london, to the less generic and more brand specific .club, .fitness, .consultant and of course .PT.
There are a couple of reasons to get a business, service or name specific domain extensions like .PT for your business. A yourname.pt domain name is very easy to remember. Who can forget that, right? And a .PT domain contains your keywords. Something important to consider when search engine optimizing your website.
So, what's the problem? ...
There are a couple of reasons to get a business, service or name specific domain extensions like .PT for your business. A yourname.pt domain name is very easy to remember. Who can forget that, right? And a .PT domain contains your keywords. Something important to consider when search engine optimizing your website.
So, what's the problem? ...
They're Expensive!
A quick search on Sedo.com, one of the worlds largest domain market places, reveals the prices for a .PT domain extension range from 275 USD for general domain names like dan.pt (yep, I looked for my name) to 27,725,018 USD for the more coveted extensions like forums.pt.
257 USD doesn't sound too bad but when you consider most domain registrars charge $5-$10 for a domain and hosting, say hello to a little perspective.
257 USD doesn't sound too bad but when you consider most domain registrars charge $5-$10 for a domain and hosting, say hello to a little perspective.
The .PT Domain Extension Could Mean Anything!
This extension is the official top level domain of Portugal. Because of the restriction, having a domain name in this extension clearly shows your membership to the country - www.netim.com
Having a domain name that ends in .pt doesn't mean users are going to recognize it as "Personal Trainer". The .PT domain name could also mean Physio Therapist or Physical Trainer but( and this is a big but) it could also mean Pumpkin Tea, Pretty Troll or pretty much anything you'd like to interpret from PT.
It's also important to note that a quick Google search (this link will open the search result) of the .PT domain extension reveals exactly what the .PT extension is actually for.
It's also important to note that a quick Google search (this link will open the search result) of the .PT domain extension reveals exactly what the .PT extension is actually for.
.PT is the country code domain for Portugal. It is operated Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional and can be registered by anyone for a minimum one year period. - www.eurodns.com
Buy the .PT country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of Portugal for your website, blog or email address. - iwantmyname.com
So, buying a .PT domain might get .PT on the end of your personal trainer website URL but Google and other search engines will think you're from Portugal and choose NOT to list you in search results when a user looks for your services online in the US, UK and Aus.
The .PT Domain Extensions Are Bad For SEO
We touched on this above but not only is the .PT domain name an extension for Portugal, but there is still no research by leading SEO companies like SEO Moz and Search Engine Land to suggest that the new domain extensions provide any SEO benefits whatsoever. In fact, SEOmoz report:
Google's Matt Cutts has stated that the new TLDs won't have an advantage over existing domains.
And Kathy Nielsen from Sedo.com reported on Search Engine Land that:
Truthfully, there is not likely to be a very visible change in how search engines rank results in the beginning. As they have done in the past, search engines will continue to reward high-quality content.
What this means is that right now and for the foreseeable future, all General Top Level Domains including the .PT domain will have little to no advantage whatsoever when it comes to the position of your personal trainer website in search engines like Google.
What You Should Do Instead?
Simple. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Right now we're 100% sure that location specific domain extensions like .co.uk for the UK, .com for the US and global and .au for Australia, work.
We've been assigning location specific domain extensions to all of the personal trainer website design projects since we started and they continue to rank high in search results. Why? Search engines, specifically Google, love quality content!
Their algorithms, are design to position websites that produce quality, sharable and viral content higher up in search results because people share good stuff!
So, to succeed online, create a beautiful website, get a regular domain name and create quality content.
With share-ability in mind, please share this post with your personal trainer mates to make sure they're not a victim of this .PT domain extension scam!
We've been assigning location specific domain extensions to all of the personal trainer website design projects since we started and they continue to rank high in search results. Why? Search engines, specifically Google, love quality content!
Their algorithms, are design to position websites that produce quality, sharable and viral content higher up in search results because people share good stuff!
So, to succeed online, create a beautiful website, get a regular domain name and create quality content.
With share-ability in mind, please share this post with your personal trainer mates to make sure they're not a victim of this .PT domain extension scam!
