| The .com version of a domain name is aimed at international rather than specifically US companies or commercial organisations. A .co.uk domain name suggests a UK-based operation although there is no practical restriction on who can buy a .co.uk domain. So how do you decide which to register or whether to register both ? Cost is no big issue as .co.uk domains cost just £15 each and with the .com version at £35 it hardly breaks the bank. So for just £50 you can have both versions. .com tends to suggest more substance and more prestige than a simple .co.uk. There is a strong suspicion that some of the top US and international search engines and internet directories are more sympathetic to including .com domains than others and may also rank them more highly than other types of domain. On the other hand some specifically UK search engines and directories may prefer .co.uk names for inclusion in their lists so a .com may not get you the best possible ranking in the UK. So if you are not planning to sell in the UK at all just the .com will do. If you are only selling in the UK however don't think that just the .co.uk is enough on its own. Although a lot of UK residents will use altavista.co.uk for example there are still many who still prefer the international version, altavista.com. So there are potential UK customers looking for you on both! You will also find in general that .co.uk domains will not get ranked in non-US and non-UK search resources whereas .com will. For example altavista.fr (France) will accept .fr and .com domains, google.de (Germany) favours .com and .de. So a .com domain helps here too! So our advice is simply: 1. If the UK market is of no importance to you buy just .com domains. 2. If you are a UK site and you are not concerned with your position in the international search engines (which to me means you are not a commercial site), then buy just .co.uk versions of your domain names. 3. If you want to sell in the UK and search engine performance matters to you then buy both versions. | 
