Home Blog Registering a .JE or .GG Domain? - The Pros and Cons

Registering a .JE or .GG Domain? - The Pros and Cons
Phil de Gruchy / Tuesday, 05 July 2011 12:03
Channel Island DomainsI work with a lot of Jersey businesses taking their first steps on the web.  For a new website, the domain name is still a very important marketing consideration.  A question that often pops up, is should I use a local .JE domain name? 

In this short blog post, I take a look at the pros and cons of registering a domain with a Jersey or Guernsey suffix.

Pros of Channel Island domain names


Benefits of Channel Island domain suffixes:

1.  Local residents will recognise a .JE or .GG suffix as belonging to a locally run business. 

2.  Huge availability of domain names.  Trying to find a short and catchy .com is not an easy business but with Channel Island domains the world is your oyster!

Cons of Channel Island Domain Names
Drawbacks of Channel Island domain suffixes:

1.  Google doesn't recognise .JE or .GG as belonging to a search engine jurisdiction, so for example, they wouldn't get prominence in Google.co.uk where as a .co.uk domain would.

2.  Channel Island domains cost more than a .com or .co.uk.  Where as you can easily pick up popular domain extensions for under £10, a Channel Island domain prices are £88 for the first year and £49 for subsequent years.

3.  The registration process for a .JE and .GG domain is long winded and it can take a day or two before the domain is in your hands.

4.  Any administrative changes to your Channel Island domain, such as change of nameserver or whois record takes time as it requires human approval in Alderney.

5.  A .JE or.GG domain is not really suitable for businesses that may expand into new geographic markets, as they not recognised by surfers outside of the Channel Islands.  

Conclusion

As you can see on balance I tend not to recommend local domain suffixes but there are situations where they may be justified.  If you've still keen then pop on over to the Channel Islands Domain Registry and snap up yours now!

Do you have a Pro or Con I haven't addressed?  Please share it on the comments below.

Phil de Gruchy web designer

 
is a freelance web solutions specialist from Jersey.  Phil offers web design and search engine optimisation services and website advice to small businesses.
 
 

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