This is my first question here,
I am going to start a business, but as you know it's not easy to find a good domain .com (if you don't want pay hundreds or thousands $).
I have found a good domain, but ".eu",
Actually my business will be in europe, but I've seen that the ".eu" domain are not commonly used.
Is it a good Idea in your opinion start with a eu domain ?
thank you !
Website Business Naming Domain Web App
I've noticed that this site is very US-centric, so be prepared for strong arguments in favour of .com - the most important being that Americans supposedly instinctively add .com to any name they remember.
But since you stated that your business will be limited to Europe...
Myself I live in a UE country and I don't recall ANY major website that is available ONLY via .com. The big players - facebook, google etc. they all purchased ccTLD. With that observation I'm not suggesting that you should buy country domains for every european state - I'm suggesting that Europeans aren't used to .com that much. In fact, in my country .com has a bit spammy feel to it...
Regarding the .eu domain - I believe this is the best alternative to .com, as long as the scope of the business stays in Europe. You may want to add to it ccTLD for your most important markets though.
Of course, I'm not saying it's not worth buying .com - only that it may not be worth it in your situation given the typical price tag attached to good .com domains.
My opinion (having worked with domain registrars for the last 7 years) is that it is always a good idea to have a .com domain. From a branding point of view, the .com reigns supreme. In terms of popularity, there's no question that a .com is the number 1 TLD that's sold. Since you're in the EU, I would still suggest getting the .eu, but only as a complement to the .com. You could always use a 301 redirect and forward it to the .com.
Look at it this way: if you do go for just the .eu, there is the possibility that your customers may still try to access the .com version of your site. If that's a TLD that you don't own, that's traffic you've lost unnecessarily.
Now if the .com is going to cost a few 100 and if it's within your budget, then I would strongly suggest making the investment. If it's more and out of your budget, then I would suggest appending words to your business name to give it a more unique look. For example, instead of xyz.com, go for xyzconsulting.com.
Hope this helps and good luck!