I'm starting up a small online business.
I went to register a .com.au domain only to find old that my old abn number was canceled meaning I have to reapply.
This will probably take a few weeks so im thinking about not bothering with the .au
What do others think? Is it worthwhile?
I'm offering a service so only dealing with locals.
Your right :)
10 minutes on the phone and its restored.
I found out yesterday that the website doesn't let you reactivate an old ABN and just keeps showing an error. When you ring, they tell you that you have to press "next" SIX TIMES and then it will work. Why the (profanity) they don't just make it one press or at least tell you it's six presses I have no idea.
If your market is Australia, yes you need a .com.au domain. This is largely for user trust. It's also the default extension that your customers will type in. Remember to buy the .com address so you can defend against squatters, or so you can use it in the future if you expand.
Get the .com first. You can both use it and get the .com.au in slowtime, and it's much harder to secure.
And you may find that people look more kindly on the .com, since online shops in Australia are so woeful and overpriced….
.com is more important (IMO).
.com.au is a nice addition, if your business focuses in Australia it's sort of a must, but you can just redirect the .com.au to the .com instead of having two sites.
If you have an old ABN when you reapply it is almost instantaneous they just reactivate your old one.
They don't tell you it's reactivated you do an ABN search and it says it active.