Website domain can play very important role in your SEO campaign, search engines take very valuable information through your domain name. You can be credible, authentic, more reliable, and more valuable for search engines. You’ll come to know how effectively you can take benefit from your domain name.
Why to have Keywords Specific Domain Name
Keywords specific domains, or keywords in domain names are highly valuable to search engines, such as www.d4dating.net where “Dating” is a keywords, but I would always recommend to have brand specific “easy to remember” domains, you can’t have a single keyword or phrase for a website, can you? Then why to have a keyword specific domain name? You can always keep keywords specific files or directories to support your SEO work and be flexible with domain name, since domain name is going to be your online identity and your direct traffic will heavily depend on your domain.
Is Your Website Domain Easy to Remember?
Website domain name is as important as the identity for any brand. There are more than 100 million registered website domains in the world, how many website domains one can remember? Selection of most appropriate domain name for your website is one of the very important aspects of building your image on internet. Why I say most appropriate domain name is just because finding best domain name will be one of the most difficult tasks.
Strategy to Select Best Domain for Your Website
There are three ways through which you can select most appropriate domain name.
- Company Name Based: Example www.hostingheap.com where “Hosting Heap” is company’s name
- Catchy Title Based: Example www.alwaysidea.com where “Always Idea” is title
- Keywords Based: Example www.d4dating.net where “Dating” is a keyword phrase.
Whenever you will select domain, keep these elements in mind and try to select a domain which can help you in search engine positioning and also in online branding.
Google takes Old Domains as Gold!
Google gives more importance to older domains comparatively than newly registered domains, the older the domain better the chances of getting good rankings in Google. Here one thing should be kept in mind that the domain registration details should not be refreshed or updated frequently, if you update or change domain registration information, then there is a chance that Google will consider your domain as new, since there are people who have made it very profitable business, they registered domains and sell them.
Avoid Being Suspect, Get Credibility by Your Domain Name!
Search engine have become very smart, they can track server statistics, domain whois info and compare these information with the available contact information at your website, if information doesn’t match they can give you poor rank or no rank. That’s why it is always advisable that you have same information at website and at domain registration, don’t try to update server information too often or else search engine can take that modification as a change in ownership and your domain becomes fresh once again.
One Year Domain Registration vs Multiple Years Domain Registration
Normally people register their domains for one year even though there is a possibility of registering domains on monthly basis by domain registration companies. Recently the trend has changed now smart businessmen are registering their domains for multiple years, why this change occurred? Why people are investing more money on domain registration?
Newly registered domains are just like infant babies to Google, they have almost zero reliability, credibility factor from their domain registration, there is only one way for those infant babies is that they get themselves registered for multiple years, if they want to be credible and reliable to Google eyes. Google has been always a logical company and there is a logic behind this credibility factor, those websites which are registered for one year or few months can adopt black hat SEO techniques or they can be involved in any short term activity to bring quick ranking, it’s just because they have invested very less amount of money
How Search Engines Treat Sub Domains
Search engines give equal importance to sub domains as they give to domains but there are website which are excessively using sub domains for their promotion. This indicates that very soon search engines will have strict policy related to sub domains.
Domain Name Tips
- Try to select “easy to remember” domain name, after all we all need to increase direct traffic rather hoping from search engines
- If you’ve already taken domain, try to have keywords specific files or directories
- Register your domain name for multiple years (five or ten years)
- Mention your contact details clearly at your website
- Keep the same contact information at website and at domain registrant
- Don’t mess with sub domains but it’s always good to have few relevant sub domains
- Take care of Canonical URLs
- Avoid geographical/country specific domain, unless your target market is specific
- .com is still the most popular domains in search engines and in people
- Don’t modify domain information, it can refresh your domain’s age according to search engine
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The list below contains the English country name and name of the generic top level domains according to IANA’s list. The link takes you to the registry of the TLD. Please note that Norid is only administering the .no top level domain.
Please give us a notice if you have corrections or supplements to the list.
Generic top level domains (gTLD)
.aero Aviation
.asia Asia
.biz Business Organizations
.cat Catalan language and culture
.com Commercial
.coop Co-Operative Organizations
.edu Education
.gov US Government
.info Open TLD
.int International Organizations
.jobs Jobs
.mil US Dept of Defense
.mobi Mobile devices
.museum Museums
.name Personal
.net Networks
.org Organizations
.pro Credentialed professionals and related entities
.tel Publishing of contact data
.travel Travelling
Country code top level domains (ccTLD)
Sorted by country code – sort by country name.
A
.ac Ascension Island
.ad Andorra
.ae United Arab Emirates
.af Afghanistan
.ag Antigua and Barbuda
.ai Anguilla
.al Albania
.am Armenia
.an Netherlands Antilles
.ao Angola
.aq Antarctica
.ar Argentina
.as American Samoa
.at Austria
.au Australia
.aw Aruba
.ax Åland Islands
.az Azerbaijan
B
.ba Bosnia and Herzegovina
.bb Barbados
.bd Bangladesh
.be Belgium
.bf Burkina Faso
.bg Bulgaria
.bh Bahrain
.bi Burundi
.bj Benin
.bm Bermuda
.bn Brunei Darussalam
.bo Bolivia
.br Brazil
.bs Bahamas
.bt Bhutan
.bv Bouvet Island
.bw Botswana
.by Belarus
.bz Belize
C
.ca Canada
.cc Cocos (Keeling) Islands
.cd Congo, Democratic republic of the (former Zaire)
.cf Central African Republic
.cg Congo, Republic of
.ch Switzerland
.ci Côte d’Ivoire
.ck Cook Islands
.cl Chile
.cm Cameroon
.cn China
.co Colombia
.cr Costa Rica
.cs Czechoslovakia (former – non-existing)
.cu Cuba
.cv Cape Verde
.cx Christmas Island
.cy Cyprus
.cz Czech Republic
D
.de Germany
.dj Djibouti
.dk Denmark
.dm Dominica
.do Dominican Republic
.dz Algeria
E
.ec Ecuador
.ee Estonia
.eg Egypt
.eh Western Sahara
.er Eritrea
.es Spain
.et Ethiopia
.eu European Union
F
.fi Finland
.fj Fiji
.fk Falkland Islands
.fm Micronesia
.fo Faroe Islands
.fr France
G
.ga Gabon
.gb United Kingdom
.gd Grenada
.ge Georgia
.gf French Guiana
.gg Guernsey
.gh Ghana
.gi Gibraltar
.gl Greenland
.gm Gambia
.gn Guinea
.gp Guadeloupe
.gq Equatorial Guinea
.gr Greece
.gs South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
.gt Guatemala
.gu Guam
.gw Guinea-Bissau
.gy Guyana
H
.hk Hong Kong
.hm Heard and McDonald Islands
.hn Honduras
.hr Croatia
.ht Haiti
.hu Hungary
I
.id Indonesia
.ie Ireland
.il Israel
.im Isle of Man
.in India
.io British Indian Ocean Territory
.iq Iraq
.ir Iran
.is Iceland
.it Italia
J
.je Jersey
.jm Jamaica
.jo Jordan
.jp Japan
K
.ke Kenya
.kg Kyrgyzstan
.kh Cambodia
.ki Kiribati
.km Comoros
.kn Saint Kitts and Nevis
.kp Korea, Democratic Peoples Republic of
.kr Korea, Republic of
.kw Kuwait
.ky Cayman Islands
.kz Kazakhstan
L
.la Lao People’s Democratic Republic
.lb Lebanon
.lc Saint Lucia
.li Liechtenstein
.lk Sri Lanka
.lr Liberia
.ls Lesotho
.lt Lithuania
.lu Luxembourg
.lv Latvia
.ly Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
M
.ma Morocco
.mc Monaco
.md Moldova
.me Montenegro
.mg Madagascar
.mh Marshall Islands
.mk Macedonia
.ml Mali
.mm Myanmar
.mn Mongolia
.mo Macau
.mp Northern Mariana Islands
.mq Martinique
.mr Mauritania
.ms Montserrat
.mt Malta
.mu Mauritius
.mv Maldives
.mw Malawi
.mx Mexico
.my Malaysia
.mz Mozambique
N
.na Namibia
.nc New Caledonia
.ne Niger
.nf Norfolk Island
.ng Nigeria
.ni Nicaragua
.nl The Netherlands
.no Norway
.np Nepal
.nr Nauru
.nu Niue
.nz New Zealand
O
.om Oman
P
.pa Panama
.pe Peru
.pf French Polynesia
.pg Papua New Guinea
.ph Philippines
.pk Pakistan
.pl Poland
.pm St. Pierre and Miquelon
.pn Pitcairn
.pr Puerto Rico
.ps Palestine
.pt Portugal
.pw Palau
.py Paraguay
Q
.qa Qatar
R
.re Reunion
.ro Romania
.rs Serbia
.ru Russia
.rw Rwanda
S
.sa Saudi Arabia
.sb Solomon Islands
.sc Seychelles
.sd Sudan
.se Sweden
.sg Singapore
.sh St. Helena
.si Slovenia
.sj Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
.sk Slovakia
.sl Sierra Leone
.sm San Marino
.sn Senegal
.so Somalia
.sr Surinam
.st Sao Tome and Principe
.su USSR (former)
.sv El Salvador
.sy Syrian Arab Republic
.sz Swaziland
T
.tc The Turks and Caicos Islands
.td Chad
.tf French Southern Territories
.tg Togo
.th Thailand
.tj Tajikistan
.tk Tokelau
.tl Timor-Leste
.tm Turkmenistan
.tn Tunisia
.to Tonga
.tp East Timor
.tr Turkey
.tt Trinidad and Tobago
.tv Tuvalu
.tw Taiwan
.tz Tanzania
U
.ua Ukraine
.ug Uganda
.uk United Kingdom
.um United States Minor Outlying Islands
.us United States
.uy Uruguay
.uz Uzbekistan
V
.va Holy See (Vatican City State)
.vc Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
.ve Venezuela
.vg Virgin Islands British
.vi Virgin Islands U.S
.vn Vietnam
.vu Vanuatu
W
.wf Wallis and Futuna Islands
.ws Samoa
X
No Domain Extension Found
Y
.ye Yemen
.yt Mayotte
.yu Yugoslavia
Z
.za South Africa
.zm Zambia
.zr Zaire (non-existent, see Congo)
.zw Zimbabwe
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.com represents the word “commercial,” and is the most widely used extension in the world. Most businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet.
.net represents the word “network,” and is most commonly used by Internet service providers, Web-hosting companies or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet. This is why “Dr. Bill Bailey.NET” is called “.NET” since we are a web site hosting service. Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a .net extension for their intranet Websites.
.org represents the word “organization,” and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade associations.
.biz is used for small business Web sites.
.info is for credible resource Web sites and signifies a “resource” web site. It’s the most popular extension beyond .com, .net and .org.
.mobi (short for “mobile”) is reserved for Web sites built for easy viewing on mobile devices.
.us is for American Web sites and is the newest extension. It has the largest amount of available names in inventory.
.cc was originally the country code for Coco’s Keeling Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.bz was originally designated as the country code for Belize, but is now commonly used by small business who can’t get the name they want using the .biz extension. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.tv is for rich content/multi-media Web sites, commonly used within the entertainment or media industry.
.vg is the coutry code for the British Virgin Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registred by anyone, from any country.
.ws was originally designated as the country code for Western Samoa, but is now commonly used as an acronym for “Web sites.” It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.name is the only domain extension specifically designed for personal use. It is commonly used for easy to remember e-mail addresses and personal web sites that display photos or personal information about an individual.
.co.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.org.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an organization. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.me.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .me portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an individual. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.de is the country code for Germany. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country. If you are not a resident and citizen of Germany, the Administrative Contact for this domain name registration will automatically be assigned Network Solutions’ German proxy contact information.
.eu is the country code for the European Union. Registration of .eu domain names requires registrants to meet one of the three eligibility requirements: have a registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the European Community; have an organization established within the European Community without prejudice to the application of national law; or be a natural person resident within the European Community. Alternatively, you can secure the use of a .eu domain name by using Network Solutions .EU Registration Service. Network Solutions Europe, LLC is the registrar for all .eu domain names.
.be is the country code for Belgium. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.cn is the country code for China. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.com.cn is the country code for China. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.net.cn is the country code for China. The .net portion of the extension represents the word “network”, and is generally used by internet infrastructure providers. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.org.cn is the country code for China. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain is for an organization. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.cn Regional names. There are 34 regional .cn extensions available, for example, .bj.cn. The .bj portion of the extension represents Beijing and the .cn represents China. These extensions may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.tw is the country code for Taiwan. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.com.tw is the country code for Taiwan. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.org.tw is the country code for Taiwan. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain is for an organization. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
.at is the country code for Austria. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.com.mx is the country code for Mexico. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.co.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.net.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .net portion of the extension represents the word “network”, and is generally used by internet infrastructure providers. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.org.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an organization. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.gs is the country code for the South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.tc is the country code for the Turks & Caicos Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
.ms is the country code for Montserrat. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
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The most common question is “What do the different extensions mean?” The newest web extensions are explained below. . . select a particular domain extension that you would like to learn more about from the list below.
Extensions are categories of Internet domain names. There are several of them to choose from:
* .com represents the word “commercial,” and is the most widely used extension in the world. Most businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet.
* .net represents the word “network,” and is most commonly used by Internet service providers, Web-hosting companies or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet. Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a .net extension for their intranet Websites.
* .org represents the word “organization,” and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade associations.
* .biz is used for small business Web sites.
* .info is for credible resource Web sites and signifies a “resource” web site. It’s the most popular extension beyond .com, .net and .org.
* .mobi (short for “mobile”) is reserved for Web sites built for easy viewing on mobile devices.
* .us is for American Web sites and is the newest extension. It has the largest amount of available names in inventory.
* .cc was originally the country code for Coco’s Keeling Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .bz was originally designated as the country code for Belize, but is now commonly used by small business who can’t get the name they want using the .biz extension. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .tv is for rich content/multi-media Web sites, commonly used within the entertainment or media industry.
* .vg is the country code for the British Virgin Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .ws was originally designated as the country code for Western Samoa, but is now commonly used as an acronym for “Web sites.” It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .name is the only domain extension specifically designed for personal use. It is commonly used for easy to remember e-mail addresses and personal web sites that display photos or personal information about an individual.
* .co.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .org.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an organization. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .me.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .me portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an individual. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .de is the country code for Germany. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country. If you are not a resident and citizen of Germany, the Administrative Contact for this domain name registration will automatically be assigned Network Solutions’ German proxy contact information.
* .eu is the country code for the European Union. Registration of .eu domain names requires registrants to meet one of the three eligibility requirements: have a registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the European Community; have an organization established within the European Community without prejudice to the application of national law; or be a natural person resident within the European Community. Alternatively, you can secure the use of a .eu domain name by using Network Solutions .EU Registration Service. Network Solutions Europe, LLC is the registrar for all .eu domain names. Click here for more information.
* .be is the country code for Belgium. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .cn is the country code for China. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .com.cn is the country code for China. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .net.cn is the country code for China. The .net portion of the extension represents the word “network”, and is generally used by internet infrastructure providers. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .org.cn is the country code for China. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain is for an organization. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .cn Regional names. There are 34 regional .cn extensions available, for example, .bj.cn. The .bj portion of the extension represents Beijing and the .cn represents China. These extensions may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .tw is the country code for Taiwan. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .com.tw is the country code for Taiwan. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .org.tw is the country code for Taiwan. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain is for an organization. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
* .at is the country code for Austria. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .com.mx is the country code for Mexico. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .co.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .net.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .net portion of the extension represents the word “network”, and is generally used by internet infrastructure providers. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .org.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an organization. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .gs is the country code for the South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .tc is the country code for the Turks & Caicos Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .ms is the country code for Montserrat. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
* .fm is the country code for Federated States of Micronesia, but is commonly used for FM radio.
* .am is the country code for Armenia, but commonly used for AM radio.
* .la is the country extension for Laos, but also used for Los Angeles, Louisiana or Latin America.
* .us.com is an alternate domain for the United States
* .uk.com is an alternate domain for the United Kingdom
* .eu.com is an alternate domain for the European Union
* .de.com is an alternate domain for Germany
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