Domain Extensions Determine Who Sees Your Website

by Bonnie Boots

Most people put a good deal of thought into choosing their domain name. But few realize that the domain extension needs to be just as carefully chosen.

What is a domain extension?

It's the letters that come after "dot."

Dot com is the most common domain extension, and for most small business owners, it's the best choice.

But there are circumstances that can make it important for you to use other domain extensions in your business marketing.

For example, you may live in the United States, but be marketing to a target audience that lives in both the U.S. and Canada. In such a case, you'd want to register your domain name with all the appropriate domain extensions.

Let's say your domain name is freebooze. (And if it is, please put me on your mailing list.)

You should definitely register freebooze.com. But you'll also want to register freebooze.ca for Canada.

Of course, people in Canada can see dot com web sites. So what's the point of registering both dot com and dot ca?

The point is search engines.

When anyone in the world types a query into any search engine, that search engine looks through it's gynormous catalog of sites and makes a decision as to which ones it will show in the search returns.

Any search engine uses a number of factors to make this decision. One of the factors it uses is domain extension.

When someone in Canada goes to a search engine and types in "Where can I get free booze," (and I'll bet this happens 238,000,0000 times a day) the search engine will try its best to show that user the most relevant returns.

"My user is in Canada and wants free booze," says the search engine. "Let me look through my catalog and…YOWZA! Here's "freebooze" in Canada! How great is that, eh?""

Suddenly, your site is at the top of the search returns, because the "dot ca" extension made it look highly relevant to the search engine.

When you register a domain name, the domain registrar will always offer you dot com first. After all, dot com is the most used domain extension, and often the most useful.

But it will also offer you extensions like dot biz, dot info, dot net, dot org and others.

If you want other extensions, such as those that designate other countries, you will have to look for a link on the registration page that lets you open a menu of additional domain extensions.

There are many to choose from. And it seems to grow every year, so the list below is only partial.

And P.S. Knowing what these extensions refer to can also help you when you get solicited for a business opportunity that's emailed from .ng

That's Nigeria.

AVAILABLE DOMAIN EXTENSIONS:

.com
The most popular domain.

.info
For information on the internet.

.net
A good complement to a .com.


.org
Most often used by non-profits.

.me
A domain that's all about YOU.

.mobi
Tell customers your site is optimized for mobile devices.

.biz
A domain that means business.

.jobs
Give job seekers a direct line to your business.

.us
The all-American domain.

.ca
The Domain for Canada.

.uk
means the United Kingdom
.co.uk
The domain for U.K.-based businesses.
.me.uk
The personal domain for the British.
.org.uk
For organization in the U.K.


.vg
Virgin Island residents, this is your domain.

.tv
The official domain for Tuvalu residents.

.ws
An all-purpose Web Site Domain.

.asia
Reach the growing Asian market.

.cc
The domain for the Cocos Islands -

.mx
The official domain for Mexico.
.com.mx
The official domain for Mexico businesses.

.ag
The domain for Antigua and Barbuda

.co
The top-level domain of Colombia
.com.co
The domain for commercial interests in Colombia
.net.co
The domain for residents of Colombia
.nom.co
The Colombian domain with your name on it

.it
Mama mia! A domain for Italy.

.fr
Oh, la la! The domain for France.

.am
The domain of Armenia,

.at
Austrians, this is your domain.

.be
The only domain that says Belgium.

.bz
The official extension of Belize

.de
The German domain

.es
An all-purpose domain for sites aimed at speakers ofSpanish

.com.es
This domain means business in Spain.

.nom.es
This Spanish domain for personal names

.org.es
Perfect for clubs or organizations with Spanish values.


.eu
THE domain for the European community.

.fm
A domain for all the islands of Micronesia.

.gs
The domain for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.


.in
Connect to the millions of Indian residents online.
.co.in
For online business in India.
firm.in
For Indian residents and consumers.


.jp
Japan, this is your domain.

.ms
Live in the Leeward Islands? This domain is for you.

.nl
The official domain of the Netherlands.

.nu
A domain for the island nation of Niue.

.co.nz
The domain for New Zealand business.
.net.nz
Protect your New Zealand brand with this domain.
.org.nz
For any New Zealand-based organization.

.tc
The domain for Turks and Caicos Islands residents.

.tk
The domain for Tokelau.

.tw
The domain that means Taiwan.
.com.tw
The domain for Taiwanese commercial ventures.
.org.tw

About the Author

Bonnie Boots publishes The Internet Wizards Magazine and this companion The Internet Wizards Blog to teach self-employed people and small businesses owners how to leverage the internet for advertising, marketing and promoting their business.

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