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.COM $23.99 | .NET $24.99 | .ORG $19.99 |.CO $41.99
There reported that over 1.1 billion websites existed as of November 2024 and about 200 million are active. In this vast sea of sites, standing out online is half the battle, making it crucial to choose the right name when you buy a domain name. Buying a domain name requires researching how to describe your business clearly and succinctly. A well-chosen name ensures potential customers click on your link and visit your site.
Choosing a Domain Name
Choosing the right domain name plays a crucial role in attracting potential buyers to your site. The specific words you use in the domain name should align closely with the type of business it represents, just like the search terms people use to find what they need online, an effective domain name should include one or more of these same terms.
For example, someone searching for hiking gear might type “hiking” or “hiking gear” into a search engine like Google or Bing. A domain name that includes these terms has a strong chance of appearing within the first three pages of search results. This visibility almost guarantees that the business will get noticed during an online search.
When your site ranks high in search results, it not only gains visibility but also receives free advertising. If 300,000 people search for “hiking gear” in a week, your site could get 300,000 free views simply by appearing early in the results. The key to this success lies in identifying the most popular search terms for your industry and incorporating them into your domain name.
.COM Domains
There are roughly 33,000 new domain names registered per day and about 1 million per month. While website extensions come in various formats and letters, .com domains remain the most popular. The U.S. Department of Defense introduced .com domains in 1985, and VeriSign, a leading domain registry company, manages them today.
Businesses selling products or services online should prioritize using a .com extension in their domain name. Originally intended to signify a commercial site, the .com extension is now widely used for all types of websites. It also conveys the impression of a legitimate business venture rather than an affiliate or sales page.
The .com extension’s popularity extends to user behavior. Most people searching from a browser address bar assume a site ends in .com and type it automatically at the end of a domain name. As a result, a web address like gonefishing.com will capture some traffic intended for gonefishing.net. The same applies to other domain variations, such as gonefishing.info or gonefishing.biz.
Other Top-Level Domain Name Options
When buying domain names, choose one that closely aligns with the site’s purpose. While .com extensions are the most popular, other top-level domain options are worth considering. The .org extension was designed for community service, charities, or other non-profit ventures and is managed by the Public Interest Registry organization.
Other extensions include .biz, .net, and .info. The .biz extension was originally created for trademark business owners to establish their sites. Over time, .com became the preferred extension for respectability and authenticity, but many businesses still use .biz today. Companies managing a network of sites may benefit from using the .net extension, now managed by VeriSign after it took over from Network Solutions in 1993. The .info extension is ideal for businesses that want to provide an informational resource. Managed by the Afilias registry, .info was the first addition to the Domain Name System after .com.
Websites based outside the United States often use country-specific second-level extensions, such as .au for Australia and .uk for the United Kingdom. These extensions appear at the end of a domain name, transforming gonefishing.com or gonefishing.info into gonefishing.com.au or gonefishing.info.uk.