Does My Website Really Need A Dot Com Domain

With over 1,500 different domain extensions to choose from, when it comes to having a .com domain is it critical?

Changing your domain from “.com” to “.net” or other domains seems the easy solution, but whether it is the right decision depends on your situation. Search engines prioritize “.com” and in general people search for “.com” versus other domains, which would make it difficult to find you online if they type the wrong extension or website.

The pros of having a .com domain:

Creditability for search engines and the general public
Helps for SEO and ranking in Google
Most web visitors enter “.com” when they go to a website
Indicates your open to doing business with the world
The OG TLD (oldest domain extension) on the internet

Considering that web browsers and the general public have greater trust and confidence when a website has a dot com domain, when does it not matter? What are some other options and recommendations for domains other than dot coms?

WHAT IS TLD?

When we are discussing “.com” for a website, what we are talking about is referred to as the “Top-Level Domain” located in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the internet.

There were originally only 6 TLD’s which were:

.gov - government
.edu - universities and educational institutions
.com - commercial use
.mil - military
.org - organizations and non-profits
.net - networks

This is why search engines and their SEO algorithms still prefer dot com or these original TLDs. Yet countries also have a place in the DNS that can take the place of dot com or following it. You can include country abbreviations such as .eu (Europe), .uk (United Kingdom), .au (Australia), .ca (California), .ru (Russia), and many more where it might be “.com.au”, “.com.ca”, or replace dot com all together.

IN CONCLUSION

The evolution and growth of the internet have driven the demand for dot coms, yet also opened new options to meet this growing demand.

Depending on your business you might consider using one of the more fresh and new TLDs for your business that would be available and work better for your customer’s trust:

.Health - if you work in the health industry or sell supplements
.work - if you run a recruitment agency
.music - if you have a music-based business
.law - for law firms or services
.info - for events, services, festivals, movements, etc
.agency - for marketing or services agencies
.live - for live events or entertainment business
.life - for education platform for entrepreneurs or lifestyle companies

When it comes to setting up your business online, today provides as many options as it does confusion when it comes to understanding what is right for your business. That is why we have created this article as part of our series - Getting Started Online!

Contact us for any questions about website design, application development, e-commerce, or SEO as our team would be glad to help.