Domain Names Explained

Your web address is your domain name. It is your web identity and it plays an important role in establishing your online presence. If you are starting to build your business and are currently in the process of getting a domain name, you may use this short blog to help you with your selection. Read on.

Finding the right website address and domain name for your business

Choosing the right domain name when building your business digitally can be crucial. There are a few things to consider:

1. Your Top Level Domain. The most popular choice for a TLD is “.com”, “.nz” or “.co” However, if your preferred TLD is not available, there are plenty of others to choose from depending on the type of your business. “.org” are often selected for non-profit organisations.

2. Length of your second-level domain. Your second-level domain should be short, easy to spell, and easy to pronounce. Avoid using double letters and hyphens so it can be searched easily as well.

3. The name of your brand or business. Having your brand or business name as part of your domain name would make it easy for your target customers to easily search for you. Read more about 3 important reasons to research your domain name here.

4. Popular search word in your domain address. A domain name could incorporate a popular search word or keywords that you would like to rank your service for. This could help greatly with search engine results; it is not an absolute necessity. When it comes to the ranking of your website to the top search results, search engine algorithms consider many other signals. This includes relevant and reputable content; reviews, how frequent is your website visited, how long web visitors stay on the site, and how many qualities incoming links reference your website. Read more about our SEO services here.

Parts of a domain name

A domain name has three parts: the subdomain, the second-level domain, and the top-level domain. To cite an example, store.myproducts.com, the “store” is the subdomain, “myproducts” is the second-level domain, and “.com” is the top-level domain.

Technically, “www” is not a domain. It would be helpful to understand however that for those websites that don’t have a specific subdomain, it is considered as such to indicate that the website is part of the web. It is also not necessary to enter it while typing a website.

Subdomains

Subdomains can help you set up multiple websites for your business using just a single domain.

Subdomains are ideal for website sections that could stand on their own. They are very effective in helping your website achieve high traffic. If you have an e-commerce store, for instance, your company page and product/shop page can run parallel with each other and therefore can also help with your SEO ranking.

Second-level domains

Your second-level domain is the name you choose for your company or business. You can decide and choose for this completely to compliment your entire brand.

Top-Level Domains

Top-level domains are often called TLDs. There are hundreds of available TLDs for purchase and you can fit them to target a specific entity, organization, group, or place. Other examples of TLDs include .org, .net, .gov, .edu, .nz, .co, .info, and a lot more.

There are three types of TLDs: the Generic Top-Level Domains, Country Code Top-Level Domains, and Sponsored Top-Level Domains.

Generic Top-Level Domains

The most common domains we see are the gTLDs or the Generic Top Level Domains that include .com, .org., and .net. Websites that use gTLDs often have a global audience or makes.

Today, you can purchase your gTLD to make your brand stand out from thousands of other websites online. These are generally called niche gTLD and examples include .art, .realestate, .mom, .app, and .game.

Country Code Top Level Domains

Another type of TLD is the Country Code Top Level Domains of ccTLD. They are usually used to identify a company or business that is region or country-specific. Some of the move common ccTLDs include .nz, .kiwi, .au, .us, and .uk. There are more than 300 registered ccTLDs and some enforce restrictions per country. This means that you can only purchase a specific ccTLD if you are a legal resident of that area. Some, however, can be purchased by people from different parts of the globe.

Global companies also use ccTLD to localize their market. A good example would be Amazon, the largest online retail company in the world. Aside from amazon.com which is their US and global site, there is also amazon.co.uk and Amazon.co.jp.