What Is A Top-Level Domain And How To Get Best TLDs For Cheapest Prices?
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A top-level domain known as TLD in short is the last part of a web URL.
Since the day internet began the DNS system (a sort of phonebook for the internet) has governed the nomenclature of website names.
For example,
www.shopping.mysite.com
Here the .com suffix is the top-level domain.
mysite is the second-level domain.
And shopping is the third level domain and is also known as a subdomain.
We are all acquainted with .com but there is a lot more to TLD and what they are and how they affect your business.
I have been a digital entrepreneur for over a decade and own a hosting service, SeekaHost and a digital marketing agency ClickDo.
Let me tell you about the impact of TLD on your digital presence and how to come out on top.
Why is TLD so important?
What happens when you buy a domain name? Usually, you have to apply through the hosting provider.
You have to choose the site name such as mysite and also the suffix such as .com, .biz, .edu, etc.
At this time about 150 million businesses use the .com TLD.
It is also the most expensive.
The reason is not that it is any faster or more reliable than .biz or .uk but because users view a .com as more stable, reliable, and trustworthy.
Needless to say that if the world’s best companies suddenly changed to .ru (Russia) then most customers would desert their services.
It is psychological but all brands tend to be intangible and it is no different here.
What are the various types of TLD?
Who decides all of this anyway?
The body in charge is ICAAN short for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit based out of Los Angeles which governs the naming and registration of websites.
ICAAN allows five types of TLDs
1. Generic TLDs
Also known as gTLD this type of TLD name has been around since the infancy of the internet.
The first batch of gTLDs were
- .com
- .net
- .edu
- .org
- .gov
- .int
- .mil
Though open to all the .gov TLD is reserved for use by the US government.
The government of any other nation can use a second suffix e.g. .gov.in for India and .gov.ca for Canada.
.org is typically used by non-profits and a business can use both .com and .net (in addition to .biz).
But the former is always seen as preferable.
A decade ago ICAAN expanded the original set of TLDs to about 1200 including .rio and .amsterdam for those particular cities.
2. Sponsored TLDs
These are specialized TLDs sponsored by a particular industry or type of business.
The best example is .museum created by the International Council of Museums.
Any organization using it automatically reveals its purpose.
But by no means does that mean the best museums use the domain name.
Louvre prefers .fr and Britsh Museum favors the solid .org TLD.
Other such sTLDs include .aero for use by the aerospace industry and .travel for businesses related to travel.
One could argue that .edu and .gov are sTLD and not gTLD.
There is no technical change if one considers it as sTLD.
No difference in speed, accessibility, server configurations, etc happens.
3. Country code TLDs
ccTLDs as they are known are assigned to a single country.
For example, the ccTLD of the UK is .uk, for Canada is .ca, and so on.
Some nations allow their ccTLD to be used by foreign nationals while others require proof of citizenship.
Some ccTLDs do not allow direct use of the TLD.
Thus there is a second-level domain such as .edu.uk or .org.uk and so on.
4. Infrastructure TLD
It has only one client, itself and the suffix is .arpa
The client is officially known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, a part of ICAAN and it oversees IP address allocation, internet protocol-related issues, and other primary functions of the web.
5. Test TLD
Suffixes such as .localhost and .test are used for testing a network and cannot be part of a real public network running on TCP-IP.
Why is TLD important?
If you have an amazing site and want your business to grow then a .net or a .co.uk is just not going to cut it.
No one takes a business that does not have a .com or .biz suffix as reliable.
Google has assured users time and again that SEO does not depend on TLD .
A website has as much chance of being successful at SEO with .hotel as with .com
But in real life, the situation is a little different.
The issue of trust surfaces time and again. If you want your business to be known would you rather have a .xyz or a .com TLD?
5 tips before you select a domain name
A domain name would be a part of your brand. It is as important as the address of a retail store.
Here are some valuable tips you must consider before you settle on one.
1. Check your competitor
What do they prefer? Is it a .com or some other TLD such as .biz.ca?
How do they name their website? Maybe they use some type of abbreviation.
All of this must be known before you settle on a name and a TLD.
Also, check if a typo can send visitors over to another site.
If you are going to use www.mysite.com is there a site at www.musite.com? What about www.mysite.biz or .edu or .org
2. Shorter is better
No one can remember www.travelintoronto.com
It’s better to make it something easy to remember like www.torontotourist.com
Use concatenation of simple words that we use in daily life. That would make it easier for everyone to recall and drive up organic traffic.
3. Avoid trends and fads
Words that come in and out of usage must be avoided. a trend lasts for a year and your business is going to be around for long.
Pick a website name that has timeless appeal and can mean something to people of different cultures.
You might not be an international brand today but tomorrow is an entirely different story.
4. Check social media
If you are going to be on Facebook it makes sense to check out if www.facebook.com/myurl is free from squatting.
There is no easy way to get someone evicted from domain name squatting. Check Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Snapchat, and make sure that the user handle you need is available.
How do you do that? Type it in and see if there is a page? If yes then back out, if not then all is fine.
5. Avoid hyphens
A hyphen in the name is a sure-fire way to drive traffic to another site. www.my-url.com is certain to be misspelled as www.myurl.com by many.
Buy the perfect domain name from SeekaHost
If you are looking for the cheapest .com registrations visit SeekaHost today.
At just $5.99 it is a steal.
And it’s not that you have to pay a lot more on renewal. SeekaHost is upfront and you can rest assured they won’t jack up the prices once you buy.
As the owner of SeekaHost which provides the cheapest and most reliable domain name registration and hosting services in the UK, I assure you that it has never been easier or more affordable to launch a website.
We can also help you buy .co.uk, .org, .in, .nl, .au, .io and several more types of TLDs. You can use the easy domain name checker as well to find best domain names.
Give us a call today or reach out through an email and we shall always be your partner in progress.