Use coupon code GOMOBI on Dotster.com and GOMOBILE on MyDomain.com and Domain.com.

Peoples first guess is always a dot COM, because it has a long and successful history. It is not a coincidence that dot COMS sell for more compared to other generic extensions. The fact is they also produce more money.

.ORG and .NET are good substitutes for dot COM

I always try to get all three extensions: COM, ORG and NET. In case dot COM is taken dot ORG and dot NET is also acceptable.

.INFO for educational and information projects

Dot Info is becoming a well known domain extension and people recognize it as informational or educational extension. If you plan to create such website - go for dot INFO!

.MOBI for your mobile websites

If your visitors visit your site with a mobile or PDA register .MOBI and taste the mobile market.

.BIZ for business?

I am not a big fan of dot BIZ extension. I don`t know if its just me, or they just doesn`t seem to be recognized enough. Anyway, I might prove wrong. What do you think?

Real Country Code Extensions

By real I mean they are used for the purposes of their own citizens and belong to specific territory (not commercialized).

Registration is managed by each country and thus each extension has a slightly different registration policy. Some extensions can be registered by anyone in the world, others have restrictions. See a world map with all ccTLDs (2.36 Mb, opens in new window)

Best known Country Code Extensions

• .US - United States
• .CA - Canada
• .BR - Brazil

• .EU -European Union
• .UK - United Kingdom
• .DE - Germany (Deutschland)
• .FR - France
• .IT - Italy

• .JP - Japan
• .CN - China
• .AU - Australia

Why Should I register real country code extensions?

ccTLDs (country code Top Level Domains) clearly notes the origin of a website. If you want to reach a specific market, than registering a country code extension is a must!

Example No.1: Google

Google, worlds largest search engine, uses many, if not all country code extensions for its local search services. Each extension has default language and default search scope, matched to its extension.

• google.com - global search in English speaking world
• google.de - local search in Germany
• google.fr - local search in France
• google.co.uk - local search in UK, and so on…

Example No.2: Sony

Sony, global electronics brand, uses country code extension to target local markets. Sony dot com and dot net are a global gateway to direct users to local Sony websites.

• sony.com and sony.net - global gateway
• sony.ca - local Sony website for Canada
• sony.ru - local Sony website for Russia
• sony.de - local Sony website for Germany, and so on.

Commercialized Country Code Extensions

These country code extensions, also caled vanity ccTLDs, are used outside their territories because of their attractive or marketable names.

• .AD, Andorra, used by advertising agencies.
• .AM, Armenia, used for AM radio stations.
• .CC,Cocos Islands, used for variety of sites.
• .CD, Democratic Republic of Congo, used by CD merchants and music related sites.
• .DJ, Djibouti, used by disc jockeys.
• .FM, Federated States of Micronesia, used for FM radio stations.
• .LA, Laos, marketed as the TLD for Los Angeles.
• .TV, Tuvalu, used for the television (dot TV) and broadcasting industry.
• .WS, Samoa is marketed as .Website

Are commercialized country code extensions right for me?

If you target a specific market, than these type of extensions can make a super brandable domain name for your website. Lots of great dot COMs are taken, so give it a try with country code extensions.

Feel free to add your own tips, experience or suggestions.

10 years later, in 1995, .COM, .ORG and .NET were the first global domain names to be registered without restrictions. There were only a few registrars at that time and the price was much higher than today.

Implemented in 1985:

.com

Todays most popular TLD, became publicly available to register in 1995 - meaning anyone can register a DOT COM without restrictions. First intended for commercial websites, now stands for a global synonym of domain names. Register .com for any type of website: company, marketing project, or your personal website. Owning a short and memorable .com can also make you lots of money.

.org

ORG tld was originaly created for NGO-s, non-profit organizations and similar. From 1995 you can register it without restrictions. In practice .ORG is often a second option if .COM is already registered. If you ask people about .ORG, they expect the content to be somewhat less commercial than .COM. If you need a domain name for your organization, eductional, political or community project, art or culture website than .ORG is the best for you.

.net

is the last from the global unrestricted domain extensions that were made publicly available in 1995. Originally meant for network providers, now serves broad specter of websites connected to network, networking, technology and sites with totally different meanings. You can register .NET for commercial and non-commercial websites, internet services and anything you can think of.

.edu, .gov and .mil

These three TLDs are reserved for United States educational, government and military institutions. You cannot register these extensions.

New set of TLDs came in use in 2001:

.info

Dot Info is the most successful TLD from the second group of generic extensions. It is now widely recognized as extension for informational and educational websites. Some people argue dot INFO extension is not so valuable as dot COM, but I have several INFO domains and they are doing very well. There are no restrictions for registering and .info is a good substitute for overcrowded dot COM.

.biz

Dot Biz “Nothing Personal - Just Business!” is their slogan. Dot biz is a phonetic spelling of the first syllable of “business” and was intended to relieve some of the pressure on dot coms. I recommend to register a .biz if you have a company, however there are no restrictions.

.name

Dot name is the first domain name exclusively for individuals. You can now protect your name and register firstname.lastname.name or only lastname.name. One also gets a cool email address like this example: “grace@kelly.name”. Dot name is also the extension used for this domain: www.internet-domain.name.

.pro

Dot pro is intended for certain professions and require special credentials to be registered. This extensions costs more, because each applicant needs to be verified before he can get a .pro domain name. Register if you are a lawyer, physician or similar.

.aero, .coop, .museum

Dot aero is restricted for aviation related companies, institutions and individuals. Dot coop is restricted to the use of cooperatives. Dot Museum is restricted to museums. None of these three domain extensions are very known in the industry

Implemented in 2005:

.mobi

Dot Mobi is the one and only domain name dedicated to mobile users. Anyone can register a dot mobi as long as the content is 100% optimized for mobile users.

.jobs

Dot jobs is created for employment related websites. Each application is verified before approval and costs more.

.travel

Dot travel - is the Dot com of the travel industry. You need to get verified before you can register dot TRAVEL.

.cat

Dot CAT is restricted for the purposes of Catalan language and culture. It is not territory dependent, but one has to be a part of a Catalan cultural community.

Current Status

.asia

Dot Asia launch - March 2008. Dot Asia is created for Asian Region and is currently in Sunrise period.

Always check IANA for most current status of generic domain name extensions.

Next in this series: Country Code Extensions.

In the following posts I will explain important things about domain extensions and throw you some useful tips. For the sake of easier reading I will use words TLD or extension in some cases.

What is a domain name extension?

Every domain name ends with Domain Name Extension or TLD, which is short for Top Level Domain. You probably know these extensions: .com, .net, .us, .uk, .jp.

Two types of TLDs

There are two types of Top Level Domains: Generic and Country Code

1. Generic Top Level Domains

Generic TLDs are used by specific class or organization. They are three or more letters long. Examples: .COM, .NET, .INFO, .NAME and others. First generic domain names were implemented in 1985, and made available to public 10 years later in 1995.

Because of enormous growth of registrations, there was a need for more extensions. New TLDs were added in 2001 and 2005. Majority of generic domain names can be registered without restrictions for a small annual fee.

2. Country code Top Level Domains

Country Code TLDs are used by particular country or territory. They are two letters long. Examples: .UK, .US, .DE, .TV, and others. There are over 240 country code extensions. Most extensions are used and managed by each country, while others have been commercialized and can be registered without restrictions. An interesting example is dot TV extension (.TV), which is branded for TV and media related sites, but originally being a country code for Tuvalu.

Mini Tip: How to distinguish country code from generic?

When you see a domain name, you can instantly tell which has a generic extension and which has a country code by length. Anything that is more than two letters long is generic (.DE - country code, .NAME - generic).

Next in this series we will examine Generic Domain Name Extensions.

“Short for Domain Name System (or Service or Server), an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. ” Webopedia

So What is Domain Name System or DNS?

Simply put DNS is a system, that intervenes between people and computers. When you type a domain name in a browser, computer needs to know where this website is physically located - it needs to know the IP address of the server. That is the function of Domain Name System.

How does DNS work?

Here is a more detailed explanation of Domain Name System:

YouTube video link

• “A series of words separated by dots…” Lycos
• “A domain name uniquely identifies a website.” BuyDomains
• “Domain names are hostnames that allow us to remember websites more easily than using an IP address.” American Association of Domain Names

To sum up:

Domain Name is a unique name that identifies computers on internet and helps us more easily remember websites.

(If you find any other good definitions of what is a domain name please put it in comments. )

Why domain names?

Domain names were invented in 1983 because computers use IP numbers for locating websites on internet. People have difficulties remembering numbers like 221.233.113.xxx and domain names solved this problem.

Domain Name structure

Let`s look at the domain name anatomy with sample domain name: google.com. As you can see - google is separated with com with a dot. That is because each domain name has two parts.

1. Name - This is unique part of the name that stands before the dot.
2. Extension - This is what com, org, biz are called. They are extensions and they stand after the dot.

Domain Name structure and other standards are managed by ICANN.

Interesting Domain name Features

• Uniqueness - What fascinates me best about domain names, is each and every domain name is unique. All domain names are recorded in one central database for the whole world. That way you can relax because nobody else can use the same domain name as you do.
• Personalized Email - One of the top reasons to have a domain name is the exclusive right to use your domain for unique email addresses like you@yourdomain.com.
• Branding - many companies and individuals today use domain names for communication and establishing brand value.
• Commercial Resale - What is a domain name? It is similar to a real property. Domain names have the same price for registration, but some tend to be more valuable than others. If you owned a premium domain you could sell it for thousands or even millions of dollars.

Who can own a domain Name?

Anyone. Most of domain names can be registered by anyone, regarding race, religion or country or residence. You can register a domain name in less than 10 minutes. All you need is an Internet connection and a credit card. Learn how to register a domain name.

I am sure I have missed some aspects of domain names so please post your thoughts in comments if you have something to add.

I was youtube-ing when I found this clip about three french maids explaining how to register a domain name with GoDaddy! I don`t know if they can register a domain name, but they sure can sell some. You be the Judge!

YouTube video link

Go to www.GoDaddy.com and use “FMTV” for 10% discount.

What you need: List of possible Names, Internet access, Credit Card
Time Required: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Step 1 - Check if your name is available

Take your list of possible Names and go to any Domain Name Registrar you want. Now enter your name in the text box and select extension. If name already exists, enter next your list until you find one that is available.

Step 2 - Select registration details

Select number of years you want to register for. Minimum is one year, but you can save some money if you pay for more years in advance.

Select registration type. Public registration means anyone will be able to see your contact information. Thats why I use Private Registration - it hides your Name, address and Email.

Step 3 - Enter your contact information

You need to enter owner, technical, billing and administrative contact. They can be all the same if you are not registering for a company.

Step 4 - Confirm and Checkout

Last step is payment information. You will now need your credit card or paypal account. Check if your registrar offers discount coupons. Confirm your order - you now own your domain name.

You have now learned how to register a domain name.

I have registered several domain names and I am going to tell you some facts you will not find on other sites.

It doesn’t really matter where you register your domain name

You can register domain name with any registrar, because all resell domain names for the same central registry.

For instance Verisign takes care for .com and .org extensions. So forget the sweepstakes, coupons and other marketing stuff. Dot Coms cost 6$ ($6.42 from April 2007 ) and everything else is profit of your Registrar: Godaddy, Network Solutions, Register to name a few big. So keep this in mind when you compare registrars and their offers. You want to register domain name, not a fancy marketing fluff.

Select the best possible name Before you register domain name

I can’t stress enough how important is the naming process. If your life depends on your websites income than you just can’t have a name that sucks. Selecting a great name will take you lots of time, but it pays off 100 times!

Here is what I recommend:

1. Target niche audience with your domain name – don’t think you can beat the big boys, because you can’t. Set a clear goal what keyword you want to cover and include it in domain name.
2. Brainstorm possible names, use domain suggestion services, like DomainsBot or MakeWords. Once you get a short list of names, ask around how people feel about your name. If they can instantly figure what your site is about, than you have a super name.
3. Register domain name in several extensions. Dot com, net, org, and info are classics. Point them to your main dot com.
4. Pay for domain privacy – you will protect your identity online and receive far less spam which is becoming very annoying lately.
5. Register domain for at least 2 years. This will give you more credibility and better rankings.

How to register domain name like a pro?

• Always register with an accredited registrar. You can find them at ICANN.
• Create an account with your registrar so you are always ready to Register a domain name.
• When you find a good name register it IMMEDIATELY. Anyone in the world could register it a few seconds later.
• Park domain name if you intend to develop it later. If done correctly, you can earn some money and domain will be virtually paying for itself.