Domain extensions are an important part of a website or blog’s identity. Before you decide on an Extension to use for your blog or website, it is important that your site meets certain criteria. Ease of spelling and pronunciation, uniqueness, easy to memorize and remember etc. Unless absolutely necessary, you should also try to avoid hyphens and numbers in your domain name.

Now that you have that covered, it is time to consider a suitable extension for your domain. First things first, what is a domain extension?

A domain extension is the notation after the period in a web address that specifies an internet category or a country code. Take a look at some of the internet’s most popular domain extensions and their suitability for your web address.

• .com: There is no competition here. This is by far the most popular domain extension on the internet. As a matter of habit, the average internet user will enter .com at end of a web address without giving it a second thought. Today’s smartphone keypads even come fitted with a .com button thus making the .com assumption more likely. Familiarity is not only the reason why the .com extension is so popular. It is also widely accepted that .com comes with greater SEO potential. This extension generally gets higher search engine ranks and as such is likely to generate more traffic than other extensions.

While it is all nice and good to go for a.com extension, chances are that your preferred domain is already taken and you might need to pay more for it. Since the dawn of the World Wide Web, domain flipping has been a money-spinner for a group of people. If you are lucky and your preferred .com domain is still available, you should totally go for it. If not, there are other great alternatives you can go for.

• .net: The .net extension was originally created for networks and internet service providers. This is a great alternative if your .com extension is already taken. It is even better if your business is communication or tech-related. Websites that have become popular using the .net extension include php.net, speedtest.net, and slideshare.net
• .org: If your plan is to create a non-profit site, the .org extension might be way to go. Charities, NGOs, community-based websites and not-for-profit organizations are best suited to this extension. While this extension is open to everyone, it is not advisable to use this domain if you intend to make any sort of profit from your traffic as internet users by default associate it with non-profits. Notable .org websites include Wikipedia.org, telegram.org, wordpress.org and craiglist.org
• .us: This extension is reserved for people and organizations domiciled in the United States. Although it was originally intended for organizations related to the US government, it is today open to anyone who is a resident or has a business registered in the US. This is an ideal extension if your branding is based on your American identity or loyalty to your brand and country. It is not advisable to use this extension if your brand does not in any way possess a US identity. Popular sites with this domain include disq.us, zoom.us, espnfc.us, etc.
• .co: This domain extension was originally designated as the domain for Colombia. There are however no restrictions on who can use the extension today. It is now generally regarded as an acronym for company or corporation. This extension has become popular and businesses (especially startups) are now turning to it. The .co is especially useful if your target audience is the younger generation. You should be careful though as it is possible to lose traffic to a domain that is already making use of the .com extension of your name since some users will still type .com as a matter of habit. That said, the .co extension is unique and great if you are an innovative brand or a startup.

Brands that have successfully used this extension include t.co, openload.co and tempo.co

Apart from the above listed domain extensions, others popular ones include .edu (for universities and other educational institutions), .xyz (for general use), .gov (for government agencies) etc.

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