Domain Extensions. Are they important?

.com, .co.uk, .net, .org.uk, .info, .biz, .tv – the list of domain extensions goes on and on but is it important which one you choose and if so, which is the best? Firstly think about all of the websites you regularly visit or have heard of – what do they use? The majority either choose an extension local to their country, such as co.uk or a common extension, such as .com. Why? Because they’re universally known and therefore memorable. Why not choose a .net, .info .mobi domain name? For exactly the opposite reason – they’re not memorable.

I’m a big fan of having a domain name local to your country when the majority of your business is conducted locally. If you’re based in the UK then choose a .co.uk domain name – that way your clients and customers know that you’re UK based. If you sell internationally or want to reach all 4 corners of the globe then a .com domain name is your best bet.

It doesn’t mean that because a website has a co.uk domain that they are UK based but it’s unlikely that they’ll be based elsewhere. With that in mind there are certain extensions that are local to a country but due to their desirability the whole world has started to buy them, such as .tv which is actually a local domain for the small island of Tuvalu in the South Pacific!

The problem you may face is availability. Don’t panic – simply look around for another catchy name and see if that’s available.