Wow, there are so many domain name choices out there now – it’s a little mind boggling!
Back in the early days of the Net, we could only choose between .com, .net, .org .
DOT.com names were supposed to be used for commercial purposes, DOT.net names were intended for companies providing internet or computers services and DOT.org names were for organizations like trade associations or not for profits.
Then came .ca along with other country specific codes – these codes we intended only for users that lived in that country. DOT.ca is one domain that has maintained this residency condition but many others have not.
Country specific domain names have opened up as a way to cause new revenue for small countries and, also, because some countries will never register all the possible combinations if they only registered domain names to their own residents.
A good example is the island country of Tuvalu, domain name .tv , with a population just over 10,000. There are millions of DOT.tv combinations but only 10,000 possible buyers – so the markets has been opened up and anyone can now purchase a .tv name for a premium price.
What’s the right domain name for your business?
Well, it all comes down to where are your customers? If your intended audience is wordwide then go for a more global name. If you know you customer are located within 100 miles of your business then select a name that describes that.
Canadian companies have an advantage of non-canadian companies since they can register a DOT.ca name in addition to a more global name. This way you can sound like the global giant you want to be while letting the world know you are proud to be Canadian. Being identified as a Canadian company goes a long way in international boardrooms.
For more information on selecting and registering domain names, please contact Kent Tubman at kent@tubman.ca