Every business owner’s dream is to have the perfect website that will catch the attention of customers and successfully convert them into leads.
But before you can even think about launching your own website, you first need to have a good domain name and an appropriate extension.
.IO Domains: An Alternative to the .COM Domain
Selecting an appropriate domain name extension is an important part of the domain selection process.
Many people tend to choose the .com domain, seeing as it is the oldest and most widely recognized domain name extension. However, .com domains are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain these days. In such cases, choosing a different domain name extension may be the best option for you.
Today, there are numerous new top-level domains (TLDs) that you can choose from. One alternative that you should consider is the .io domain.
But what does .io mean? Why is it becoming increasingly popular?
Strictly speaking, .io is the country code TLD for British Indian Ocean Territory – similar to .cn for China and .uk for the United Kingdom. However, unlike these TLDs, .io is considered ‘open’, which means that anyone can register a .io domain name.
In fact, the .io domain is regularly utilized for websites unrelated to British Indian Ocean Territory. It is a popular domain choice among web innovators and tech companies. This is because, in computer science, I/O is an abbreviation for input/output and is used by different video gaming organizations, programming interfaces, and other technological/online services. The Benefits Offered by .IO Domains Are you considering registering your own .io domain name, but still, have some hesitations? In addition to its link to the tech industry, there are several reasons why.io domains are becoming increasingly popular. Listed below are some of the top benefits offered by .io domain names.
- It is a more available domain. The issue with more commonly used TLDs is that they are often already registered. This often forces business owners to select a different domain name. For instance, if you were to select a .com domain today, chances are the domain name you want is already taken – after all, .com domains account for about half of all domains! However, with a .io extension, you are much more likely to be able to claim your first choice of the domain name. This is because while the .io domain is gaining more popularity these days, it is still relatively new, meaning that there are more available variants of domain names as compared to the .com domain.
- It is a recognized generic country code top-level domain (gccTLD). Google recognizes .io as a generic country code top-level domain (gccTLD). They acknowledge that the .io domain is being utilized by several people and businesses unrelated to British Indian Ocean Territory. Thus, Google doesn’t just target that geographical region when showing .io websites in search results – and considering that Google dominates over 88% of the global search market, this is a great benefit of .io domains as other country code TLDs do not have the same recognition and are often limited to their own geographical area. Having a .io extension will not affect the organic search traffic to your website in a bad way. As a recognized gccTLD, this means that with a .io domain, your website will be shown internationally – not just to the British Indian Territory.
- It means a shorter domain name. When it comes to domain names, shorter is always better. The .io is a two-character domain, making it a shorter alternative than most of the other domain name extensions out there. But why is this important? This is because having a short domain makes it easier for users to recognize and remember your website. With a .io domain, you have the opportunity to register a shorter domain name that is unique and memorable. Conclusion Despite the fact that the .com domain is more well-known and used, the .io domain can offer several benefits for your company – from domain availability to the ability to register shorter, unique domain names. So, when looking for an alternative to the .com domain, make sure to consider a .io domain name and reap its huge business exposure benefits in the digital arena.
