Try to keep up with the domain name extension game and you will go crazy!
A domain name extension is the suffix .com, .net and .org. It is a guide publication that directs traffic, that is, Internet traffic. It is like the Court, Street, Lane, or Highway suffix used for your home or business address.
The list of what is known as TLDs (Top Level Domains) is getting longer and longer. Remember when all you had to worry about was a short list of extensions? If a web address or URL had anything other than .com, .net, or .org, most people would just ignore it, but not anymore.
Here is the list of current generic top-level domains:
.aero various categories of the air transport industry
.asia various organizations in Asia, Australia and the Pacific
The person or business entity .biz can register here
.cat related to the Catalan language or culture
.com any person or entity can register here
.coop cooperatives as defined in the Rochdale Principles
.edu used almost exclusively by US colleges and universities.
.gov government agencies in the United States
.info any person or entity can register
International organizations .int only by treaty can use this extension
.jobs can be added after the names of established companies with jobs to advertise online
.mil limited for use by the US Armed Forces.
.mobi used for mobile friendly sites
.museum used by a verified legitimate museum
.name used by individuals or legal entities
Anyone can use the .net network suffix
Organization suffix .org anyone can register
.pro reserved for licensed professionals such as lawyers or doctors
.tel Internet communication services
.travel used by travel-related entities
The consumer should pay attention to how suffix extensions are used. Scammers have been known to register .edu name extensions for their illegitimate purposes.
There is more!
www.new.net is a domain name registry that offers the following extensions: .agent, .art, .auction, .chat, .church, .club, .family, .free, .game, .golf, .inc , . law, .llc, .llp, .love, .ltd, .med, .mp3, .school, .scifi, .shop, .tech, .video and .xxx.
Now you can get extensions in six languages! You will need to download a domain name decoder so your browser can recognize new.net names. It makes me wonder how popular these “unusual” name extensions are going to be.
GoDaddy now recognizes 73 name extensions.
You may be thinking about choosing one of these unusual domain name extensions until you try to find a way for your potential customer base to remember it. If your customers can’t remember which extension to use, you’ll never see their traffic to your website.
Stick with easy-to-remember extensions and you’ll be fine.