Register a Domain Name of Your Country

A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Raj Rao

Why Do People Mostly Register a Global Domain Name

Most of us register a Domain Name that ends with .COM, .NET or .ORG. Out of the three, .COM is the most popular with several million domains registered till date. It is said that it is impossible to find a domain name that is already in the thesaurus.

The popularity of .COM domains is basically due to its widespread usage and its status as the default extension. For instance, if your company name is xyz, you can expect the Internet users to first guess your Domain name to be xyz.com. This is a huge advantage if your domain is not prominent in the Search Engine.

Are There Other Domain Names Available to Register?

In case you find that the domain that you are seeking is not available in any of the 3 global domain extensions (.COM, .NET, .ORG), you still have the option to register your domain name under a Country Extension, eg. .US (USA) or .IE (Ireland).

Each Country is allocated a two letter (as against the 3 letter global extension) under which domain names can be registered. For instance, USA has been allocated the extension .US, India has been allocated the extension .IN.

Some countries register domain names for you at the second level itself like xyz.IE, however most of the countries require you to register your domain under the third level. The second level domains are created by the Country Registrar. Example CO.UK is the second level domain, while XYZ.CO.UK is a third level domain that you can register.

Why Should You Register a Country Level Domain Name?

The most compelling reason for registering a Country Level Domain is the availability of domain names that are meaningful and suitable for your business.

You can still find generic names under the Country Level Domain. For instance, you can register domains like 'bicycle.co.uk' or 'astrology.co.in' etc., which is not possible under the global domains.

The country level domains allow you to host your domains within your country, thus saving on Internet bandwidth from those visitors who are located within your country. For instance, if you setup your website under the domain xyz.US and host the same within USA, the visitors from USA will be able to browse your site faster and cheaper (to the ISP), as compared to a website that is hosted outside the US like xyx.COM hosted in UK.

In fact, some countries make it mandatory to host the country level domains within the country of ownership.

Please verify the conditions that are applicable for registration of country level domains before you register a domain.

Incidentally, you can register a country level domain in as many countries as you like if you wish to establish local business in that country. However, some countries restrict the domain registration to the citizens of the said country.

You can find all the country level domains available for registration at the ICANN.org or Internic.net websites.