Top-Level Domain (TLD)
Every domain name is composed of two parts: a TLD (top-level domain) and a second-level domain. In the domain name example.com
, the .com
part is the top-level domain, and the word example is the second-level domain. While there are an almost infinite number of second-level domains, there are a limited number of generic TLDs, see examples below.
Examples:
.com
Not restricted. This is the original TLD for businesses, but it has been used by many non-business groups.
.biz
Restricted for use by businesses; .biz was added because .com is being used by some groups and individuals that are not businesses.
.name
Restricted to use by individuals who want to register their own name as a domain name; this allows people to have their own personal Web sites without using .com or other TLDs.
.org
Not restricted. Intended for use by organizations such as non-profits.
.net
Not restricted. Intended for use by organizations who contribute to the construction or maintenance of the Internet.
In addition to generic TLDs, there are a growing number of country code (cc) TLDs which associate Web sites with a particular country. For instance, .us
can be used by companies in the United States . If you are an international company or do extensive business with another country, consider registering a domain name with the appropriate country code.
Examples:
.co.uk
The United Kingdom
.co.za
South Africa
Side Note ( Just a FYI )
There is not much of a difference SEO wise when it comes to .com
vs .net
vs .org
domains because all of them are commonly used general TLDs.
The only effect of TLD on SEO is, if your TLD is for particular region, you may not show up as a search results in other geo region.
Google expands its general TLDs and it is being updated regularly. Read Here Geotargetable domains
As an example if you have a .in
domain, your ranking in Google India may be quite high when compared to Google Japan.
.uk
TLD. – GeoffAtkins Sep 15 '15 at 15:28.name
are unique in this respect (see duskwuff's comment below). In fact, when.name
domains were first launched, you could only register third level domains. However, the registrars I've tried recently only seem to allow SLD registrations. Reference: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.name – MrWhite Sep 18 '15 at 13:02