question Why prefer ccTLD over .com

[aliweb]

So why does some people/companies prefer ccTLD over .com? I mean take a look at this domain fixupvillas.co.uk whose .com (plus loads of other extensions are available) and yet they chose this one.
And it's not like that at the time of registration .com was not available because it has not been registered even once.
What's the rationale behind it?

 

[aliweb]

Cor! Wow! You found one! Is this the one that proves your rule or is it the only one and utterly destroys your argument?

Taking a more grounded view, you could doubtless find many more if you were to look hard enough. However, the point remains that you are shouting down an echo chamber of domainers. It is really irrelevant if we all take your view, which appears to be that our beloved ccTLDs don't matter. Although reading this thread it is obvious many of us really don't agree with you.

Among the business communities of each and every country there are a minority of businesses which trade internationally or aspire to do so. Within the majority, by definition those businesses which don't trade internationally and have no wish to, the owners or board members couldn't give a twopenny fig about your claims or your opinions.

So enlighten us please, how are you going to take your message beyond this echo chamber and educate those folk beyond NP that they should buy a dotcom as well as their own, much preferred, ccTLD?

lol I don't know why you are getting hyper about it. I am just presenting my point of view and also gave one example. Good thing that the owners/BODs of this chandelier company are not like you otherwise they will never be able to grow. Again I am not saying that .com is necessary but sometime it is.

 

[Mike Goodman]

not saying that .com is necessary but sometime it is

Now this is where we can probably all agree. No need to overstate the case.

 

[jmcc]

One mistake that people make when looking at the number of domain names registered in a TLD is in expecting that they all have websites. Domainers realise that they don't. However, there is a percentage of domain names with websites that redirect to other websites in the same TLD or in gTLDs like .COM. There are four main reasons for .COM redirects in a ccTLD. The first is that the .COM is the main brand for historical reasons. The second is that the ccTLD website is the local presence for a .COM brand. The third is that the domain name is on sale (Sedo, Afternic, Sav etc.) The fourth is that the domain name is parked. Sedo and Parkingcrew have their own registrar PPC parking scheme but they use Javascript so that the domain name is still hosted on the registrar's DNS.

There is another characteristic of successful ccTLDs in that the number of unique domain names (they don't exist in other TLDs) rises as people begin to adopt the ccTLD. They, the endusers, don't see any value in registering the .COM because their business is local not global. This often makes it hard to sell the equivalent .COM to a ccTLD registrant if they don't already own it.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Alessandro Couteau]

So why does some people/companies prefer ccTLD over .com? I mean take a look at this domain fixupvillas.co.uk whose .com (plus loads of other extensions are available) and yet they chose this one.
And it's not like that at the time of registration .com was not available because it has not been registered even once.
What's the rationale behind it?

For one thing, CCTLDs actually rank higher then TLDs when it comes to “Geo Marketing” so for anyone who is an SEO or trying to build fast traffic locally the CCTLD is the way to go ^

 

[LeDomain]

cctld discussions are always interesting, especially in comparison to how .com is viewed in the individual countries. Most business get 1 domain name, hence going for the most obvious one - cctld, makes sense.

The businesses that think further are the one who get multiple domains, these are the ones who have some idea of Domain Names and are also looking to protect their Keyword or Brand / IP, hence register domains in other extensions particularly .com.

 

[wizard]

CCTLDS have always been good for me i have sold several thousands of them and people in the UK love co.uk as lots of them dont need the .com its as simple as that !

 

[King]

European countries seem to be the ones that prefer to use their country's extension unless they are international.

 

[redemo]

What is the obsession with .com? If you are a domain investor at the highest level, a business in U.S. and A. or international brand I get it. Dot com. Sure, businesses in other countries should register the .com and .net for type in and to stop competitors. But there are so many reasons not to use .com in U.K. First off the bat we TRUST co.uk over .com. Next we can IDENTIFY it's (probably) a U.K. based company. Next co.uk is far better for SEARCH engine ranking. Finally it's just always been that way and like others have said the average small to medium business in U.K. couldn't give two hoots about .com. I actively encourage S.M.E.'s to grab the .com and .net and redirect to co.uk. Some argue they are a window cleaning company in Nuneaton so why would they need the American one?

By the way, as you've witnessed throughout history, we'll do what we want.

 

[Corey]

In Australia our ccTLD is .com.au

For commercial entities, such as companies (with an ABN or ACN as registered through ASIC), and businesses (registered with state governments).

Cheers
Corey

 

[Future Sensors]

@redemo

I don't think it's an "obsession" when British firms use .com without a redirect to co.uk for their website.

Of course co.uk is the most popular choice in a lot of cases.

These typical British organizations in my sample are just smart, and ready for a bright .com future.

This is also about trust.

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/
https://www.royalmint.com/
https://www.royallondon.com/
https://www.selfridges.com/
https://www.britishairways.com/
https://www.trinitycollege.com/
https://www.londonschool.com/
https://www.heathrow.com/
https://www.londoncityairport.com/
https://canarywharf.com/
https://www.visitlondon.com/
https://www.londontheatredirect.com/
https://www.boots-uk.com/
https://www.goaheadlondon.com/
https://www.london-stadium.com/
https://www.londonenergyltd.com/
https://www.williamhillplc.com/
https://www.derwentlondon.com/
https://www.rexlondon.com/
https://educatinrx.com/
https://www.thegoodcaregroup.com/
https://www.nationalgrid.com/
https://londonsroyaldocks.com/

 

[redemo]

They're almost all trading internationally or for both U.K. and international audience (INT).

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/ (INT)
https://www.royalmint.com/ (INT)
https://www.royallondon.com/ (INT)
https://www.selfridges.com/ (INT)
https://www.britishairways.com/ (INT)
https://www.trinitycollege.com/ (INT)
https://www.londonschool.com/ (INT)
https://www.heathrow.com/ (INT)
https://www.londoncityairport.com/ (INT)
https://canarywharf.com/ (INT)
https://www.visitlondon.com/ (INT)
https://www.londontheatredirect.com/ (INT)
https://www.boots-uk.com/
https://www.goaheadlondon.com/
https://www.london-stadium.com/ (INT)
https://www.londonenergyltd.com/
https://www.williamhillplc.com/
https://www.derwentlondon.com/ (INT)
https://www.rexlondon.com/ (INT)
https://educatinrx.com/ (INT)
https://www.thegoodcaregroup.com/
https://www.nationalgrid.com/ (INT)
https://londonsroyaldocks.com/ (INT)

 

[redemo]

Local and medium sized companies in U.K. don't need .com but it's a good idea to register and redirect to co.uk.

 

[Future Sensors]

They're almost all trading internationally or for both U.K. and international audience (INT).

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/ (INT)
https://www.royalmint.com/ (INT)
https://www.royallondon.com/ (INT)
https://www.selfridges.com/ (INT)
https://www.britishairways.com/ (INT)
https://www.trinitycollege.com/ (INT)
https://www.londonschool.com/ (INT)
https://www.heathrow.com/ (INT)
https://www.londoncityairport.com/ (INT)
https://canarywharf.com/ (INT)
https://www.visitlondon.com/ (INT)
https://www.londontheatredirect.com/ (INT)
https://www.boots-uk.com/
https://www.goaheadlondon.com/
https://www.london-stadium.com/ (INT)
https://www.londonenergyltd.com/
https://www.williamhillplc.com/
https://www.derwentlondon.com/ (INT)
https://www.rexlondon.com/ (INT)
https://educatinrx.com/ (INT)
https://www.thegoodcaregroup.com/
https://www.nationalgrid.com/ (INT)
https://londonsroyaldocks.com/ (INT)

Knowing the British a bit, I would have expected at least some of these URLs to redirect to the super strong .co.uk brand. But looking at this from across the canal (hello!) I think they both look completely fine.

When I grew up with Paddington Bear, this cute little bear didn't even have a personal website yet. Furthermore, .co.uk is not in my system as it is with the British themselves

 

[NUMDN]

I would say they are either un-aware about the world wide web (www) or have very little knowledge about internet/digital world. I do agree the business should prefer to broadcast its business on the web with its country code extension but not registering .com and not forwarding it to ccTLD shows that the business entity has very little knowledge about internet/digital world.

 

[FolioTeam]

Knowing the British a bit, I would have expected at least some of these URLs to redirect to the super strong .co.uk brand. But looking at this from across the canal (hello!) I think they both look completely fine.

If it is international, it might not make sense to forward back to a . co.uk (even if it's a UK originated company), IMO

When I grew up with Paddington Bear, this cute little bear didn't even have a personal website yet. Furthermore, .co.uk is not in my system as it is with the British themselves

 

[redemo]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking .com. It's just that co.uk is better for a U.K. only enterprise that's all.

 

[TauseefKhan]

Google uses Google.co.in and similarly many corporations uses ccTLD extension. It gives local credibility. I think a company must take control of dot com (if available) and also register ccTLD extension. If no dot com is available - then go with ccTLD. But, now adays even getting a decent ccTLD available is difficult.

 

[domseocrew]

In some countries it is a MUST.

 

[Future Sensors]

In some countries it is a MUST.

Can you name those countries?

 

[DomainRecap]

Can you name those countries?

UK, Germany, China, India, Canada... basically any country that has a ccTLD that is still a true ccTLD.