Which is the best domain extension for your business?

Which is the best domain extension for your business?

Not too long ago, .com was the only domain extension. Then came the likes of .co, .net, .org, .biz and .co.xx (or ‘xxx’, which is the country code or abbreviated name of a specific country). There are industry specific, continent and country specific, niche specific and even abstract domain extensions.
As you check out the available domain extensions for your business website with any hosting company or domain registration agency, you will come across .club, .design, .website, .photography, .tips, .me, .us, .ca, .asia, .eu, .ac, .academy, .accountant, .actor, .adult, .agency, .associates, .attorney, .com.au, .co.uk, .co.in, .bar, .bid, .boutique and the list can go on. There are hundreds of domain extensions possible today and you can pick any that suits you. However, you need to use a domain extension that is popular. If you use an absolutely abstract domain extension that no one has ever heard of then communicating the same will become a daunting task.
Even today, .com remains the most popular and hence sought after domain extension. People are naturally inclined to try .com as the natural domain extension when they use a domain name. Even the keyboard shortcut of ‘ctrl’ and ‘enter/return’ keys after typing in the domain name in the browser web address will get you .com. People are slowly getting accustomed to other domains, especially the country specific extensions and business specific ones. However, abstract domains are still not commonplace.
It is true that .com is the more preferred domain extension, not just for people but also in the eyes of the algorithms used by the likes of Google and Bing. It is true that .com websites will get a bit of an edge in the search engine optimization battle. The .com extension has been around for the longest time and it is the most common. However, this doesn’t imply another domain extension will get completely ruled out or discarded by search engines. Every domain extension that is registered and in use, indexed in search engine directories and completely safe, operational and having contents uploaded regularly will always be acknowledged by search engine algorithms and will have a chance at getting displayed on the very first page.
The best domain for your business is country specific, industry specific or the good old .com domain. If you are a loyal business, say based in a city or town and with no branches or even scope for expansion, then opt for that city even. There are domain extensions like NY.