Any company worth his while today owns a website, an online portal for customers to explore and interact with a business or a brand. With good reason, .IO domains meaning must be explored.
With the demand for valuable or brandable domain names ever growing, and .com domain options almost non-existent or unattainable to many small and medium sized companies, we witness a rise in popularity for a .io domain extension.
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Humble beginnings of the .IO domain extension
The .io domain is not really a new-comer to the domain market as it was established back in the year 1997 as the country code top level domain for the British Indian Ocean Territory. We can say it has been with us for a while and it is not exactly an unknown domain extension.
The first domain registration happened in 1998 with Levi Strauss & Co registering levi.io but it did not pick up global attention only after 2003.
Currently, because of its general purpose use, by the search engine it has been internationalized and treated as a generic top level domain. This means that it has the same search ranking strength as .COM, .NET, .INFO or any other gTLD.
Why is .IO a sought after domain
The .IO domain did take-off recently, though mostly with web and tech companies, and now it is one of the hottest domain name extensions.
Real demand for .IO domain names has erupted just recently, as the .IO is also a synonym to I/O (input/output) which is a very popular term with tech companies.
Fact is that it really appeals to new startup companies and tech communities that want to emphasize on the exchange of information or knowledge. For a new tech company it provides a clear mark that they are a part of the tech scene.
What is so special about the .IO domain? Well, one of the biggest advantages is that there are not that many registered .io domain names.
Because namespace is not saturated and if you are looking for a unique, short or a specific word combination domain name, then you are in luck as it is most probably unregistered with the .IO domain.
Furthermore, the fact is that an internationalized domain means it is absolutely perfect for a website that targets a global, international audience, meaning you can get the perfect-matching domain for your marketing campaign, product or service branding.
What can .IO as a domain offer to your online business?
Now, for those that are not yet convinced the .IO domain can be an excellent choice for their online presence we can name some major benefits the .IO domain name can provide.
Arguably, one of the main benefits of the .io domain is that it enables a number of cool and catchy “domain word hacks”.
A “domain hack” is a website domain that presents a human readable word combo or a phrase by combining it with the domain extension. For example cool.io, portfol.io … etc.
Ultimately it can be incorporated with making your business name into domain name, saving a few characters that are part of the domain extension.
Very important feature of a modern domain name is that it is short, catchy and easily remembered by visitors.
Frankly speaking, with .IO domain extension, you are bound to find an unregistered domain name perfectly suitable to your business, company or industry niche. In fact, you probably will be able to register the first choice of a domain name you type in search.
That is just what .IO can offer, when compared to .COM and with that much more available domain space you can have an amazing opportunity to register a short and valuable domain name.
Visitors trust .IO domain extension more than most gTLD
The .IO domain is a reputable, well recognized domain name and can provide the startup identity to your website. Particularly in the web and tech business your website is bound to be recognized as part of the scene.
You may note that .IO domain registration price is a bit higher than the average gTLD, and even when on a sale the price is a few dollars higher. You may not recognize this at first, but this is a true advantage.
Because of its pricing strategy, the .IO domain extension was, thus far, never used for any kind of scam, spam or phishing websites, meaning its reputation is untarnished, unlike a certain number of domains that have gained a notorious reputation while being bought for such short-term scam sites at two dollar sale price.
Consequently, your visitors are bound to trust your website more than competing websites with generic top-level domains.
Is .IO domain with geotargeting?
Finally, although .IO is a ccTLD, there is no room for fear that your website will receive an unwanted geo-targeting. The British Indian Ocean Territory consists of a small number of mostly uninhabited islands and there are a very few local businesses or companies that use it.
On the other hand, Google has categorized .IO as one of the gccTLD – generic country code top level domain. This underlines that individuals and businesses outside of the British Indian Ocean Territory use this domain extension, and they will not specifically target that geographic region when your business comes up in search results.
Conclusion
We would conclude that .IO domain extension is a strong choice for a domain name, with any kind of startup or tech company, but not limited only to that niche.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- .IO domain registration requirements? Registration is available to the general public (individuals and organizations).
- .IO domain names limitations?
- have minimum of 2 and a maximum of 63 characters;
- begin with a letter or a number and end with a letter or a number;
- use the English character set and may contain letters (i.e., a-z, A-Z), numbers (i.e. 0-9) and dashes (-) or a combination of these;
- neither begin with nor end with a dash;
- not contain a dash in the third and fourth positions (e.g. www.ab- -cd.ai);
- not include a space (e.g. www.ab cd.ai).
- .IO domain registration time? Instant during general availability and up to 24h.
- .IO domain minimum registration term? 1 years minimum with 5 years max.
- .IO domain can provide privacy protection? Yes, private registration is available.
- Are there any limitations to .IO domain? Yes, domain names in .IO may not be used for any purpose that is sexual or pornographic or that is against the statutory laws of any nation. Breaching this requirement NIC.IO reserves the right to immediately deactivate the offending registration.