How Domain names impact on SEO

What factors influence on Google ranking?

The exact-match domains (EMDs) – domains that exactly match the keyword or phrase a company wants to rank for – had significant power in the past, but, to prevent manipulation and ensure fair competition, Google has updated its algorithms to reduce the weight of EMDs in its rankings.

Google uses a complex algorithm to determine the ranking of websites on its search engine results pages (SERPs). Here some key factors:

Relevance: Content that is relevant to the search query is more likely to rank higher.

Value: High-quality, informative, and engaging content that provides value to users is prioritized.

Backlinks quantity and quality: Links from other reputable websites act as votes of confidence, indicating the credibility and authority of your site.

What is a .brand?

A .brand TLD (Top-Level Domain) is a unique type of domain that allows companies to use their brand name as the top-level identifier instead of traditional TLDs like .com or .net.

Some benefits of a .brand TLD:

Brand Control: Companies have complete control over their entire namespace, allowing them to create intuitive and easy-to-navigate URLs.

Enhanced Security: Reduces the risk of trademark abuse and phishing attacks, as only the brand owner can register domains within their .brand TLD.

Improved Brand Recognition: Helps intensify brand awareness and makes it easier for customers to find and trust the brand's content.

Marketing Flexibility: Provides new opportunities for creative marketing campaigns and strategies.

Registrars and new gTLDs Stats

There are 40.520.400 domains registred around the world, 1115 TLDs, and 458 Registrars. You can see all stats on ntldstats.

The market covered by each registrar varies a lot. The stats I'll show is the domains bought on different registrars.

See the chart below:

At the top we have Godaddy with 6,378,961 domains (15,74%), followed by Namecheap with 5,673,915 domains (14%), and then all the others that don't reach 10%.

How many new gTLDs are there in ahref Top 100 websites?

What we want to know is how many websites that use new gTLDs appear on the top 100 most visited websites in the World by Ahrefs organic search traffic estimates. Those lists are divided for categories and are updated monthly.

What follows is updated at October 2024. Categories are sorted alphabetically. Websites with gTLDs and ccTLDs are excluded.



BEAUTY AND FITNESS

None.

BOOK AND LITERATURE

n.8 - truyenfull.io
n. 41 - pressbooks.pub
n. 76 - z-lib.io

4 categories of TLD

The Domain Name is made up of two parts:

SLD (Second-Level Domain), what comes befor the dot.

TLD (Top-Level Domain), what comes after the dot, said also extension.

TLDs are divided into 4 categories: gTLDs, ccTLDs, ngTLDs.

gTLDs

gTLDs are the highest levels in the Domain Name System (DNS). They include: .com, .org, .net, .biz, .info. These are the most popular in internet. .com is overused and often misused, just because it has become a habit.

ccTLDs

ccTLDs, or country code top-level domains, are two-letter domains specific to a particular country or territory, like .us for the United States, or others. (see here the full list) A specific ccTLD signifies that a website is associated with a specific geographic location.

Many social domains on 101Domain

On 101Domain there are tens extensions suitable for social websites. Social interactions on the internet have become more and more prevalent in today's world.
Then, don't think to .com only.
A descriptive extension helps users to know the contents of your website and what are your style and goals.

Here some gTLDs:

.club

The .club domain is another interesting option, especially if you're looking to build a community or membership-based site.

Key benefits:

Community Focus: The .club domain is perfect for clubs, communities, and organizations
It conveys a sense of belonging and togetherness.

Branding: It offers unique branding opportunities, making your site stand out and be memorable.

Versatility: It can be used across various niches, from hobby clubs to professional organizations.

Availability: Since it's less common than .com, you might find more creative and available domain names.

New gTLDs Stats

 Some numbers:

ngTLD: 1113

Total Domains: 40,618,854

Upcoming deletes: 2,473,559

Statistics for new gTLD in 2024

Some key statistics for generic top-level domains (gTLDs) in 2024

1. Most Popular gTLDs: As of August 2024, the most popular new gTLD was .xyz with approximately 4.16 million domains, accounting for 16.71% of all gTLDs. The second most popular was .online with 3.63 million registrations:

2. Market Trends: The CENTRstats Global TLD Report highlights that registered domains across EU member states reached at least 82 million, a 0.4% increase from 2023. The highest growth was seen in Poland, France, and Italy.

3. Growth in Specific gTLDs: Among other gTLDs, significant growth was recorded in .bond, .store, .online, and .info.

4. Next Round of gTLDs: The next round of new gTLDs is anticipated in 2026, continuing the expansion of the gTLD namespace.

List of benefits using generic top-level domains (gTLDs)

Branding and Marketing: gTLDs can enhance brand recognition and marketing efforts. For example, a company can use a gTLD that matches its brand name or industry, making it easier for customers to remember and find them online.

ICANN New gTLDs 2026

In 2012 ICANN received about 2000 applications, of which over 1200 were added to the Internet Domain System. Since 2012 the process of assessing accelerated, and in a resolution approved on July 27, 2023, the Board directed the ICANN Organization (Org) to proceed with the implementation plan for opening the next round of new gTLDs, anticipating that the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) will be finalized in May 2025, enabling the application round to open in Q2 2026 (with a specific goal of April 2026).

Read more about that ICANN program. New gTLD

Then, brand owners have to begin assessing whether and how their organizations may wish to participate in this new gTLD application round. As some brand owners may recall from the 2012 application round, the decision regarding whether to participate, as well as which new gTLD(s) to apply for, requires the collaboration of a broad cross-functional team. Even brand owners who do not wish to apply for their own new gTLDs will need to assess how the next round of new gTLDs will impact their enforcement strategies, in terms of both potential objections to other parties’ new gTLD applications as well as any changes to rights protection mechanisms.