Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » .CO http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog Web Hosting Industry News, Latest Trends, and Analyses. Thu, 24 May 2012 11:11:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 .CO Domains – Frequently Asked Questionshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-frequently-asked-questions/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-frequently-asked-questions/#comments Sat, 18 Sep 2010 06:41:27 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1116 The new .co domains are rapidly becoming popular due to their similarity to the dominant .com TLD. In fact, .CO domains just announced that they have surpasses 500,000 domains!

.CO domains are not new in the slightest sense of the word, because they were first issued in 2001 as the region-specific code for Columbia. However, after realizing the similarities between .co and .com a Columbian University theorized that the domain type could be marketed as an alternative for .com. Nearly a decade later Internet S.A.S has made this hypothesis a realty by offering .co domains to people around the world for nay use, including commercial use. The following questions are amongst the most commonly asked pertaining to .co domains.

How Do I Get a .co Domain?

Currently, .co domains are only allowed to be registered by 10 registrars, however there are dozens of domain sellers that are mediating the sale of .co domains. In other words, almost any popular domain name registrar will have them available. The new .co domains can be acquired in the same exact fashion as a regular domain and there are no prerequisites for purchasing one.

How Much Do .co Domains Cost?

Fortunately, .co domains often only cost slightly more than a regular domain name. Most registrars will offer combo deals in which a discount is offered when more than one .co domain is purchased. It is also possible to receive a free .co domain with some new web hosting plans.

What Are .co Domains Used For?

.CO domains are and can be used for any type of web site online, including but not limited to commercial business sites, personal blogs, pictures sites, movie sites, music sites, forums, online stores, game sites and any other web site model imaginable. Before the domain type was acquired and distributed by Internet S.A.S it was intended to be used by web sites based in Columbia.

How Do Search Engines Treat .co Domains?

Fortunately, Google has recognized the recent explosion in popularity, and as such has recently announced that it will be indexing .co domains in the same manner as .com domains. This means .co domains will have international targeting enabled, allowing people from around the world to find your .co site on the internet. At the moment it is impossible to predict how well the .co sites will perform in the search engine results, but given Google’s friendly response it does look promising.

Can I Transfer a .CO Domain to Another Webmaster?

Yes, .co domains can be transferred in the same manner as any other domain name, which means you can begin buying and selling them as soon you’d like. There are no restrictions on who can register a .co domain, just as there are no restrictions to whom the domains can be transferred.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-frequently-asked-questions/feed/ 1 .Co Domains and Shortened URLShttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-and-shortened-urls/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-and-shortened-urls/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:27:50 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1079 The new .CO domains are being bought and sold furiously as a formidable market is currently being built around the hottest realty on the internet right now. With the dawn of a new and exciting public domain web site owners and domain speculators everywhere were purchasing 2,3 and 4 letter domain names by the thousands within weeks of their release. Nearly every short .co domain name has been bought by companies that undoubtedly used software to calculate every single short term calculation possible and purchase it automatically. However, this doesn’t mean that all hope is lost for short .com domains, as is explained in the following paragraphs.

The Purpose of .CO Domains

The .CO domains do not have any particular purpose, however they are now being used for all sorts of commercial purposes including but not limited to eCommerce, personal blogging, picture sites, music sites, and video sites, social sites, news sites, sports sites and any other kind of web site imaginable. Twitter is using a .co domain as a link service, however many are under the impression that this site will be used to shorten .co domains, even though it is actually intended to do much more as an overall link service for Twitter that indexes all links and collects information about them for Twitter. They are also supposed to be using the domain as a link shortener as well for Twitter development purposes. Many people wonder how Twitter got a one letter .CO domain when a normal person can only purchase a three letter domain and others are considered invalid in domain registrar databases. According to the news, Twitter paid more than a quarter million dollars for T.CO, its new .CO link service.

Shorter .CO URLs

Twitter in the aforementioned example is just one of many large web sites that are purchasing and utilizing a .co domain to shorten their domain name. Overstock.com also purchases O.CO, which is perhaps one of the most memorable web sites ever bought. Overstock’s search engine optimization specialist stated that he believes the new domain will bring in twice the amount of traffic tot he Overstock web site within the coming decade. It should be noted however that the average site owner will not be able to afford one of these one or two letter domain names, as Overstock paid more than $300,000 for O.CO.

New Brands and .CO Domains

Even though you can’t find a two or three letter .co domain, it is still very possible to purchase .co domains that have very basic keywords in them. For example, it may still be possible to purchase a 6 or 7 letter .co domain that is an actual word or existing product of some sort. Since .CO domains have just been released to the public for sale, there are many .CO domains are available that have .com counterparts. For example, there may be a web site entitled example.com. A couple of months ago you may have been able to purchase example.co, even though you are not the owner of example.com. This would give you the opportunity to capitalize on the popularity of an existing web site.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-and-shortened-urls/feed/ 0 .CO Domains Gaining Support and Momentumhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-gaining-support-and-momentum/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-gaining-support-and-momentum/#comments Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:54:22 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1059 Currently, there are over 280 top-level domains that are available to use as website extensions. Many are specific country codes that are used to denote a specific geographic location with .com names being the most popular. On July 20th, 2010, the new .co names were released to the masses. These are short for company which is why the popularity with ecommerce sites has grown.

Information About .CO Domains

Anyone can register for a .CO extension as long as you can cover the financial costs. Also, these domain names can be transferred in the case of a sale. There are currently only 10 accredited registrars that can distribute these extensions to the public. There are also numerous domain name resellers that are selling them for a profit.

Advantages of .CO

The first advantage is that it is easy to remember. Since there are only two letters, the extension is easily pronounced and can be spread via word of mouth. Google has even jumped on board by officially enabling international targeting which allows the domain name to rank well among search engines.

Another advantage is that the domain names are currently extremely cheap, unique and professional. Over the next few years, these are sure to catch on. In ten years, .com may find that .co has taken over. The extension is short, recognizable and desirable in today’s competitive market that is the internet.

Why .CO?

Although .CO is short for company or corporation, there are no limitations to what they can be used for. This extension was actually created in 1991 but wasn’t considered until 2001 for use commercially. A University in Columbia believed that the .CO extension could become a replacement for the popular .COM and the domain extension has taken off ever since.

Since so many .COM domain names are taken, why not look to picking up a .CO. They are greatly gaining in popularity, especially if Google is involved. Since domain names are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, the sooner you look into purchasing a .CO, the better chance you have of obtaining a potentially valuable name.

The internet and domain names have come a long way since the original .COM, .ORG and .INFO. The .CO seems to be an internet trend that will never dissipate due to the popularity among webmasters and major corporations. In ten years, .CO could become the most used top-level domain in history.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-gaining-support-and-momentum/feed/ 0 .CO Domains Gaining Momentum and Google Supporthttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-gaining-momentum-and-google-support/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-gaining-momentum-and-google-support/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:23:39 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1036 There are currently over 280 domain TLDs, or extensions, available for web sites. Most of these domains are country codes that are used to denote a specific geographical location of the web site. For example, .co.uk is used for sites that are based in the United Kingdom. Even though most people are familiar with .com domains, as these are the most popular kinds of domains. However, if you missed your chance to get the .com domain of your dreams, there us still hope, as you may be able to grab a new .co domain. These new domains are sweeping the net since there global release on July 20th, 2010 and are expected to become a popular alternative to .com domains.

Who Can Register .CO Domains?

Fortunately, anyone in the world can register a .CO domain, as long as you have the money to cover the registration costs. .CO domain names can also be transferred to other people with ease, which facilitates an easy transition should a sale occur. At the moment, as of July 2010, only 10 accredited domain name registrars are bale to directly distribute .CO domains, however there are plethora of resellers that are also selling .CO domains for profit.

The Advantages of the .CO TLD

The primary advantage of the .CO TLD is its memorability, which stems form the fact that it only has two letters, and is pronounced as CO, as in “company,” or
“corporation.” Even though the domain name was created as the country code for Columbia, it is now being marketed on a global level as an alternative .com domains, which now dominate the internet. Google has now officially enabled International targeting, thus .CO is now able to rank as well as other TLD, such as .com and .org.

In ten years, the trend may be reversed, with .CO domains taking over the internet within the next decade. The new .CO domains are cheap, professional, and unique, so they are expected to catch on during the next few years as more people learn about their existence. In short, .CO is recognizable, credible and highly desirable in today’s incredibly competitive internet marketplace.

What are .CO Domains Used For?

.CO domain can be used for any legitimate purpose and there are no limitations that specify what .CO domains can and can’t be used for. The .co domain was created in 1991, however the domain extension was not considered for commercial use until 2001, when a Columbian University theorized that the domain could be marketed as an alternative to the popular .com domains.

Conclusion

If you are tired of trying to find suitable .com domain names then you may want to consider the benefits of being a .CO pioneer. These new domains are being sold on a first-come first-serve basis, which means the sooner you jump on the bandwagon, the better chance you have of obtaining a very valuable domain name.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/co-domains-gaining-momentum-and-google-support/feed/ 0 Free Domain Name Resourceshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/free-domain-name-resources/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/free-domain-name-resources/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:31:33 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=597 “Free” is one of those misleading terms that gets thrown around quite a bit these days.  By the time you read the terms and conditions of the product or service in question, more often than not, you find that is it not free at all.  You may assume that free domain names is just another trick designed to toy with your emotions but believe it or not, they do exist.  We have compiled a list of services that can help you establish a web presence with your very own domain without paying a single penny.

Dot TK

Dot TK is a domain registrar that offers free domain names in the .TK extension.  Millions of users have being using this TLD since 2001, which makes it more recognizable and powerful than you might think.  There are some advantages to having a .TK domain name, especially if you plan to use it with a short secondary domain.  In addition, it can be used with any type of website you may have, whether it is a blog or e-commerce site.

.CO.NR Free Domain Name

This is another service that offers free domains with a variety of extra features to boot.  Your name comes with the .CO.NR extension, a project designed to help those who are strapped for cash obtain a unqiue domain that can establish a degree independence similar to premium domains.  Some of the features that come along with the service include domain forwarding, URL cloaking and meta tag support, all of which are free with your domain name.

Afraid.org

Afraid.org offers a host of free services.  On the menu are domain names with the .afraid.org extension and several more, sub-domains, URL cloaking, dynamic DNS support and full DNS management.  In order to reap the benefits of Afraid.org, you must first sign up as a member, which can be done for free.  There are also paid packages that provide a greater level of flexibility as more capacity is available to you.

UNI.CC Network

Here you have one of the most popular free domain name services available today. UNI.CC Network allows you to build your web presence with the unique .uni.cc extension.  The service provides a variety of domain registration tools along with a DNS Setup Wizard that makes managing your identity a breeze.  This service is provided at absolutely no cost.  All you are required to do is keep your contact information up to date and abide by the site’s terms and conditions.

Fadlan

Fadlan is another great site that offers a free URL redirection and DNS service.  Domain forwarding is free, so you get a domain such as mysite.fadlan.com as well as path forwarding and three types of directs.  Because it also specializes in free DNS services, if you have dedicated IP address, you have the ability to run your own web server on a sub-domain.  Fadlan isn’t the best looking site, but it has come become very popular and offers a few services you may find useful.

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