Lock, Stock And Cryptocurrency: Everything You Need To Know About Domain Zones

To provide users with the most accurate backlink data, we have already done a lot this year: we completely updated the Backlink Analysis module, showed you how to check website backlinks, added new tools, increased the number of API methods, and, most importantly, launched our own Link Index! By the way, it is already catching up with competitors who have been on the market for years!

The number of links in the index has already reached 1.15 trillion, and the number of domains - 178 million. Every day the database is refreshed with 2.25 billion links and is completely updated within 60 days. This allows the data to be always fresh! I hope you had time to appreciate the quality of our changes. If not, then rather run to analyze links. After reading the article, of course;)

By the way, if you want to learn how to use all the features of our Backlink Analysis, leave a request, and our specialists will answer all your questions.

Now let's go back to the research. Recently, we noticed that domain zone researches are carried out mainly by hosting companies. But the topic is relevant, and we have all the necessary data. Therefore, we decided to do the first such research with our link index!

We collected the most relevant data on domain zones, as well as several unusual facts. Does it sound interesting? Then let's go!

Before discussing top-level domains, let's look at the domain name as a whole and its structure to understand why this is the "top" level.

The first thing that a site visitor sees is the address. Therefore, each resource owner wants the domain name to be understandable, concise, and memorable. However, in reality, it is rather challenging to find a beautiful domain name today, since most of these addresses are already taken.

An interesting fact: the domain name should be read not from left to right, but from right to left.

Now let's talk about domain structure:

Example: eu.wikipedia.org., where:

A top-level domain (TLD) is a part of a domain name that appears to the right of the last dot. For example, in the domain name serpstat.com, .com is the top-level domain.

National (ccTLD, country-code top-level domain) are domain zones designed for specific countries. Each country must have its own code according to the ISO code: .us, .ca, .uk, etc. However, there are some interesting points here.

For example, .tk (belongs to the country of Tokelau) ranks in the top 1 among ccTLDs and the top 2 among all TLDs in terms of the number of registered domain names (almost 20 million). Look at the data on Tokelau on Wikipedia:

The area is 10 km2 and has a 1.5K population. Where does 20 million come from? Here's the answer: this domain zone was created to increase the perception of Tokelau in the world, and domain names there are distributed either free of charge or for a minimal fee. Therefore, "site builders" came running there to find resources at a lower price.

The same fate befell the zones of other countries, where there is more than one address per capita. Among them .ga (Gabon), .cf (CAR) and others. It is better to avoid such cheap domain zones since domains from them are actively used for doorways.

While some TLDs are popular within their own country or with freebies, others are marketed for other purposes. Here are some notable examples:

Geographic (geoTLD, geographic top-level domain) are domain zones belonging to a region, city, continent, province, etc. For example, .london, .berlin, .amsterdam. They differ from ccTLDs, which are two characters long and can include three or more. They are considered generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

International (gTLD, generic top-level domain) are domain zones created to divide the addresses of a certain type of organization or community. These domains are available to everyone. These include: .com, .net, .org, .info and others.

New international (new gTLDs) are a new generation of generic TLDs that allow personalization of a resource. In 2012, ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) opened a call for applications for those who wanted to create their own TLD. Although the application cost was $ 185,000, the corporation received more than 2,000 applications. There are many new gTLDs registered today. These include: .app, .photography, .today, and similar domains.

Sponsored (sTLD, sponsored top-level domains) is a domain zone sponsored by a specific community. The participating communities are based on ethnic, geographic, professional, technical, or other thematic concepts. Sponsors establish and enforce rules restricting owners' right to register in this zone.

For example, the .post domain for mail services is sponsored by the Universal Postal Union, and ICM Registry sponsors the .xxx domain for 18+ sites.

Now let's check the infographics. We have collected a bunch of interesting data about domain zones, so let's take a look.

The winner of our top domain zones is, of course, the TLD .com.

In the second place, we see the already familiar .tk zone, which is popular among creators of black-hat sites.

Third place is .cn. This is a China ccTLD. It is forbidden to register domains in the .cn TLD zone that can be used for actions contrary to the PRC Constitution's principles. But that did not stop .cn from becoming the record holder for the number of registered domain names in 2008.

Among common TLDs, the top seems pretty predictable. In the top 3 are .com, .net, .org.

However, we also see new generation domains (new gTLDs). For example, .xyz is in the sixth position. This is still a "fresh" TLD with a rather fascinating history. ICANN proposed it under the "new gTLD" program, which I already wrote about above. In 2016 .xyz took the sixth position among all TLDs in terms of the number of registrations. Fun fact: in the TV series Silicon Valley, hooli.xyz uses this domain.

Top-3 consists of:

You can see that we even had to allocate additional space on the map for Tokelau :)

The size of a country on the map does not correspond to its area, but to the number of domains.

Among the geographic TLDs, the top 3 are:

With Tokyo and London, everything is clear, but why is .bar so popular?

The city of Bar in Montenegro initially owned this TLD. However, it was also launched in 2014 as a part of ICANN's new gTLD program and became the domain for bars, pubs, and nightclubs, including bar and restaurant guides, critics, delivery services, and more.

However, some organizations and companies in Bar use the .bar domain instead of the national .me domain.

That's all! I tried to collect as many strange and useful facts as possible. I hope you will find something interesting :)

By the way, write your suggestions for new research in the comments under the article! And don't forget to test our link index.

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