There’s an interesting phenomenon with regards to the
internet that the more tech-savvy among us might not notice, and those less
educated in the world of the web are prone to doing without realizing.
The usual URL format is www.example.com. We all recognize
this as a website URL. However, there’s one thing missing from that URL that
is, in fact, critical. That’s the HTTP:// part of the command, the hyper text
transfer protocol, with or without the S for secure. At the same time, the www
is not actually necessary for almost all websites.
The www is a relic from a time when subdomains ruled access
to a server. The www was the world wide web access, the front-facing page. The
same site at ftp.example.com would be the file transfer protocol access, which
the site administrator could use to upload and transfer files. A similar URL,
pop.example.com, would be the post office protocol, which usually directs to an
email server.
However, these days, most web servers relegate this to ports
on the domain. Instead of www.example.com and ftp.example.com, you might have
example.com:80 for traffic to port 80, web traffic, and example.com:21, traffic
on port 21, which directs to the file server. Alternatively, they might replace
the HTTP with FTP://example.com, or whatever other protocol they need.
Why do I bring this all up? Have you ever tried to get
someone in their 80s to use the internet properly? One thing you’ll often
encounter is how engrained the idea of www.example.com is for a URL. Even if
your site is http://example.co.uk, getting someone to type that in can be
unnervingly difficult. You’ll see a surprising number of people typing in
http://www.example.co.uk.com.
This is the primary reason why, when you’re discussing
top-level domain extensions, .com is always going to be the winner. The .com
TLD, standing for “commercial” as opposed to educational (.edu), governmental
(.gov), or what have you, is the default for many, many people.
So, when you ask the question “which domain extensions rank
the best,” you’re adding the invisible subtext, “after .com.” The .com domain
extension is always, always going to be the number one extension for as long as
extensions are commonly used at all.
How Many TLDs Are There?
There are a lot of top-level domain extensions. There are so
many that, as of 2015, they are divided into six categories. These are
Infrastructure domains, Generic domains, Restricted domains, Sponsored domains,
Country Code domains, and Test domains.
Before the addition and reorganization of 2015, all the way
back in the early days of the internet in 1998, there were only a relative
handful of domains. You had .com, .org, .net, .int, .edu, .gov, and .mil. These
are for commercial sites, organization sites, network sites, international
organizations, educational sites, governmental sites, and military sites. The
latter two are restricted to the United States, as well.
Three Tiers of Top Level Domains
There are three general quality tiers of top level domains.
The high tier domains are the most valuable for use in marketing, search, and
website optimization. These are domains like .com, .gov, and .edu. They’re
recognizable, they’re common, and they have benefits to SEO in terms of
authority. Restricted domains give you that authority, because they’re implicit
proof that you are who you claim to be. They aren’t as valuable as many people
say they are, but they still have a bit of value to the owner of such a site.
The middle tier are top-level domains that work for hosting
a site, and that are perfectly functional, but aren’t necessarily doing you any
favors. Most country codes, most generics, and most sponsored domains all fall
into this category. It is, frankly, the bulk of the domains available. No one
is going to be better than any other, not really.
The bottom tier are actively detrimental domains. They are
often used for spam, and simply using one will give negative associations to
your brand, and can possibly come with an immediate SEO penalty or lack of
trust.
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