Why a geographic domain name makes business sense

Since the beginning of the Internet, .com domains have been held in the highest regard. In SA, having a .com or .co.za address for a Web site lends legitimacy to the business that holds it. With the continued popularity of these domain extensions, it is becoming harder for businesses to acquire the appropriate domain. This often leads to long and elaborate names that sound clumsy, difficult to spell and are difficult to remember.

Luckily, the diverse Top Level Domain (TLD) extensions available today are broadening the domain name playing field for businesses. Businesses can even reflect the physical location of their business through a geographic domain extension. Some of the available geographic domain names that are relevant to the South African context include .joburg, .capetown, .durban and .africa. If a business serves a local market, it might be beneficial to make use of a local domain name.

"A geographic domain name can be a powerful asset to a business," says domains.co.za CEO Wayne Diamond. "Although search engines do not take Web addresses into account for their search engine optimisation (SEO) ranking, having a geographic domain name does influence visitor perception."

Making use of geographic extensions can serve to create a rapport with potential clients as it shows the business as being part of the community. It also feeds into the trend of being hyperlocal. According to Inc., 93% of consumers travel less than 20 minutes for everyday things like gyms, auto repair, grocery stores, etc. Additionally, Google statistics show that mobile searches containing "near me" and a variant of "can buy" or "to buy" grew by 500% over the past two years. Having a geographic domain name can give a business a distinct advantage when listed in the search results from any query.

For businesses with a presence in multiple locations, it could be beneficial to register different geographic domains as appropriate. This is especially beneficial when speaking to various audiences with multiple languages, needs and niches. Multinational corporations already make use of this tactic to target different audiences in different territories.

Domains.co.za offers companies some of the best geographic domain names to register online. The company's other professional services and world-class products such as VPS Web hosting, a superior Web site building solution and SSL certificates make it easier for customers to get what they need in one convenient location.