Domain Name Hacking: Most Popular ccTLDs Being Used By Different Industries

Before you start to panic, “hacking” here doesn’t refer to or imply a security breach. It means a smart, easy, short-cut method – in this case, to get a unique, memorable domain name.

Why Hack?

When it comes to ecommerce business and its online reputation, you need to ensure that your brand stands out from the crowd if you want to zoom to the top of the search engine rankings. Every big brand in the market today is in a race to create the perfect domain name hack and there’s no reason why you should lag behind.

Domain name hacking provides a quirky, whimsical touch to your website that a conventional .com or .net TLD (top level domain) could never match. You can use a ccTLD (country code top level domain) to create unusual names. The biggest advantage of this hack is that you get the opportunity to create a short domain name that’s instantly recognizable.

Only two characters are used for country code TLDs. For instance, the popular photo sharing site Flickr uses the name flic.kr where kr refers to the ccTLD for South Korea. Other protocols that we’re familiar with like .com or .org used three characters. Today, there’s an availability shortage of these formats and that’s why there’s a rush to create two character TLDs with the help of suitable country codes. Another reason for the popularity of these names is that they’re shorter, easier and swifter to type. This means you get there faster because of a shorter website address.

Early birds get more time and space at the feeder. That’s why some domain names like .ai or .io are gaining enormous traction. Though they were originally used to represent the names of countries, today, they denote something quite different.

Top Of The Popularity Charts

.ai has emerged as one of the most sought-after domain names on the internet today. Although it originally represented the ccTLD for the tiny and little-known Caribbean island of Anguilla, today hardly anyone remembers that. What most people associate .ai with is Artificial Intelligence, and that is one of the hottest trends in the field of computer science. Anyone who’s in this space today uses .ai because it’s a great investment to make while there’s still standing room available and you won’t have to pay much. This is reminiscent of the break-neck speed at which .com names were lapped up in the 1990s. A .ai domain name helps your business climb higher in the SEO rankings. You don’t need to have a local presence in Anguilla to add the country code to your website address.

.io is another rising star. Originally the letters referred to the British Indian Ocean territory, but today it signifies “input output.” Today, this domain name is popularly used by tech businesses, video games, start-ups, open-source projects etc. Interestingly, lots of words in English end with “io” like studio, audio, and portfolio. That’s why so many creative businesses and those at the frontline of tech innovations use the .io domain name.

.ac represents the country code for Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha islands which are all British Overseas territories. However, domain hacks have turned it around to signify “academy” and this TLD is very popular with art or hobby clubs, educational organizations and other places of learning.

.dj is the original country code for Djibouti, but who remembers that? When you hear the letters dj, it’s music, dancing and clubs that instantly comes to mind. This domain name is the first choice of musicians and disc jockeys who want to establish themselves on the World Wide Web.

.fm had nothing to do with radio stations originally. It is the country code for the Federated States of Micronesia but few radio enthusiasts would care to make that association any more. With long commutes and travel for business and pleasure being the order of the day, people are hooked on to music, audio podcasts, conversations on the phone etc. Radio stations have never had it so good and today, .fm signifies audio file sharing, talk-shows, radio-shows etc.

.gg represents the country code for Guernsey and its neighbouring islands. It is a common hack for video games and digital gaming sites and has proven to be highly lucrative for gaming companies that are entering this space to register their websites early enough. With ‘gg’ being the common end phrase at the end of a “good game” it’s an apt and memorable domain name for your gaming website.

Other popular hacks include .tv and .vc which represent specific country codes but are popular hacks for businesses now. Whatever your business, the trend now is to tailor and customize your business and domain names to be in tune with each other. Now is best time to cash in on this opportunity using Shopify Domain Name search feature.