What is a Top Level Domain (TLD)? Top-level domains explained

What is a Top Level Domain?

A top-level domain (TLD) is the last text segment in a domain name, such as .com or .net.

Top-level domains are also called domain extensions, domain suffixes, and URL extensions.

TLDs seem like a small problem. But they are a major part of any online business’s marketing strategy.

And they look like this:

Every website address has a TLD.

TLDs help identify, organize, and classify websites based on their content, purpose, or location.

For example, a .com TLD is typically used for commercial websites. While a .edu TLD is used for schools and educational institutions.

And a .de domain extension is used for German websites and online resources.

Your TLD can give users and search engines an idea of the services your website provides, your location and your work sector.

Types of top-level domains

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) operate the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)which regulates the use and allocation of domain names.

The IANA groups top-level domains into six main types:

Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD)

Generic top-level domains have three or more characters. And anyone can register them.

They are the most common TLDs. This is what users expect to see when they browse the web.

Here are some of the most popular gTLDs:

Despite their label, generic TLDs can still provide users with information about a website.

For example, .net often represents network sites, while .org represents organizations.

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