Understanding Top Level Domain

The domain name system allows users to create websites with names which are easier to remember

. Domain names are used in different contexts, such as application-specific naming and addressing and networking concepts. They are organized in subordinate levels of the DNS root domain. These levels are nameless. The first level set of domain names are the top level domains.

Top level domain is the component of the URL that comes after the dot. For example: in google.com, .com is the domain name. The domain name specifies exactly to which part the site belongs. Top level domains appear convenient, as you are not required to remember all number of IP addresses. The users can also type the domain name directly into the browser to visit the site. The different types of domain available are:

.com: commercial domains. It has the largest presence on the web.

.org : organization. It stands for any type of organization.

.gov: government agency. It can be a federal or state website.

.edu: educational institution

.net: Internet Service Provider or Network

The top level domain is easy to remember as it mentioned after the web address. Top level domains are managed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which is operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). IANA handles the task of maintaining the DNS root zone.

Top level domains are organized in three main groups: Countries, Categories and Multi- Organizations. Countries are designated in the top level domain by two alphabets. The country specific domain names are also called local top level domains, or country code TLDs (cc TLDs). These domains are helpful if the business serves a particular local market.

The growth in the number of websites has forced the domain name authorities to introduce generic top level domains, also referred as gTLDs. The different gTLD introduced are .info for information, .int for international, .travel for travel companies, .aero for aerospace, .biz for business and many more. The generic TLDs are further classified into sponsored gTLDs and unsponsored gTLDs.

Sponsored gTLDs: They are sponsored and represent a specific community. The sponsor is responsible for policy formulation related to different matters concerning the gTLD. Sponsors who wish to register gTLDs have to meet certain eligibility requirements.

Unsponsored gTLDs: They operate directly on policies formulated by ICANN processes.

It is necessary that you get the right domain for your website for easy identification. Search engines give importance to domain names while giving search engine rankings. The domain name should be related to the content of the website.

by: Melissa Smich

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