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Veronika Vilgis

Around two years ago, we wrote a blog article about languages on the web. Dr Daniel Pimienta, a language researcher, reached out to find out more about the data behind that article and how we determine languages on the web: his enthusiasm for language data led to a fantastic collaboration! Daniel has since dug deep in our database, extracting all kinds of insights. Based on his report and recently published research, we’re sharing Daniel’s findings about European minority languages on the internet.

Depending on your global location, you may mostly be presented with content in your own language—thanks to geotracking—and this is certainly true for most dominant languages like English, Spanish, or Mandarin Chinese. But what if you speak a minority language? Can you access digital content in that language? Well, based on Dr. Pimienta’s research, it depends on which minority language you’re looking for.

Previously, we showed that English is the dominant primary language online, with approximately 51% of websites created in English. This prominence is particularly striking when juxtaposed against other major languages: Chinese, for instance, accounted for roughly 10% of websites, despite being the most spoken language worldwide. German followed with 7%, while Spanish and Japanese each comprised about 4% of online content. 

Another approach to measuring languages on websites involves calculating the percentage of languages used across all webpages. This method considers the fact that many websites incorporate multiple languages beyond just their primary one. By focusing on the overall distribution of languages across content, this metric offers a different perspective on the multilingual nature of the web, potentially resulting in a different proportion of language representation.

While the internet offers a platform for countless voices, many languages struggle for representation.

This scarcity is concerning, especially for languages UNESCO classifies as 'endangered', raising concerns about preservation and transmission to future generations. 

GeoTLDs: carving digital niches for local languages

In an effort to promote cultural and linguistic communities online, geographical top-level domains (geoTLDs) were introduced in 2012. These domains aim to provide localized digital identities, fostering a sense of belonging and representation. 

For the present analysis, we focus on 10 European geoTLDs that have a unique language associated with them, beyond just cultural and geographical boundaries. Specifically, the analysis focuses on two aspects: the representation of the primary language as part of the TLD and the prevalence of multilingualism, i.e., whether a website is offered in more than one language.

We see in Figure 1 that .eus, the TLD associated with the Basque Country in Spain, has the highest share of multilingualism. This means that all the websites are offered in more than one language—as you would expect, Spanish and Basque are the most common offering, but not exclusively. Next in line for multilingualism are .gal, representative of Galicia, and .cymru, one of the TLDs for Wales, with 60% and 63% of websites being offered in multiple languages, respectively. On the other end, .frl (associated with Friesland), .irish, and .scot exhibit the lowest share of multilingual websites. 

Next, the analysis investigated the correlation between the geoTLDs and the availability of associated websites in their associated minority languages. The three TLDs with top representation of the language are .cat, .gal, and .cymru, showing 72% of websites offered in Catalan, 66% offered in Galician and 45% offered in Welsh, respectively. In contrast, the .scot domain sees a mere 1% of its websites using Scottish Gaelic. Ultimately, this highlights that the impact of geoTLDs on language promotion is variable, and is likely shaped by the level of community engagement and the presence of supportive policies.

Finally, the research examined how well the TLD is represented geographically. It essentially looked at how the overall size of the TLD represents its people (accounting for population), and represents multilingualism, considering the number of people speaking more than one language as well as the number of people speaking the primary language. The table in Figure 2 summarizes the findings.  Both .eus and .cat perform best in terms of multilingualism and promoting their respective languages but are moderately represented given the number of speakers. In contrast, .corsica is well represented online given its overall (speaker) population, but scores low on multilingualism representation of the Corsu language.

The internet is a living, evolving entity that shapes and is shaped by its users. Linguistic diversity online supports cultural preservation and inclusivity, enabling individuals to access information in their native or new languages. While geoTLDs offer an opportunity toward greater linguistic diversity online, significant differences in the way linguistic diversity is promoted remains. The dominance of a few major languages often sidelines others, creating a more uniform digital environment. Addressing this requires coordinated action: governments can enact policies to support minority languages in digital spaces; developers can build tools that make multilingual content creation easier; and communities themselves can drive change by producing and promoting content in underrepresented languages, ensuring these voices are not lost in the online landscape.

The internet's linguistic landscape is a reflection of our world's diversity and disparities. While English and a handful of other languages dominate, countless others strive for recognition and representation. By acknowledging these imbalances and championing initiatives that promote linguistic inclusivity, we can aspire towards a digital world that truly mirrors the rich tapestry of human language and culture.

This blog post was written in collaboration with Dr. Daniel Pimienta founder of the Observatory of the Linguistic and Cultural Diversity on the Internet (OBDILCI). As the current head of OBDILCI, Dr. Pimienta develops indicators that measure the presence of various languages on the web. His work challenges biases in language data and advocates for multilingualism in digital spaces. For more information on the current study and methods, access the publication here.

Domains

The digital world reflects our global diversity, but not equally—while a few languages dominate online, countless others struggle for representation. GeoTLDs can help! For regions with minority languages, having dedicated spaces online where these languages can be used, protected, and shared, is a celebration of human communication. Read on as we explore the data behind languages on the web, together with Dr. Daniel Pimienta and his research.

How geoTLDs promote European minority languages online

In 2000, Joost Zuurbier, a Dutch citizen from Amsterdam, visited an island that you can only reach by first flying to Samoa, then boarding a ferry that runs only every two weeks with a variable schedule. The island Tokelau is a remote group of atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. Tokelau was home to just over 1,600 people in 2019, and back in 2000 there were those who had a difficult time grasping what Joost was trying to do. Most could never imagine the future of their nation’s country code top-level domain (ccTLD)—not even the man himself.

Zuurbier’s vision was to identify an unused ccTLD and make it freely available. He discovered that Tokelau’s ccTLD, .tk, was unclaimed and inactive. However, launching and expanding .tk came with three significant challenges. First, he needed to communicate his plan to the people of Tokelau and gain their approval. Second, navigating the bureaucratic process posed another obstacle—he had to secure official approval and delegation of the ccTLD from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Lastly, due to a requirement from IANA that the servers needed to be built on the island, all the equipment had to be taken to one of the remotest islands in the world. At the time, Tokelau had only three computers for 1,500 people, with only a 9,600 bits per second (bps) connection for e-mail with no attachments. For reference, one million bits make up one megabit (mb), and a good modern download speed is 100mbps.

Fortunately, the final challenge was resolved with the help of an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) employee who had visited Tokelau in the 1970s. Understanding that hosting global servers from the island was impractical, the employee recognized that some level of internet activity was still necessary for Tokelau to claim administrative control over its ccTLD. This meant that before anything else, Zuurbier had to introduce internet connectivity to the island.

Once this requirement was met, Zuurbier and the islanders reached an agreement on how the revenue from the ccTLD would be used. With their case prepared, they presented it to IANA. As a result, both initial challenges were also overcome, and IANA officially delegated .tk to Teletok, the company overseeing Tokelau’s telecommunications from 1997 onward, while Taloha, Zuurbier’s organization, managed the technical administration of the domain.

Because .tk domain registrations were free, the extension quickly gained popularity and became one of the most widely registered country code domains, surpassing 25 million registrations. However, the free model also drew the attention of cybercriminals. With the ability to create websites anonymously and in large numbers, scammers exploited .tk domains for various malicious activities, including phishing for passwords and payment details, hosting intrusive pop-up ads, and distributing malware.

Until recently, domain registrations for the .tk ccTLD were managed by OpenTLD B.V., part of Freenom, a registry that manages several freely available TLDs. In November 2023, ICANN terminated OpenTLD's accreditation due to multiple breaches of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). Despite this termination, the registration and maintenance of .tk domains remains under Freenom. As a ccTLD, .tk primarily operates under the authority of Tokelau and is not governed by ICANN's RAA.

Given the controversial recent history of the .tk ccTLD, we were curious to look at the domains currently active online. In our database, we detect a total of 6.3 million .tk domains, which includes domains that are no longer active but were at some point within the past twelve years. However, as of January 2025, only 8,862 of those are currently active, 2,430 are redirects, and another 18,231 do not allow crawling. Of the redirects, 53.5% redirect to a .com domain, 10% to another .tk domain and 6.8% redirect to .cf (ccTLD of the Central African Republic).

Among the active domains, just over a third can be traced to Ireland, followed by the Netherlands, and then the US (Figure 3). In terms of security, over 50% have no or an invalid SSL certificate, as shown in Figure 4. 

The rise of the .tk domain was a remarkable story of growth, driven by its unique offering of free registrations that attracted millions of users. At its peak, .tk became one of the most registered country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) in the world. However, its rapid growth came with a dark side, creating a haven for malicious actors who exploited its anonymity and accessibility. The association with online fraud damaged its reputation, and as a result, it became known for its role in hosting dubious websites. Despite efforts to mitigate abuse, the damage was done, and .tk's image has never fully recovered.

Digital colonialism and the future of .tk

The rise and fall of the .tk domain also highlights the broader issue of digital colonialism. Tokelau, a small, remote territory in the Pacific, found itself at the center of a global internet phenomenon. While Tokelau's local population had limited internet infrastructure, the income generated from .tk registrations—millions of dollars, some years—provided vital financial support to the territory. This arrangement, however, raised ethical concerns about digital colonialism, as a foreign entity (Freenom) controlled the domain's registration process and its profits. The revenue, which was meant to benefit Tokelau, was regularly diverted through intermediaries, leaving the island with limited direct control over the wealth generated by its ccTLD.

With the uncertain future of .tk, Tokelau faces potential financial ramifications. If the domain's usage continues to decline or becomes further restricted, it could impact the income the territory has relied on. Although the digital space has provided an economic lifeline, the loss of .tk’s popularity also exposes Tokelau to the realities of digital dependency. The implications go beyond simple financial loss; they reflect the challenges small nations face in navigating the complexities of the digital age and how they manage valuable assets like ccTLDs, which can be both a source of income and a symbol of sovereignty.

Today, while .tk domains can still be registered through Freenom, the landscape is uncertain. Despite the possibility of registration, the reality is that most domain names appear unavailable, and new registrations have effectively stagnated since October 2024. No new registrar has been announced, and the lack of clarity about the future of .tk raises more questions than answers. It’s clear that while .tk still exists, its glory days may well be behind it. What remains is a small, largely insecure domain extension that continues to attract a few unsavory characters, but for most legitimate users, it’s a relic of the past. The future of .tk remains up in the air, and its tarnished reputation means that it will likely never regain its former prominence in the world of domain registrations.

Tokelau is a remote island in the pacific. You can reach there only by a ferry that runs every 14 days. But it is the third most-visited island. How so?

From tiny atolls to digital dominance: the .tk story

The .ai domain has experienced an unprecedented surge in popularity, with the past few years seeing registrations skyrocket. Initially affiliated with the small Caribbean island of Anguilla, the .ai extension has become a highly sought-after digital asset, largely due to its association with artificial intelligence. Tech companies, startups, and even large corporations have rushed to secure their slice of this internet real estate, making it a go-to choice for AI-related branding. We look into the data to see what’s really behind .ai domains and if the rise is just a hype.

The growing interest in artificial intelligence has elevated the .ai domain from a relatively obscure country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) to a trendy choice for tech companies worldwide. Companies like OpenAI and Stability.ai have embraced the extension, making it synonymous with cutting-edge AI innovation. Just as investors flocked to AI stocks, domain investors have rushed to secure .ai domains, viewing them as the domain market’s next big thing. Eager to capitalize on potential resale opportunities and future value appreciation, they have snapped up as many premium keywords as possible, leading even generic or non-tech terms to be registered with “.ai.”

While the surge in .ai domain registrations is impressive, the quality and usage of these domains tell a different story. As of October 2024, there are 204,700 active .ai websites, including online stores, blogs, and parked domains. A closer analysis reveals that placeholders and parked domains dominate the landscape, making up 61% of all active sites. Business and e-commerce websites account for 23%, while content-focused sites make up 11%. The remaining share consists of low-content sites, frame sites, forums, and blogs.

To understand the meteoric rise shown in Figure 1, we examined whether the total increase is primarily driven by increased placeholders. Our analysis found that between October 2023 and September 2024, the number of placeholder .ai domains surged by an astonishing 2,271% (Figure 2). The majority (88%) of these placeholders are managed by registrars affiliated with Team Internet Group PLC (formerly CentralNic Group PLC), including 1api.net, Centralnic Canada Inc., and Hexonet Services Inc. Furthermore, 92.3% of the placeholders are hosted by Amazon.

The influx of parked and placeholder domains comes with drawbacks. For one, it can create a misleading perception of activity within the .ai domain space. Although registration numbers are high, many of these domains do not provide value in terms of content or active use, which can make it harder for genuine startups to find available and relevant domain names. As our previous analysis of .com placeholders showed, many of them have a short lifespan.

Additionally, the practice of domain parking drives up the cost of acquiring .ai domains, as owners of premium domains often set high resale prices. For cash-strapped startups, this presents a significant barrier to obtaining a domain that truly fits their brand.

Growth in Business and E-Commerce Websites

While the growth rate for business and e-commerce websites is lower compared to placeholders, it remains notable, with increases of 477% and 734% over the past 12 months, respectively (Figure 2). These websites are predominantly located in the United States, followed by Germany, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands (Figure 3).

Next, let’s take a look at the topics associated with the different business, e-commerce, and content websites of the .ai top-level domain (Figure 4). The “Software & Data” category unsurprisingly dominates nearly half (44.9%) of all topics, confirming that software development and data analysis are central to the AI conversation. “Marketing & Advertisement” follows as a distant second at 14%, indicating AI's growing role in transforming digital marketing strategies. Other notable sectors include “Telecom” (7.4%) and “Entertainment” (4.6%). Topics like “Financial” services (4.4%), “Art & Design” (4.1%), and “Science” (3%) highlight AI's diverse applications across various fields, though they trail behind the more dominant themes. Meanwhile, “Health & Medical” (2.5%) and “Business & Careers” (2.2%) represent emerging areas where AI is making significant strides, albeit with a smaller share of the content focus.

With the entry of large language models (LLMs) and generative tools into the mass market, AI has been widely hailed as groundbreaking and revolutionary over the past year—and the surge in .ai domain registrations reflects this excitement. However, most of these websites are placeholders or parked domains, often created solely for resale, essentially just occupying space until replaced by something more substantial. As we have shown in a previous analysis of .com placeholders, many tend to disappear quickly. For the remaining business and content-driven websites, it remains to be seen how stable the trend will be. As the initial hype cools and doubts emerge about the true capabilities of AI, it’ll be worth watching how demand for the .ai top-level domain evolves in the coming months and years.

Ultimately, the .ai domain's future success will depend not just on the number of registered domains, but on how many of these domains are actively contributing to the advancement of AI and technology in meaningful ways. For startups and businesses in the AI space, building an active online presence with a .ai domain could offer a significant competitive advantage—if they choose to go beyond just reserving a name.

We’re seeing AI in every nook and cranny online, and the realm of top-level domains is no different. The amount of active .ai websites has skyrocketed in the last year, and now they’re everywhere—right? We dive into the data to see what’s really going on in the .ai domain space.

The .AI domain boom: what the websites behind the trend reveal

The .eu TLD is managed by EURid, the European Registry for Internet Domains. It was established to provide a unique European identity on the internet and is available to residents, organizations, and businesses based within the European Union, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. This is monitored by the registrar—the organization that facilitates connecting a chosen domain name to a chosen TLD—who collects information about the registration depending on the TLD restrictions. For the .eu case, registrar GoDaddy requires address validation at registration:

This already shows a point of contention: the registrars say upfront that UK addresses are not allowed. But how did this happen, and where do we go from here?

The UK's official withdrawal from the European Union on January 31, 2020—popularly known as Brexit—set in motion a series of changes for .eu domain holders based in the UK. These changes were implemented in stages:

From January 1, 2021, UK residents and organizations became ineligible to register new .eu domains. This swift effect of Brexit closed off a previously available option for UK entities seeking to establish a European online presence.

On January 1, 2021, existing .eu domains registered to UK addresses were suspended. This meant that while the domains still existed, they ceased to function, potentially causing significant disruption to businesses and individuals relying on these domains for their online presence. The idea was that most UK-based .eu domains would transfer before this date, but for various reasons, this was not universally possible or accomplished. 

Following the suspension period, all suspended .eu domains registered to UK addresses were withdrawn on January 1, 2022. These domains became available for general registration three months later, on April 1, 2022, for registrants with a validated EU address. This final step effectively removed these domains from UK registrants, unless they had taken specific actions to maintain eligibility.

What happened next? Consequences for UK-based domain registrants

Losing a domain can lead to various complications for businesses. Legal and contractual issues may arise when legal documents reference the domain, necessitating updates and potential renegotiations. For businesses that use the domain for their email addresses and communication channels, the loss of the domain may cause major interruptions and loss of contacts or conversations. Equally, if a domain owner has spent time and money on search engine optimization and marketing efforts tied to a domain, this effort may be lost and requires a complete rebuild of an online presence. Branding and recognizability can also suffer from a forced switch like this: domain owners may lose their online identity having to trade for a less catchy domain name with another TLD, especially if their original name is not available. It’s easy to see that ‘vanman.eu’, for example, sounds a lot more authentic and authoritative than aberdeenvanman.com.

To maintain their .eu domains, UK registrants were pushed to take one of two actions. 

Establish EU citizenship: registrants would be required to change and provide evidence of residency or citizenship in another EU member states. 

Transfer ownership: UK registrants could transfer ownership of their .eu domains to EU-based subsidiaries or partners.

The case of “leave.eu”, though the domain is no longer active, provides a notable example of the Brexit impact. This pro-Brexit campaign website, ironically, faced the loss of its domain due to Brexit. To maintain their online address, the organization elected to move its registration address to EU-member Ireland—demonstrating the lengths to which some entities (even those who desperately fought for these changes) went to preserve their .eu presence.

For this article, we were not specifically interested in the ones that maintained their domain via the mitigation strategies we mentioned above, but rather those that moved their domain to a new TLD. Where did they go, and were they able to retain their original name?

In the course of our research, we looked at 4,160 active .eu website that were allocated to a UK registrant in December 2020. As you can see in Figure 1, there’s a sharp drop in the returned response—meaning this number of websites are no longer accessible after January 2021. This was obviously expected, given the registry’s post-Brexit policy. Over time, the number continues to drop gradually. The number of UK-registered .eu websites that redirect is 828, and Figure 2 shows the top TLDs these domains redirect to. The majority redirects to a .com domain, followed by .co.uk and then to (another) .eu. Notable is that 46% of the .eu to .com redirecting domains actually redirect to www.sedo.com, a domain parking company,

Next, we were interested to see if the ones that redirect were able to maintain their name. Indeed, we found 276 domains that redirect to the same name, i.e. only the TLD portion changed. The remainders redirect to domains that are not identical to the original, but maintain part of the former name. For examples, see Figure 4. We suspect that in most of these cases the intended, ideal, and original name was not available for registration. In all of these cases, the domain name length increased; common variations included the addition of geographical location, hyphens, or company legal structures (e.g., ltd).

The Brexit-induced changes to .eu domain eligibility have had far-reaching consequences for UK-based registrants. While some were able to adapt by transferring registration to an EU-based country, many faced the loss of their established online identities. This situation underscores the importance of considering geopolitical factors in domain registration strategies and highlights the need for businesses to have contingency plans for their online presence.

The .eu top-level domain (TLD) was introduced in 2005, and has been a top choice for businesses and individuals across the European Union since then. However, the United Kingdom's departure from the EU has had significant consequences for UK-based .eu domain registrants. Can you have a .eu domain without being in the EU? Well, not technically…

Here, there, and everywhere: tracking UK-owned .eu domains in a post-brexit world

The modern history of emoji domain names began in 2001, when the first emoji domains—☮️.com, ♨️.com, and ♨️.net—were registered. These domains were made possible by the use of Punycode, which converts Unicode characters like emojis into ASCII, allowing them to function within the Domain Name System (DNS).

While these were just a novelty at first, emoji domain names gained real traction around 2015 as mobile internet usage soared and emojis became a more central part of everyday digital communication. Emoji domain names are managed by only a few registries, and the most frequently used are .ws (Western Samoa’s country code top-level domain), .to (the ccTLD is assigned to the Kingdom of Tonga) and .fm (the ccTLD of the Federated States of Micronesia).

Emoji domain names provide an opportunity for creative and memorable branding. Budweiser, for example, registered the domain 🍺.ws, cleverly aligning its product with the universally recognized beer mug emoji. Similarly, Coca-Cola previously launched an innovative marketing campaign by registering all variations of the happy face emoji: a creative example of how to use emoji domains as a fun tool for modern marketing.

But just how many emoji domains are out there? In our database, we detect 8,262 domains with an emoji in the main name—however, the vast majority have no active website associated. As of September 2024, only 423 emoji domains have a working website, and of these, 27% are websites that provide informational content and 5% are associated with a business or company (see Figure 1). The remaining websites are placeholders, parked domains of low content websites, which typically only have one page and little overall information. Close to 1,600 emoji domains are redirects, while the rest—a large majority—return no response when queried. These low numbers suggest that emoji domains are definitely not a trend (yet), but it also means that plenty of prime domains are still up for grabs and likely to be reasonably affordable. You can check the availability and prices of emoji domains with this handy tool at i❤️.ws.

Next, let's take a look at the top-level domains (TLDs) associated with emoji domains. Only three registries actively allow registering domains with any emoji: .fm, .to and .ws. Having said that, there are certain types of symbols that can be classified as emojis, such as © or ®, that are allowed as part of other TLD registration policies. Figure 2 shows the top 10 TLDs (by number of emoji domains) that feature at least one emoji in the domain name.

Indeed, ©, ® and ™ are the top 3 most frequently occurring when we look at emojis used in .com domains. Many of you might say these are not ‘real’ emojis, but don’t fret! We’ll give you the top 20 most frequently occurring real emojis across all TLDs in Figure 3.

Our favorite red emoji tops the ranks, which is both reassuring and perhaps a little surprising. If you’ve lost faith in humanity, it’s nice to know that the internet still has heart(s). Perhaps this would be more reassuring if the laptop emoji wasn’t ranked second—the machines are catching up. 

Some emojis listed in the top 20 make sense and are in agreement with observations reported elsewhere, such as the fire or rocket emoji, and the notorious eggplant emoji being popular is not unexpected. Less obvious are the bikini emoji or the bride with a veil, but perhaps these (and a few others) hint at a certain adult-themed trend among emoji domains.

Curiously, we didn’t find a single emoji face in the top 20: no 🙂, 😆, 😂, or even a 😡, which is contrary to what we’d expect given their frequent usage in short messages or social media posts.  

Digital creatives are already making use of emoji domains to push the boundaries of the ‘usual’ internet. Take full-stack developer Ben Stokes, for example: he decided that if emoji domains were possible, then emoji email domains should be possible too… After some tests and trials, Mailoji was born. Ben writes:

Since emoji domains transcend language barriers, providing a universally understood mode of communication, there’s a cultural impact to consider. This languageless-ness makes them particularly attractive for brands and initiatives aimed at diverse global audiences. The simplicity and directness of emojis can convey emotions and ideas more effectively than words in some cases, enhancing the appeal of emoji domains in a multicultural digital world. However, there maybe challenges across cultural and generational lines if groups interpret the same emojis differently: what looks like a friendly domain for eggplants to one person, could represent something else entirely to another. Similarly, not all emojis are displayed equally across devices and operating systems. And, the fact that emojis still need to be translated to text means they are often displayed as just a random selection of letters. For example, the domain name 🍺.ws mentioned above is converted to https://xn--xj8h.ws/—which looks a lot less appealing and trustworthy, defeating the purpose of recognizability.

Emoji domain names face certain limitations and challenges, despite their charm. For one, not all top-level domains (TLDs) support emojis, restricting their widespread adoption. Nevertheless, as technology continues to advance and internet usage becomes even more integrated into daily life, the demand for distinctive and memorable digital identities is likely to grow. It'll be interesting to see if more registries open emoji domain registrations in the future, and there's also the possibility of introducing emoji TLDs. We've written extensively about new generic TLDs: over the past years, more than 2000 new TLDs have been created, from .ninja to .dog and .yoga—there is now likely a TLD for your favorite hobby or industry. Is it just a matter of time until ICANN introduces the first emoji TLD? 

Ultimately, emoji domain names represent an intriguing intersection of technology, communication, and creativity. From their humble beginnings in the early 2000s to their current status as a novel branding tool, these domains are carving out a unique niche in the digital landscape. Emoji domains offer a playful and powerful way to stand out online, and while challenges remain, the future holds potential for further expansion and increased adoption. As emojis continue to permeate our digital interactions, the allure of emoji domain names is likely to grow and makes them an exciting area to watch in the world of internet domains.

In this ever-evolving landscape we call the internet, emoji domain names represent a quirky and captivating innovation. Combining the ubiquitous and expressive power of emoji characters with the functional utility of domain names, these digital novelties offer a unique blend of communication and technology. From their origins to their current status and future potential, let’s take a look at the fascinating world of emojis.

Emoji domains explained: a data-driven analysis

The domain extension .com is undoubtedly the largest and most well-known top-level domain (TLD) on the web. Operated by Verisign, the same company that runs .net, .com’s history dates back to the early days of the internet. It was one of the original TLDs established in 1985, along with .gov, .edu, .mil, .org, .net, and .arpa. It quickly became the most popular TLD due to its association with commerce and companies, most notably during the late 1990s, as businesses rushed to establish an online presence. Solidified by its namesake relation to the dot-com boom—and subsequent dot-com bubble burst as many internet-based companies collapsed in the early 2000s—.com has since become synonymous with the internet itself.

Currently, the .com TLD remains the most widely used and recognized domain extension globally. It continues to be the preferred TLD for many businesses, startups, and individuals seeking to establish a strong online presence. And, despite the introduction of numerous new gTLDs in recent years, it retains its dominance and prestige. 

But what can we learn about the internet from just this one TLD? As it turns out, plenty: the global prevalence of .com means it captures a rather interesting snapshot of the total web in comparison, giving us a glimpse into the hosting, management, technical, and content details of the online world. Time to dive in and explore what this means!

We love details, so let’s take a deeper look at the .com zone file—the text file that contains mappings between all currently registered domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. As of August 2024, there are just over 158 million registered domains in the .com zone file. In Figure 2, we see that active, available websites make up 50% of those registrations, and the remaining 50% are redirects, return an error response, or deny access to crawlers. 

Forty percent of these active websites are placeholders, 25% are business, and 6% are e-commerce websites, while the remainder comprises content pages, blogs, or framed websites. To put these numbers into context, we created a comparison set of 100,000 randomly selected active websites that are not .com. Can this comparison set show whether .com reflects overall web trends, given its global appeal and size? The random sample is made up of 65% country code TLDs, 19% generic TLDs, 16% new generic TLDs, and less than 1% sponsored TLDs. Our dataset here is made up of 32% of business and 6% e-commerce websites, though the number of placeholders is lower, at only 33%. The e-commerce trends are comparable, but .com is made up of overall more placeholders and fewer business websites. This is surprising since we think of .com as the commerce-focused TLD, but it seems like businesses overall prefer local (ccTLD) or themed new gTLDs.

The vast majority of .com domains are hosted in the USA, followed by Germany and Canada (see Figure 2). However, .com domains are hosted all over the world, from Zimbabwe to Monaco and Turkmenistan— basically every country hosts at least a few .com domains.

Those top three hosting countries are reflected in the global data, too: the US, Germany, and Canada host the most websites regardless of TLD, showing the broad appeal and impact of .com as it reflects global trends so closely. In our comparative sample, the US and Germany also rank at top two, with 41% and 14% percent respectively. Ranks 3, 4, and 5 go to France, the Netherlands, and Russia. These results aren’t unexpected, given the large proportion of ccTLDs in the comparison group.

Content management systems and social media

Next, let’s take a look at some website statistics: if we’re seeing that .com reflects overall web trends, then choice of content management system (CMS) is no exception. WordPress is the most commonly used CMS among .com websites, with 54% of them built with WordPress. WIX (12.6%) and Squarespace (10.7%) rank second and third among .com’s CMS providers. With some percentage point differences, these top three also dominate in our comparison sample, with WordPress at 66%, WIX at 7.4%, and Squarespace at 4.2%.

Tracking the popularity of social media platforms mentioned on .com sites, as seen in Figure 3, reveals that Facebook is still the dominant platform, followed closely by Instagram. X (Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube come next, while TikTok ranks sixth with only 2.6% of .com websites mentioning the short-form content platform. As TikTok gains more traction as a business and marketing tool, we’re curious to see how these numbers change in the months and years ahead. The rest of the web has a very similar distribution of social media mentions on websites. Our comparative sample indicates that Facebook is also most common on the rest of the web, along with WhatsApp. X (Twitter) is more prevalent on .com websites than on the combination of other TLD websites. Not shown on the graph, but still noteworthy: Telegram made it into the top 10 globally with mentions on 2.2% of all websites, but did not rank in the top 10 for .com.

Average incoming links, pages, and word count

The majority of .com websites have no incoming links. For 82.5% of them, no other websites link to their address—this number aligns with the comparison sample, where 82.1% also show no incoming links. At the other extreme, 16,941 websites (less than 0.1%) have more than 1,000 incoming links, which means that over a thousand other websites link to that one (non-redirecting) website. A .com website has 18.2 pages and an overall word count of 248 words per page, on average, and these numbers include all types of websites, including placeholders. If looking only at .com websites classified as  ‘business,’ the average number of pages increases to 34 and word count to 558. In our global comparison sample, ‘business’ classified websites have 599 words and 36 pages on average, considerably more than on .com sites in general. 

How secure are .com domains: SSL coverage

Lastly, let’s take a peek at website security, specifically SSL coverage. Figure 4 shows that of all .com websites, 68.4% have a valid Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate—in contrast to the 73.6% of websites globally—and the remaining 31.6% have either no or an invalid certificate attached to them. Of this remainder, the majority are Placeholders (64.5%) which means they don’t necessarily have content or visitors to secure. Nevertheless, the other 5.8 million content, business, and e-commerce .com sites are operating under reduced security conditions.

Dot-com domains remain a critical part of the global digital landscape and a good indicator of overall web trends. Due to its universal recognition and appeal, .com domains can be found in every country, and it's widespread hosting locations demonstrate its popularity around the world. The majority of hosting is concentrated in the USA, where even though the .us ccTLD exists, .com is the go-to TLD. Despite this global prominence, however, many .com websites remain relatively small in scope and lack significant external engagement. Companies like Amazon and WordPress dominate their field in the .com space, which reflects the state of the broader digital landscape. And, even though many .com domains have adopted SSL security, a considerable number still operate with insufficient protection—indicative of the ongoing struggle to keep the internet secure against malicious actors. 

Tracking the .com TLD helps us understand the online world just a little better: it highlights continuing challenges in securing the web, the global use of gTLDs versus ccTLDs, the performance of web tech and tech companies, and the various demands of the online world on our physical one. There is more data out there than could be combed through in a lifetime, but taking .com as a little snapshot of a vast digital picture makes understanding the internet just a little bit easier.

A brief overview of the .com top-level domain

Consider how websites needed to be built 20 years ago, with long lines of code and now you can use out of the box templates of AI and your website is built without you having to write a single line of code. In this blog post we’ll take a look at how things have changed over the past four years. Has there been a change in the popularity of certain top-level domains, the use of different content management tools, hosting providers and more?

For this post, we analyzed all websites that were added in the first week of March in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. We’ll look at which top-level domains were registered the most, what types of websites went online, who was hosting them, and what content management systems were chosen. We’ll also take a look at how social media profile mentions have changed over the years.

For top 5 TLDs not much has changed with .online, .org, .net and .xyz always appearing between rank 2 and 6. Unsurprisingly, .com ranks first in all four years. Its total market share in each year ranges from 47% (2024) to 62% (2022). The biggest winner according to this data is .shop, which climbed from position 45 to 2 in just four years. Interestingly, .store started on rank 9 in 2021 and has remained relatively stable, ranking 8 in 2024. .xyz and .info have slipped down a few ranks but remain among the top TLDs.

WordPress has been the top ranking CMS for years and our data shows a consistent share between 46% (2024) and 49% (2022). The second most popular CMS has been WIX which has lost a little every year, while GoDaddy Website Builder shows a steady growth. Squarespace has increased its market share from 4% to 11% from 2023 to 2024.

Websites need to be hosted somewhere and in a previous blog post, we showed how much the hosting industry has changed over the past years. Therefore, it’s no surprise that we see quite some movement with Amazon entering strong in 2022 and taking over a quarter of the hosting market. Cloudflare is also gradually gaining as is Hostinger International, while Namecheap has been losing to the competition. Google grew its share between 2021 and 2022 but has since remained relatively stable.

Lastly, we’ll have a look at how many of the websites we discovered in the first week of March of each year, which mention a social media profile associated with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Each year the proportion of websites that mention these social media platforms decreases. 

Between 2021 and 2024 the share of websites that mention Facebook nearly halved, in comparison LinkedIn has maintained a relatively stable share across those four years, even though its overall share is relatively low ranging from 1.7% (2023) to 2.3% (2021).

Here, we took a snapshot of websites that were created in the first week of March in four consecutive years. The dominance of .com as the TLD of choice remains unchallenged, while the rise of .shop is noteworthy. WordPress maintains its position as the leading CMS, but there is movement among the smaller CMS providers. In the hosting sector, Amazon has emerged as a major player, while the mention of traditional social media platforms on websites has seen a steady decline, with LinkedIn being the most stable. These trends underscore the dynamic nature of the web, where some aspects remain constant, others evolve gradually, and some undergo rapid transformation.

The web is in constant change marked by new domains being registered or existing ones being discontinued as well as new websites being launched and others going offline. This persistent flux of websites means the web is actually not growing that much, rather the overall size is relatively stable. However, the way websites are created, who is hosting them, and the tools website owners use to create their sites are changing.

Web trends: a data snapshot spanning 4 years

Dataprovider.com

However, in an industry that thrives on cutting-edge innovation and fierce competition, the significance of online identity cannot be overstated. For tech firms and start-ups, a domain name is not merely a digital address but a strategic asset that is crucial for brand recognition, cybersecurity and market positioning.

Drawing on key findings from the Global Domain Report 2024, for which Dataprovider.com served as one of the primary sources, we’ll unravel how the tech industry navigates the usage of TLDs. We shed light on the strategic schemes that underpin successful online identities in the tech industry, highlighted in the Global Domain Report 2024 released by InterNetX and Sedo.

How do you analyze the tech sector's use of TLDs?

As we zoomed in on the domain strategies employed by tech firms, we focused on a curated selection that exemplifies industry leadership and influence. The Forbes Top 10 Tech Companies of 2023 provided a focused lens through which we could examine the biggest tech companies worldwide.

We followed a rigorous, data-centric methodology to assess how these tech giants use TLDs. Data experts at Dataprovider.com began by identifying each company's primary domain. We then employed an advanced tool from Dataprovider.com, the Ownership feature, which reliably verifies domain ownership. It takes into account various indicators, such as WHOIS data, DNS records, contact information and company registration details on websites. After compiling this information, a probability score is calculated that reflects the likelihood of a domain being owned by the same company.

The effectiveness of this score depends in part on the consistent accuracy of the data provided by tech companies. Therefore, companies should maintain consistent records across all digital properties, ensuring that domain registration and business operations data are kept up to date.

Despite the expansive selection of TLDs, the biggest tech companies still prefer using the well-known generic top-level domains (gTLDs). With a chunky 65.6% share, these gTLDs dominate the domain market in the tech industry, with the .com domain extension being the most popular. According to the Global Domain Report 2024, .com asserts its dominance with an impressive 159.6 million registered domains, albeit with a modest 0.6% year-over-year (YoY) contraction. This prompts intriguing speculation regarding the potential decline of .com's stronghold after two decades of domination.

In the tech industry, ccTLDs currently hold a 23.8% market share. This indicates a smaller representation than the overall domain market, where ccTLDs typically hold a 30-40% share. Leading tech firms mostly operate in different countries and regions, so they secure domains under ccTLDs to target specific regions and offer a localized presence and multilingual websites. Using a mix of traditional TLDs, ccTLDs for a localized presence, and targeted new gTLDs, the tech industry is creating its online presence and reaching customers in different areas.

In the vibrant landscape of the tech industry, it’s no surprise that the .com TLD continues to reign supreme, dominating the market with its universal appeal and recognition factor. The legacy TLDs .org and .net follow. The list expands to include ccTLDs from the world's largest economies across Europe and Asia, reflecting the global nature of the tech industry.

Notably, the American ccTLD .us makes a surprising appearance despite its low profile in the broader domain market. With 2 million registered domains in 2024 and a 3.9% YoY growth, .us showcases a quietly growing interest within tech circles, hinting at a nuanced shift in domain registration trends. And the popular ccTLD .io also takes a place among the top 20 TLDs due to its connotation with input/output.

The strategic adoption of new gTLDs by leading tech firms

The acceptance of new gTLDs has increased in the past few years. In particular, tech-related new gTLDs have gained traction among the globe's most prominent tech firms. These include TLDs like .dev, .app, .xyz, and .support. The leader of the pack over recent years has been .xyz, known for its tech-centric appeal and versatility. This new gTLD recently made headway by engaging with burgeoning communities such as blockchain, Web3 and crypto. As per the Global Domain Report 2024, around 3.8 million .xyz domain names have been registered.

This diverse spectrum of new gTLDs presents several strategic advantages for tech companies. It enables them to bolster their brand protection strategies, forge a broader online identity and mitigate the threat of cybersquatting. Additionally, new gTLDs facilitate the alignment of different brands or products within the same organization and amplify the efficacy of targeting specific regional markets.

Navigating the domain industry one TLD at a time

In the ever-evolving world of technology, in which innovation leads and the market follows, understanding the intricacies between tech companies and their domain strategies delivers a number of insights. As we've delved into the strategic utilization of TLDs by leading tech firms, it becomes apparent that the choices made in this area carry weight in branding, cybersecurity and market dominance.

Despite the plethora of options available, the tech industry's choice of legacy gTLDs speaks to a nuanced strategy of balancing innovation with the recognized trust-building power of established TLDs. Meanwhile, the growing adoption of new gTLDs highlights a forward-thinking approach, leveraging these domains for brand protection, identity expansion, and market-specific targeting.

The Global Domain Report 2024, enriched with data from InterNetX and Sedo, provides additional information for those seeking to further understand the strategies and their implications in the broader tech industry landscape. You can download the full report here: Global Domain Report 2024

This blog post was written by Simone Catania, who currently serves InterNetX as Global Content and Communications Manager. He is responsible for the content across InterNetX's blog and other channels and helps users understand the underpinning mechanisms behind the internet. Simone is an ICANN fellow and a member of EURALO and UASG.

The tech industry continues to drive global innovation and economic growth in 2024. This sector, comprising companies that innovate, produce, and distribute various technology-based goods and services, shape the current digital landscape. It extends across a wide range, encompassing software development, hardware manufacturing, electronics, internet utilities, artificial intelligence, and more. The impact of this sector on the gross domestic product (GDP) and broader economy of several nations is substantial.

The strategic use of TLDs by leading tech firms

Hylke van der Veen

Before this improvement, we simply determined whether a website had an SSL certificate or not. But we can now distinguish between three possible values for the SSL certificate: valid, invalid, and none. The introduction of these new values has resulted in a distinction being made between websites that possess an invalid certificate and those that do not possess one at all, whereas previously, these websites were grouped under the designation 'No.' 

Despite there being no difference between visiting a website with an invalid SSL certificate or no certificate at all, this information is relevant for certificate issuer organizations or hosting services looking to get more insights into their customers' security.

SSL certificates for inaccessible websites

We can now also detect certificates for websites that redirect to other websites or cannot be accessed by our spider. Despite the inability to access such websites in a browser, just attempting to go to the website can unknowingly establish a connection with the server. That is why it is always important to know whether the connection is secure.

The first figure shows that out of the 142 million websites analyzed, 63% of them had a valid certificate. Although this number is down from September 2022, when 65% of sites displayed a valid certificate, we should keep in mind that we've further enhanced our capabilities and now detect certificates on a broader range of sites. 

To make a fair comparison between September 2022 and November 2023, we only look at available websites in both graphs. We see an 8% increase from September 2022, with over 73% of available websites now being protected by a certificate. 

Figure 2 also shows that websites that our spiders cannot access are significantly less likely to be protected by a valid SSL certificate than websites that return an available response or redirect. 

This extended SSL information can be used in a wide range of cases. For example, if we compare the use of SSL certificates of generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) to that of new generic Top Level Domains (new gTLDs), some interesting statistics emerge. 

In Figure 3, we see significantly more websites with a gTLD have a valid SSL certificate compared to websites with a new gTLD, 62% vs. 48%. But although the difference is clear, this does not offer an explanation as to where this difference comes from. To find out why gTLDs are using SSL certificates more often than new gTLDs, we need to dive deeper and look at individual TLDs. 

Figure 4 illustrates the use of SSL certificates for the 33 largest TLDs among generic (shown on top) and new generic ones. There are massive differences in the usage of SSL certificates between these TLDs; coverage ranges from 13.1% for .icu domains to 95.5% for .bond domains. This difference can largely be explained by the types of websites associated with each TLD.

For example, .bond is aimed at the financial world. It is marketed as a premium TLD for financial professionals who want to make a trustworthy impression on their clients. According to our data, business websites are already among the most protected websites, with 86.5% having a valid SSL certificate. Considering that financial businesses rely on an image of security and trustworthiness, it makes sense that so many .bond websites are protected by SSL.

At the bottom of the chart, we find the TLD .icu, which is Internet slang for “I see you”. Interestingly, both .icu and .bond are owned by the same registry, ShortDot. Our data shows over 70% of available .icu websites are low-content or placeholder websites, which could explain the low percentage of websites with a valid certificate. On the other hand, TLDs like .today and .blog, which have a high rate of SSL certificates, cater to types of websites with frequent updates and much interaction from their visitors, thus incentivizing security. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the original gTLDs are more in the center of the certificate distributions, with anywhere between 45% and 62% with valid certificates. These TLDs are well-established and popular, and are therefore less prone to large outliers. The reason then that original gTLDs are seemingly more secure is because the gTLD with the most valid SSL certificates is .com. By far the largest TLD, .com covers nearly half of all domains worldwide and more than 80% of all domains with a gTLD, therefore heavily influencing the number of valid SSL certificates in its group.

While general trends point towards an increase in SSL certificate adoption, the real story lies in the noticeable contrasts between domains. Certain TLDs, like .bond, demonstrate a strong commitment to security, reflecting the industry's need for trustworthiness. 

In contrast, other domains such as .icu show less inclination towards SSL certificates, often hosting content-light or placeholder sites. This exploration not only highlights the critical role of SSL certificates in web trust and security, but also vividly illustrates how the nature of a TLD can significantly shape its security profile. Established domains like .com are still at the forefront of digital trust.

Tech

In a previous blog, we discussed the basics of the TLS protocol, also known as SSL. Since then, Dataprovider.com has released an entire new product, the SSL Catalog, which adds searchable structured SSL certificate data to our database. Additionally, the SSL certificate detection methods have improved, creating even more accurate results. In this blog, we show you how SSL data can help create a more profound understanding of how secure the web is.

SSL trends: New findings on web security and SSL certificate usage

A ccTLD is a two-letter domain extension that signifies a specific country or territory on the internet. These extensions, such as ".es" for Spain or ".uk" for the United Kingdom, play a role in identifying websites and online resources associated with particular nations. 

The process to grant a ccTLD to a geographical region is overseen by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) together with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). When a country or territory wishes to establish its own ccTLD, it must submit a detailed request to ICANN. This application needs to showcase how the desired domain extension aligns with the country's identity and why it's needed.

ICANN and IANA review this request using specific eligibility criteria. Key factors considered include:

the region's unique national or territorial identity

the region's capacity to manage and maintain it efficiently

Once a request gets the green light, ICANN and IANA work closely with the requesting region's designated authority to finalize terms and responsibilities. After establishing an agreement, the ccTLD is integrated into the global domain system. The designated local authority then assumes the role of managing and ensuring the domain's smooth and secure operations.

National or territorial organizations known as ccTLD registries are responsible for managing and issuing the domain extension. Their tasks include maintaining domain names and offering registration services within their designated countries or territories. They also set the  criteria for registering.

Requirements can differ considerably from one registry to another. For example .ca - Canada has very strict rules, the registrant must meet Canadian presence requirements, which typically means being a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or a legally recognized Canadian organization or corporation. Registering a .no - Norway domain also comes with conditions, only Norwegian entities or individuals can register, and there's a limit to the number of domains one can register.

In contrast, some examples of ccTLDs that can be registered by anyone are .co (Colombia), .cc - Cocos (Keeling) Islands, .io - British Indian Ocean Territory, .me - Montenegro, .tv - Tuvalu or .ws - Western Samoa, all of these have minimal restrictions and are available to global registrants.

According to this very nice map over at Nominet (the ccTLD registry for .uk), the largest ccTLDs by registrations are .tk, .cn, .de, .uk and .nl. The ccTLD .tk tends to top the list because it’s free to register a domain name. But these are only registration numbers - which don't mean all these ccTLDs are active websites. Based on our data, the top five ccTLDs with the largest amount of active domains are .de, .uk, .ru, .nl and .br. You can explore the numbers by world region in Figure 1. Among the smallest ccTLDs are .ss (South Sudan), .nr (Nauru), .kp (North Korea), .er (Eritrea) and .mh (Marshall Islands).

The inception of gTLDs dates back to the early days of the internet. In the 1980s the DNS was established to replace the ARPANET's host.txt system. At that time, the initial gTLDs, such as .com, .org, .net, .edu, and .gov, were introduced. They categorized domains based on the nature and purpose of the entities they represented. For instance, .com was primarily intended for commercial entities, while .edu was designated for educational institutions.

The responsibility of administering and overseeing these domains was initially vested in the U.S. Department of Defense. Today however gTLDs, like ccTLDs, are overlooked by IANA and ICANN. The .com TLD is no doubt the most popular, well-established and well-known TLD in the world. Due to its lack of geographical specification, it is often favored by large international corporations that have a global presence. The popularity of .com domains is also reflected in its pricing, as you are typically more likely to pay more for a .com domain than for a respective ccTLD (although not always).

In Figure 1, we compared ccTLDs to each other, based on the total number of active websites. In Figure 2, we look at select countries and compare the share of .com websites to the country’s share of websites with that ccTLD extension. Who wins in which country? 

Perhaps not surprising, due to the liberal registration policies in Colombia and Montenegro, these ccTLDs win over .com in their respective countries. But as we discussed above, these are ccTLDs open to global registrations and are therefore different from most other countries. When we take these two out of the equation, the top three countries with the highest share of active domains using the ccTLD are Chile, Russia and Brazil. On the opposite side of the graph, countries with a much larger share of active .com domains are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Thailand and Canada. Like the US, Canadians may ride the .com train to create an overall wider appeal. It may also reflect strong trade ties with the US. Both .ca and .sa have strict registration policies, so it makes sense that the proportion of ccTLD domains is low. Right in the middle we see the Philippines, Lithuania and Ireland. The ratio of .com to ccTLD domains in these countries is about 1:1.

Of course we did not look at other TLDs that might be popular in these countries. The numbers may shift once you include other TLDs. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see how the distribution changes from one country to another. What might be the reasons for such a large variety? Could national pride be linked to whether a ccTLD or the .com domain is more popular in a given country? 

To test this hypothesis, we correlated reported percentages of national pride with the percentage of domains using the ccTLD extension. In Figure 3 you can see that the two variables are poorly linked, so national pride is not a good indicator whether a ccTLD is popular in that country or not. Obviously, there are many other reasons that could play a role, most likely the ccTLD popularity may just be a reflection of the different registration and pricing policies of the respective registry.

ccTLDs can establish localized trust, creating instant recognition with local customers. They signal that the business or website has a physical presence or caters to a specific country. This effect extends to search engine optimization (SEO), where local search results often favor websites with ccTLDs. ccTLDs are also useful when a business or website needs to comply with regional rules and regulations, especially in critical industries like finance and healthcare, where adherence to local laws is paramount. Lastly, they can help in forming a cultural connection with the target audience. By using a country-specific domain, it implies that the content might be tailored to the local language and cultural norms, thus enhancing the user's experience and engagement.

On the other hand, gTLDs provide a sense of universal recognition and international appeal. Globally acknowledged extensions like .com transcend geographic boundaries, allowing businesses to reach a broader market without being confined to a specific area. gTLDs offer wide availability and diverse applications. Their global nature typically gives more options when choosing a domain name. And the nature of specific extensions like .org or .edu can align with an organization's mission. gTLDs can also assist in uniform branding across different regions, building recognition and reliability.

Choosing between a ccTLD and a gTLD isn't just a technical decision but a strategic one. If you want to focus on local presence, cultural connections, or compliance with regional regulations, a ccTLD may be the perfect fit. But if your vision is global, with an ambition for an expansive reach and flexible branding, a gTLD like .com might be the preferred option. In the vast digital landscape, your choice is a statement about your identity, whether embracing local roots or building a global brand.

Your web address is your unique identifier, and the top-level domain (TLD) plays a crucial role in shaping that identity. TLDs can be categorized into country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), representing specific countries or territories, or generic top-level domains (gTLDs) like .com or .org. When people register a new domain, they have to decide under which TLD they want to register. In the case that both are still available, which one should you choose? And what are other organizations in your country using? Below we’ll take a look at which ccTLDs dominate the web and we dive deeper into the numbers when we take a look at the proportions of websites per country that utilize the respective ccTLD versus the .com generic TLD.

ccTLDs vs. gTLDs: Who wins and where?

Yigit Cem Ozturk

It all has to do with the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of the Cocos Islands: .cc. A ccTLD is unique for each country or autonomous region. Most of these extensions are subject to geographical restrictions. Often you can only get a website with that ccTLD if you have a business or offer services in that country or region. But sometimes they can also be issued to third parties operating outside the corresponding territory. Opening up their unique ccTLD for outsiders can sometimes return a healthy profit for a small nation. Territories like Palau (.pw), Tuvalu (.tv) and Montenegro (.me) were able to earn quite some money from their ccTLD. The same goes for the .cc ccTLD of the Cocos Islands.

In 2021, there were 544 people living on the islands and 414 internet users. Disproportionately, we currently track nearly two million domains with the .cc extension. Of those, 404,590 are active, meaning there is a website behind the domain or the domain redirects to another domain. Lacking any geographical restrictions, .cc is used all around the world.

The popularity of .cc lies in its use as an acronym. CC can stand for a flotilla of things; Christian Church, Catholic Church, community college, call centers, country clubs, cycling couture, creative commons and many others. In addition, .cc is not far off from .com or .co. It is used as an alternative for companies whose preferred domain name ending with .com is already taken. The .cc ccTLD is currently owned by a sub-company of the US tech giant Verisign. They are also responsible for the .com and .net TLDs, making them a technologically reliable partner to get a domain from.

In contrast to this reliability, there are issues surrounding .cc. In 2021, Australian authorities were urged to take control over the domain to thwart scammers and child abuse sites which had set up shop on the .cc ccTLD. Similar issues led to the complete removal of all .co.cc domains from Google’s search engine in 2011. At that time, the extension was heavily used by scammers and phishers. Despite stricter regulations implemented regarding the domain, Dataprovider.com’s Trust Grade shows that there is still work to be done to make .cc more credible.

Our proprietary Trust Grade gives an indication of how trustworthy a website is. It is based on parameters such as the presence or lack of an SSL certificate, contact information, number of changes made on the website as well as other indicators. 

Trust Grades are given by the letters A, B, C, D, E and F; A being the highest grade and F being the lowest. In Figure 1 you can see that 56.7% of .cc domains have a Trust Grade below C, suggesting many of these domains are still lacking basic security measures or authentic content. To put this into context, the distribution of Trust Grades for .com or .co domains is quite different; only 28.7% of .com domains have a Trust Grade of D or lower and for .co the percentage is 28.8%.

Repurposing a ccTLD and removing geo-restrictions can benefit a small nation. But it also makes them an easy target for malicious repurposing. In this scenario, .cc has become the target of these attempts due to its similarity to .co and .com. Scammers can easily bulk purchase these domains, making it hard to track their activities. Similar to many disputes in international relations and international law, supranational legal structures have limited jurisdiction. And the balance between freedom and security makes it hard to make decisions on the non-territorial sphere of the internet, let alone implementing measures.

Cocos (Keeling) Islands is an Australian autonomous territory, located in the east of the Indian Ocean, far off the Jakarta coast and more than 1,000 kilometers away from the mainland. The just over 500 people living on the Cocos Islands are predominantly Muslim (66%). But yet they appear to have a genuine connection to the Christian Church. And there also appear to be a very large number of country clubs affiliated with these islands, without there being a single country club located there. How can a remote group of islands, with just a few hundred, mostly Muslim, inhabitants be interesting to the Catholic Church? And why are country clubs interested in the islands, despite a total lack of country clubs on their territory?

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