Domain Name Extensions - What The Dot Com
Have you ever stopped to wonder why the majority of websites have a dot com domain extension when there are so many others to choose from? Does dot com really make that big of difference to your website or your visitors? In short, yes it does. All massive hosting companies offer .com registrations. Since dot com domain names are popular, most people will type a company name followed by dot com over any other extension. If they don't find your site, they move on to another site.
Why The Dot Com Obsession
Dot com domain names registration was originally reserved for commercial sites, hence the com abbreviation. This extension helped consumers tell the difference between a site selling them something or a non-profit. Now, personal blogs and websites use the extension just as much as commercial sites, whether they are earning anything or not.
In fact, there is even a trend where parents are checking to see which domain names are available for their child, before they are born. The purpose is to help brand their child and reserve them a space on the Internet. This concept of branding is a major reason people are so obsessed with finding the perfect domain names with the dot com extension.
Even domain names registration sites default to dot com over other extensions when you perform a domain search. For most, this is considered the professional extension and should be used whenever possible. However, there are other domain name extensions which may work best for your site, depending on its purpose.
Not The Only Extension Worth Using
Dot com is not the end all be all of domain name extensions. Overall, there are six commonly used extensions for domain registrations. These do not include two letter country code extensions. Some domains are only available for certain entities to register, while others are open to everyone.
Common extensions include:
- Net – This is most commonly used for a network of sites and can be registered by anyone.
- Org – This extension was originally created for use by non-profit organizations, but can be used for other purposes by any person or entity.
- Info – Domain names with this extension are often used for information only sites, sales pages or fact sheets. It's considered an open extension for any use, though. Many Internet users do not trust dot info domains.
- Edu – Only educational institutions are allowed to register this domain extension. In 2001, only post-secondary accredited institutions were allowed to use it.
- Gov – Only government agencies are allowed to register and use dot gov extensions.
- Mobi – Recently coming into the light, dot mobi is used to represent mobile compatible websites.
- Name – Only individuals can register this domain. It is used for personal names.
It is vital when registering a domain that you only choose an extension that you meet the requirements for. For instance, if a company registers under dot name, their domain can be taken away if anyone discovers it. Ideally, the best domain search has options available for dot com, but if not, most users choose to register the dot org or dot net version of the domain. You should never register a country domain extension unless your business is based in that country.
With the popularity of smartphones and tablets, many companies are creating mobile based websites. These sites are now designated with a dot mobi extension. Google is even offering plans to offer better ranking to mobile optimized pages using AdWords:
“We will be introducing the mobile optimization of a website as a new factor of ads quality for AdWords campaigns that are driving mobile search traffic. As a result of this change, ads that have mobile optimized landing pages will perform better in AdWords -- they will generally drive more mobile traffic at a lower cost.”

A Look At Costs
Most dot com registrations will run around $12 to $20 a year, with most others ranging from $10 to $30 a year. With the relatively inexpensive cost, many companies choose to register multiple extensions to prevent consumers from visiting the wrong site. If you can register a dot com, you really don't need any of the others. As a major brand, it is beneficial to register dot net, dot org and dot mobi.
References:
http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2011/09/mobile-website-optimization-now-factors.html