Overview
Since May 2021, we’ve been on a mission to help entrepreneurs better understand the importance of domain names and how they impact businesses. Over the past few years, we’ve analysed 92,459 domains across 220 categories, providing valuable insights into the trends, patterns, and preferences in domain choices across a wide range of industries and geographic regions.
Our analysis has covered sectors such as Agriculture, Real Estate, Education, Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, Travel, Sextech, Cryptocurrency, Sports, Solar, Gaming, Military, Biotechnology, Oil and Gas, and Finance among others. We examined domains based on a wide range of geographic locations – from India, the UK, and U.S. to Ukraine, Israel, Vietnam, UAE, and Bulgaria.
We’ve explored domains associated with Fortune 500 companies, unicorn companies, the world’s most admired companies, nonprofit organisations, YC-backed startups, music artists, venture capital firms, MOZ top 500 websites, funded startups, you name it!
You can explore all the lists here, and below, we’ll look at some general findings that we found quite interesting.
Domain Extensions: The Top Choices
Out of the 92,459 companies we analysed, 87,207 use the .com domain extension. This may be because .com is the most established and widely used domain extension, having been launched in 1985. Its long-standing presence has given it strong global recognition, making users more familiar with and accustomed to websites using .com.
Following .com, the next most popular domain extensions are:
- .io, with 3,000 domains, widely adopted by tech and startup companies for its association with the “input/output” term. It is actually a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the British Indian Ocean Territory.
- .ai, with 2,229 domains, popular with AI-focused businesses. The .ai domain extension is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean.
- .co, with 1,635 domains, used as an acronym for company or corporation. The .co. is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to Colombia.
You can learn more about the risks and benefits of using country extension domain names in our recent post.
.com and EBM Domains vs Other Extensions
82.1% of the companies we have analysed so far (92,459 domains) use the .com extension. 27.7% use Exact Brand Match (EBM) .com domains. An EBM domain name naturally aligns with what current and potential customers, business partners, and investors expect when searching for a brand online. If a brand is named “Example,” for instance, most people will automatically assume that the website is found at Example.com. This ensures the company is easy to find, strengthens brand consistency, and builds trust, making it a valuable asset for a business’s online presence.
Top Domain Extensions Used by Funded Companies
Of the 34,442 funded companies we have analysed, the .com extension remains the dominant choice, with 24,010 companies using it, followed by .io with 2,068 companies, .ai with 1,488 companies, and .co with 1,004 companies.
Total Funding Raised per Domain Extension
Of the funded companies, those using the .com extension have raised an impressive $4,341.3 billion in funding, making it the leading extension by far. Companies using the .ai extension come in second, raising $53 billion, followed by .io with $48.3 billion, and .co with $23.4 billion.
Total Funding Raised: EBM vs Non-EBM Domains
Of the funded companies with the .com extension, those using Exact Brand Match (EBM) domains have raised $3,324.2 billion, while non-EBM companies have raised $1,461.4 billion. This suggests that EBM domains may have a notable impact on a company’s overall brand presence and success.
Character Length Distribution for Funded Domains
Among the 34,442 domains of funded companies that we have analysed, the majority fall within the 5-10 character range. The most frequently used domain length is 8 characters, followed by 7 characters, then 9 characters, and 6 characters.
Total Funding by Domain Length for Funded Domains
When analysing the total funding raised by domain length among funded companies, we found the following:
- Companies with 6-letter domains raised the most funding, totalling $988 billion.
- 9-letter domains followed with $653.5 billion.
- 5-letter domains raised $604.1 billion.
- 7-letter domains raised $592.8 billion.
This data shows that domain names with 5 to 9 characters seem to be particularly effective in attracting funding, likely because they are easy to remember and meaningful without being too lengthy.
We hope that the information we’ve shared so far has been useful in helping you better understand the impact of domain names on business success. By analysing companies, trends, and funding data, our aim is to equip you with valuable insights that can guide your domain choices and strengthen your brand’s online presence. If you have any further questions or need more details, we’re here to assist you.
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