Overview

For the second year in a row, we are analyzing MOZ’s 500 most popular websites based on Domain Authority, a link-based metric that models how Google ranks websites.

Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig founded MOZ in 2004. It was called SEOmoz and began as a blog and an online community where some of the world’s first SEO experts shared their research and ideas. 

After seeing the demand, the company moved its focus from consulting to software and reached an impressive 5,000 subscribers by 2009. After several successful funding rounds, SEOmoz rebranded to simply MOZ in 2013. The rebrand was accompanied by the release of Moz Analytics, a suite of campaign-based tools that included features for content, social media, and brand management, in addition to links and rankings.

Since the rebrand, the company has expanded into inbound marketing, acquired several companies, and added new services and offerings, establishing itself as a global market leader.

If you wonder, where does the name “Moz” comes from, here’s what founder Rand Fishkin has to say about it.

Moz, formerly SEOmoz, has a name that was inspired by organizations like DMOZ, Mozilla, and Chefmoz — all companies that strove for engaging their communities with openness and integrity. From the very beginning, we felt passionately about bringing that same integrity to the frustratingly opaque SEO industry.

Rand Fishkin, Founder at Moz

MOZ’s annual top 500 list of the world’s most popular websites is based on Domain Authority, a link-based metric that models how Google ranks websites. Each site is ranked based on the number of other websites that link to it and its Domain Authority score.

Some of the most well-known brands, like Google and Amazon, appear several times with different domain extensions or sub domains. Owning multiple domain names may help with search engine optimization. It can also funnel visitors to your primary domain name and seal any potential email or traffic leaks, as well as help international brands create trust with their local audience.

Highlights

The interesting thing about this year’s chart is that 81% of the MOZ Top 500 Websites 2022 use .com extension domain names, a nearly 20% increase over last year. (405 out of 500 companies operate on .com).

This indicates that .com is not only here to stay but is also growing in popularity, despite The Plot to Kill the .Com.

19 companies operate on .org. The. org extension was created for charities or nonprofit organizations to provide valuable information for a specific purpose, but it’s open for anyone to use. 

11 entries are using .gov extension domains. The domain extension .gov is derived from the word government, indicating that government entities can only use it. The TLD is managed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. Despite being “originally intended for any kind of government office or agency,” only government organizations based in the United States are permitted to register .gov domain names due to the Internet’s origins as a U.S. government-sponsored research network.

Other countries typically delegate a second-level domain for government operations on their country-code top-level domain (ccTLD); for example, the Government of the United Kingdom’s domain is.gov.uk.

14 companies have secured country extensions domain names. In our article, you can learn more about country domain extensions and the risks and benefits of using them.

10 entries operate on the .edu extension. “Edu” is an abbreviation for “education,” as it was created for educational and academic institutions in the United States, such as universities, colleges, and research institutions. Accredited degree-granting institutions of higher learning can only register a .edu domain. EduCause manages the registration and administration of .edu domains.

The “.ac” as a second level (like ac.cn, ac.ma, ac.nz), short for “academia,” is a popular alternative to .edu that is widely used in the United States and globally. This second-level domain should not be confused with the local top-level domain .ac.

Exact brand match domains are preferred by the same number of companies that operate on .com, approximately 80%, with a slight difference of only four names.

None of the companies on the list have included a hyphen in their domain names.

While we make every effort to ensure the data on our site is accurate, complete, and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee its reliability. Our data is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, or other advice. We strongly recommend that you independently verify any information before relying on it.

Other resources

• Fortune 500 List of Companies 2022 and Their Domain Name Choices
• Maximizing SEO Potential with a Memorable and Unique Domain Name
• The Importance of Investing in a Strong Domain Name for Your Business
• Strategies for Success: Mr Marketology’s Tips on SEO, Domain Names, and AI in Marketing

How does your brand name match your company vision? What new horizons can a better name open? Get in touch if you feel your brand deserves a better name, we are always happy to help.

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