If you’re looking to improve your local SEO instantly or make your branding memorable, you can use a two-letter domain name (or ccTLD). Here are some of the best options.
Country TLDs: How Domains Help Businesses Target Specific Regions
Written by Liam Campbell ·
🔍 Summary:
Let's break with tradition and give you the TL;DR about TLDs first – Country code TLDs (or ccTLDs) can help boost your local visibility. Search engines will actively utilize local ccTLDs for geographic targeting, which can help increase your local search ranking. However, a domain should only be one part of your SEO strategy, with other factors like keyword usage and trustworthy content being key.
đź“‹ Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Country TLDs
Country domain names (technically called country code TLDs or ccTLDs) are the only two-letter domains available to the general public. This was done by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) in the mid-1980s to standardize domains across countries, using the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes as the base to assign each country (and some territories and international organizations like the EU) with two letters they can use for local domain names.
The registrations on all country TLDs combined make up less than 40% of all registrations, even below .com as a single domain extension. While this might be disheartening at first, you have to remember just how massive .com, .org, and .net are in terms of visibility and ease of registration.
Each TLD's registrar is typically managed by a local government-supported organization, which certifies the domains and ensures they are used responsibly. As such, some countries, like Russia, require you to have a business registered in the country.
Currently, there are roughly 250 country codes, some of which are unused or under review. This is typically an indicator of a territory's international recognition or disenfranchisement from the sovereign country.
2. How Country TLDs Can Help Your Website
A website is probably the first thing your potential customers interact with when they want to view your products and services. And if you want to get the most attention, your website's domain name is the first "flag" they might see in their search.
With this in mind, country code TLDs offer a few notable perks.
2.1 Short TLDs
One of the main benefits of country domains is that they are two letters long, and are in fact the shortest top-level domains you can register for (technically, IANA has reserved one-letter TLDs, but they were never opened for registration). Furthermore, the only two-letter TLDs you have available are country TLDs, so if you want a short domain name, they are the obvious choice.
The advantage that brevity opens is an avenue for making the entire domain name shorter and easier to remember. More importantly, links to your website can easily fit on promotional material and online ads, and most people will be able to manually type them out.
2.2 Inherent Guarantees
In general, countries with stricter laws and a better internet infrastructure will more closely monitor their domain name infrastructure and ensure that the websites hosted under that domain are legitimate and used for their intended purposes.
This has the added benefit of showing trustworthiness for local audiences. Someone in the UK will immediately recognize the .co.uk domain as not only being targeted at them, but also hosting content that should be safe to use and rely on.
Of course, this does come with two caveats.
First, not all countries enforce ICANN's (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) rules and recommendations equally. Some country TLDs have become popular for scammers, such as the largely defunct .su for the Soviet Union or the .ph for the Philippines.
Secondly, some countries maintain much stricter standards and regulatory requirements and can limit who or what can register websites under their domains. This can go beyond simply needing to have a legitimate business in the country and include what type of content is hosted on the website, and if it aligns with the country's geopolitical landscape.
3. Regional SEO Boost
Most people know what their country's code is, and will see a website that ends in the same country's domain as more legitimate and targeted at that country. If you're a local business specifically working for clients and customers inside that country, a country domain can be a good first impression and showcase of dedication.
This can be further improved by making sure that the websites are made in the country's primary language (such as German for .de). To that end, a lot of countries also have alternative country domains that use different scripts that can be used for immediate local signaling.
Of course, this alone doesn't immediately make your website rank higher in search engine results. A combination of content, contact information, and even where the server is hosted can be factors in whether Google considers you as a good "hit" for a local search.
3.1 Domain Hacking and Wordplay
Since country domains are only two letters long, many letter combinations have ended up being incorporated into parts of the English vocabulary, such as adverbs or pronouns. For example:
- Libya's code is .ly, which has been popularized for the URL shortener Bitly, as bit.ly, and even TikTok started as musical.ly
- Montenegro's code is .me, which, as the first-person pronoun, is one of the more obvious choices for personal websites or websites that have the phrasing that ends in "me"
- Andorra's domain is .ad, which has been popularized for advertising agencies
- Country codes .am and .fm are frequently used for radio and broadcasting services, which resulted in Armenia and Micronesia (which own the respective domains) opening registrations worldwide
- Belize's domain .bz looks like .biz and is frequently used for business management websites
- Colombia's domain is similar to .com, which has been used as a URL shortener, a .com replacement if the original was not available, but also for impersonation of .com websites
Notably, if domain hacking becomes so prevalent for a particular domain, it becomes a generalized country code TLD (or gccTLD). Google's list of generic country domains means that these websites might not get any local SEO boost from their domain name alone.
4. Most Popular or Notable Country Domains
.cn: China
China's large population means that it shouldn't be a big surprise that there are over 33 million registered .cn websites. More importantly, China doesn't actually have a registration requirement, but you do need to provide ID and information on what you intend to do with a website so it can be reviewed by CNNIC. While this means registrations are open to anyone, serving the Chinese market in particular will mean you're more likely to get a go-ahead once you purchase a .cn domain from Register.Domains.
China also operates its own search engine, Baidu, which is arguably more used than Google and has been known to prioritize .cn websites.
.de: Germany
Germany's domain has around 18 million registrations based on information from early 2024 and projected growth. Notably, you'll need to have a registered German address to get a website for this domain, but that's as far as requirements go.
If you want to go into the German market without a local physical presence, Register.Domains has a trustee service where you could use its local contact and purchase a .de domain.
Additionally, the country subdomains .co.de and .com.de don't have any regulations.
.uk for the United Kingdom
Britain's domain has around 11 million registrations as of 2025. Interestingly, the .uk domain is relatively recent when it comes to registration availability, with the .co.uk second-level domain being far more used (at a ratio of about 5-to-1). Additionally, companies that are using a .co.uk domain get first dibs on a similar .uk domain for name resolution disputes.
.ga for Gabon
Gabon has previously had a marketing deal with an international domain registrar, Freenom, where it would offer free domains to boost its popularity. However, this deal ended in 2023, allegedly because most websites were used for spam or fraud.
This led to a sharp decline in the number of registrations, but some statistics suggest that .ga is still among the top five most popular ccTLDs with around 7 million registrations. The requirements for getting a website are also a bit odd, as a domain must be linked to another listed website to keep it running, or have a listed trustee service or a physical address in Gabon.
5. How to Choose a Country Domain
Considering the similarities and differences between gTLDs and ccTLDs, you'll need to consider a few factors when choosing your domain name.
Determining the Audience and Reach
Most ccTLDs are meant to be used for local websites targeting a local population, so they may get limited results during international searches. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage depending on where your primary audience resides.
However, do note that this doesn't matter much if you choose one of the genericized country domains, such as .me, .tv. .ai, or similar. Search engines will see that most of the websites have no relation to the country they're supposedly in and will ignore the domain name as part of local branding.
Name Availability
Considering that .com is the market leader with over 50% of websites registered under it, a country domain is an excellent next choice. This allows you to snag a good domain name and still keep it similar to your company's branding.
Most companies that do have aspirations of going big also partake in something called defensive registration: using multiple domains. This can prevent cybersquatting or someone else from taking your domain while you're still trying to iron out the details of your services and reach.
Cost
Some ccTLDs can be relatively cheap to register, especially compared to a similarly-named .com name (if one is available). But others can be incredibly pricy to register and renew, making them into much more of an investment.
On the flip side, that high price also deters others from doing the same. If you're dead set on targeting a specific market, a costlier domain name can be worth it to rank higher in local searches.
Requirements and Regulations
As mentioned, some countries have specific regulations on who can register a domain under their TLD and how. You'll need to research whether these requirements clash with your branding or if bypassing them (such as by using a trustee service for physical addresses and contact) might make the domain too costly.
6. Get Your Next Domain to Boost Rankings
A good combination of country-specific domains and targeted keywords can allow you to market to a particular country or region much more effectively than if you were using a .com name. However, domain names should be just a part of your online strategy.
But why not make that part as simple as it can be?
With a seamless registration requirement and access to over 1,000 TLDs (including country domains and generic ones), Register.Domains can help you get started and set up a website in minutes. Best of all, it comes with a detailed search for all names, so you don't have to manually search country registrars. Then, you get transparent pricing information for the website, renewal, and optional services like DNS and email hosting, so you can plan your business strategy accordingly.
Ready to Secure Your Country Domain?
Go to Register.Domains and find your next website name and register it before someone else does.
Search Domains Now7. FAQs
What Is the Newest Country Domain?
The country of South Sudan was assigned .ss in 2011, and the domain opened in 2019. The small island of Sark (in the English Channel, belonging to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, itself a self-governing British Crown dependency) was assigned .sq from its French name in 2020, but the domain is not yet registered.
Can I Use a Country TLD if I'm Not Located in That Country?
That entirely depends on the country's domain. Some are open to everyone while others require a physical address or proof of business registration. You'll need to check the specific requirements for every country.
Will Using a Country TLD Hurt My Global SEO?
Generally, yes, as ccTLDs typically signal that your website is positioned for a local audience. However, some genericized TLDs ignore this. You can also set up geotargeting settings in Google Search Console for subdomains and subdirectories to partition your website for local and global searches.
What Happens if a Country Name Changes or Stops Existing?
If a country stops existing, its domain name is either discontinued or inherited by the succeeding country. New countries can receive unused country codes and have transition periods to transfer from the previous domain name to the new one.
