The Rise of the .io Domain

The vast majority of websites you use and access each day most likely end in the domain .com. But in recent years, you may have noticed more and more sites ending with different sets of letters. Many tech-based sites, in particular, opt for the .io top-level domain, or TLD, rather than .com or .net.

Why is this? What exactly is the .io domain and what has made it such a go-to choice in a certain subsection of the internet? Read on for all the answers.

An Introduction to the .io Domain

The .io domain is part of the group of top-level domains (TLDs) known as country-code top-level domains, or ccTLDs. Other examples of ccTLDs that you might recognize include .us, .uk, .ru, and .fr. All of these domain names are two-letter designations associated with specific countries: .us for the United States, .ru for Russia, etc.

The .io domain is the ccTLD for the British Indian Ocean Territory, which is a very small island territory of the United Kingdom, located in the Indian Ocean.

The territory extends across just 23 square miles of land, and the only people living there are military personnel – a few thousand of them to be precise – from the U.K. and the U.S. Despite this, the .io TLD has broken into the top 25 most-used TLDs in the world, ranking above ccTLDs for much larger countries with far greater populations.

Why Has .io Become So Popular?

It may seem strange that a domain name that was essentially created for a very small island territory would have such a fervent following. However, the more you know about .io, the easier it is to understand why it’s so popular. Here are four key factors that set it apart:

It’s Beloved by Tech Companies

The .io domain can stand for Indian Ocean, but the “IO” acronym can also have other meanings. Tech enthusiasts will instantly recognize it as being the sign of “input/output,” a very common term when talking about computers and other devices.

Because of this, .io has been a big hit with the tech world. Lots of tech-oriented businesses, and especially startups, have elected to set up .io sites, and it’s becoming increasingly popular with those in fields like crypto, metaverse technology, and gaming, as well.

It’s Easy to Get a .io Site

Some ccTLDs are quite hard to register. You sometimes have to live in the nation the ccTLD was created for, or at least do some business there, in order to set up a site with that specific ccTLD.

But that’s not the case with .io. Almost anyone, from individual people to businesses, can make a .io website, with few questions asked and few restrictions to worry about. You don’t have to have any sort of presence in the territory to get started.

Availability Levels for .io Domains Are Sky High

Many people want .com websites. The domain is a familiar sign that is trusted. It’s something that millions of people know and recognize. But there’s one problem – because .com is so popular, lots of .com site names have already been claimed.

When we compare .io and .com, you can see that over 40% of all websites end in .com, but less than 1% end with .io. That opens up a lot of possibilities and should make it much easier for you to decide to register your name with a .io ending, rather than a .com one.

SEO Performance Is Not Negatively Impacted With an .io Domain

One of the downsides that comes with using certain ccTLDs is that they can have poor SEO performance. If you set up a .fr website, for example, it will perform well on the French version of Google and in French-language searches, but it’s not likely to do so well with English-speaking audiences.

A great aspect of .io sites is that Google treats them not like ccTLDs, but generic TLDs. In other words, .io sites are given the same SEO treatment as sites that end with .com, .org, .net, and other, similar TLDs, so you can still get great rankings on results pages.

Register a .io Domain Today

So if the allure and benefits of.io have convinced you that this is the right domain to use, then why wait? Register your .io domain today and get to work building your .io site.