All About The .LLC Top-Level Domain
- By Douglas Moore
- July 21, 2020
Anyone who’s running an LLC, i.e. Limited Liability Company, is in for a treat. As a continuation of the wave of new top-level domains that started coming out in 2014, the .LLC gTLD (generic top-level domain) entered the pool a couple of years ago.
As Google, and other search engines, don’t discriminate between gTLDs, you won’t lose any SEO rankings by registering your company under an .LLC domain rather than the popular .com. Still, before deciding on using this new domain extension for your website, you may want to familiarize yourself with it a bit better. When did it launch? How popular is it? Who’s administering it? We’ll answer these questions, and much, much more.
What Is .LLC? When Did It Launch?
.LLC is an nTLD – new top-level domain – which is a recent addition to the ICANN’s (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) initiative for new gTLDs. With the rising needs of the internet, this non-profit organization decided it was time to add some extensions to the dot beyond the popular com, org, net, and so on.
.LLC is one of these new arrivals that are meant to help companies and individuals better clarify the website’s purpose and identity online. This domain extension is a gTLD, or generic top-level domain, which means that it’s not limited to geo-targeting like ccTLDs (country-code top-level domains). This makes it a great way to reach a worldwide audience.
The .LLC domain launched on September 19, 2018.
Who Administers the .LLC Domain?
The .LLC domain is administered by Afilias Limited, a top-level domain registry. This registry already holds some of the world’s most widely used gTLDs, such as .info, .bet and .pet.
Why Should You Register an .LLC Domain? What Is It Used For?
The .LLC domain is meant to be used by Limited Liability Companies, or LLCs. This will allow your company to have its full name right there in the domain, with the LLC standing after the dot. It reduces the hassle of adding a .com after the LLC bit – and clarifies the status of your company, keeping your online identity clear to potential customers.
Keep in mind that the .LLC domain extension is a bit pricier than the .com and some other new top-level domains. While a .com is around $20/year, the .LLC costs about $35. However, there are a lot more .LLC domains available than .com domains for just the registration price without needing to buy it from someone else, which makes .LLC a lot more affordable in most instances.
How Popular Is the .LLC gTLD?
As of July 2020, the .LLC gTLD accounts for 0.04% of all registered domains, with 15,292 domains live today.
How Do You Get an .LLC Domain?
The .LLC domain is very affordable for most businesses, and it’s available from us here at Domain Name Sanity with a much wider variety of domains available than the .com extension. Find your new .LLC domain name today!
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