Although the internet has no practical limit, it’s incredibly densely populated with sites, users, and data, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if you find that the domain name you envisaged for your site is already taken.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change your domain name.
There are other Top-Level Domains (TLD) you can choose from. Even though .cc is the country code for the top-level Domain for Cocos, you can still use a .cc domain for your website.
I guess you tried looking for .com first, as it’s the most recognizable, but there are several other options to choose from
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For Which Country Is .cc The Domain Extension?
.cc was initially developed as the country code top-level domain for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory in the Eastern Indian Ocean roughly 2,290 miles west of the Northern Australian coast.
However, the domain .cc is administered by US company VeriSign via a subsidiary known as eNIC. Its goal is to promote .cc as the next internationally recognized and registered Domain, succeeding .com.
About 50% of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus use .cc, with the other half opting to use .nc.tr.
What Does “Internationally Registered” Mean?
eNIC hopes they can promote .cc to the point that international registration seems like a natural progression, but what exactly does this mean?
Well, this means that the trademark owners can register .cc in multiple jurisdictions, effectively taking the TLD global, meaning anyone in the world could use it as part of their Domain.
Why Are People Starting To Use .cc Domain?
While the idea of .cc replacing .com seems a little ambitious, this TLD is gaining much traction in the US, the UK, and various other countries.
People mainly choose it because it’s a widespread abbreviation. For instance, it could stand for Christian Church, Catholic Church, Cycling Club, Cricket Club, Consulting Company, Community Center, Community College, Commercial Company, you name it.
A real-life example of this application can be seen in the site address for the home pages of the Arduino project, as this company uses a myriad of Creative Commons licenses.
You’ll also see a lot of .cc domains used in the web addresses of Cape Cod businesses, as it insinuates their locality, and if you’re a fan of Canadian Club whiskey, well, you know where this is going.
The convenience of .cc doesn’t start and end with its flexibility regarding abbreviations.
.cc Is Easy To Remember
.cc is arguably easier to remember than .com and is even more fun to say, but I digress. The fact that it’s so short, snappy, and sibilant makes it a potent earworm that people won’t forget when typing out a site address.
Other more obscure domains aren’t sticky enough for people to latch onto, but once you hear or read .cc, it stays with you.
.cc Looks Professional
Okay, so most people don’t have a personal taste in TLDs, but whether you realize it or not, .cc is quite a sleek and professional-looking TLD. If it somehow lines up with an abbreviation, it’s a fantastic means of emphasizing your brand.
.cc Is Affordable
Another aspect of domain TLDs you may not be familiar with if you’re starting a website is that they have discrete values. In other words, you will pay a different price to register a .com domain than you would a .inc domain.
This means that you have to factor your domain choice into your budget, and, thankfully, .cc domains are very affordable indeed — You’re looking at something to the tune of $10.99 per year.
.cc Second-Level Domains
A second-level domain (SLD) is the section of a web address that comes before the TLD. For instance, in the address yoursimplehosting.com, “yoursimplehosting” is the second-level Domain, while “.com” is the top-level Domain.
You might also run into some TLDs with an SLD prefix to elaborate on the type of online entity a user will visit. Some popular examples include:
- com.cc — Insinuates a commercial nature
- net.cc — Insinuates networking of some kind
- edu.cc — Insinuates an educational authority
- org.cc — Insinuates a non-profit organization
A few others are owned by subdomain registration companies, such as cc.cc, cu.cc, and cz.cc. These subdomains are often free to register, but be wary if you plan on using one, as you might end up tarred and feathered by association.
The co.cc Controversy
The co.cc subdomain has become particularly tarnished over the past few years as it has played host to spammers, particularly those that create “splogs” (spam blogs).
Splogs are built from the ground up to promote another site or sell links/ads. They’re nasty things with absolutely zero value for internet users and can cost businesses an absolute fortune to market themselves online.
To curb this deviance, Google removed and banned over 11 million .co.cc websites from its search results, offering owners of legitimate .co.cc subdomains a chance to have their site reconsidered.
A significant number of faux antivirus program sites were registered under the .co.cc subdomain, and between 2012 and 1014, the maintaining company removed all .co.cc servers from the web.
No statement was given, but I assume it was to get the Domain back on the straight and narrow and possibly even to avoid a few legal disputes.
All this is to say that some .cc domains have a bad reputation, and you don’t want to be tarred with the same brush.
Final Thoughts
I don’t think that .cc will be inheriting the TLD throne from .com any time soon, but considering how saturated the web is with .com domains, I can guarantee it will start falling out of favor. Some might say .com has already begun its descent.
Only you can decide if the .cc domain is right for your site, but it does have a lot going for it in certain situations, so it’s worth your consideration.
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