9 creative alternatives to .com and .co.uk domains | Heart Internet Blog – Focusing on all aspects of the web

Choosing a domain is an essential part of setting up a business online, but picking the right one can be tricky.

Not least, because many .com and .co.uk addresses are already taken and in use.

But did you know that there are almost 1,500 alternatives to .com and .co.uk out there?

Below we list nine of these creative top-level domains (aka TLDs), which can be used instead of or as well as a more typical domain.

Plus, later, we address a couple of questions that often get raised about these more quirky domain endings.

The sale prices displayed are part of our current domain sale. For T&Cs see here.

.guru – was £24.99/yr now £2.99/yr

This playful domain is a great way to imply to people that you’re an expert in your field. At the moment on the web, people use it to sell everything from IT training to English language tutoring.

.boutique – was £24.99/yr now £2.99/yr

This domain not only identifies your business as a shop in the search engine results, it earmarks you as a high end or luxury store.

Using a domain like this can really contribute to your brand identity, adding to the sense of exclusivity or quality that you’re trying to covey with all your other branding.

.coffee – was £24.99/yr now £8.99/yr

Over recent years coffee has become so much more than a morning drink. There’s a whole cult around it today and this domain celebrates that fact.

.coffee is the domain for people who take their coffee seriously. It’s for the coffee shops, the latte artists, the professional baristas and the coffee roasters.

It’s the domain equivalent of a moka pot brew when the competition is serving instant.

.bargains – was £24.99/yr now 10.99/yr

Shoppers are always on the lookout for bargains. Some research suggests that 65% of shoppers will even check for price comparisons on their mobile phones while they are shopping in a physical store.

So, a .bargains domain is an ideal option for companies that offer discounts or even pre-loved or factory seconds.

.fitness – – was £39.99/yr now £6.99/yr

The fitness world has mushroomed over recent years. As gyms have become more boutique and fitness classes have become more niche, business names have become increasingly obscure.

For example, what do you think of when you hear the words Orangetheory and Bounce? There’s a good chance it’s not exercise, but the former is a workout studio brand and the latter is a workout phenomenon that sees class goers exercising on mini trampolines.

This is where the .fitness domain comes it. It helps you associate your carefully curated business name with fitness from within the search engine results pages.

.me – was £14.99/yr now £3.99/yr

For individuals, the .me domain adds a personal touch to a web address, making it ideal for bloggers and those who need an online CV or portfolio site.

For businesses, the .me domain presents the opportunity to add a call to action to a web address.

For example, teach.me, drive.me, paint.me, build.me, and so on.

It inspires action from the search engine results pages.

.ninja – was £19.99/yr now £6.99/yr

Another playful domain, .ninja gives you the opportunity to suggest to visitors that you’re the most skilled in your field.

Today, it’s used by everyone from web designers to high speed train booking sites.

.rocks – was £14.99/yr now £7.99/yr

The .rocks domain gives businesses the opportunity to inject some passion into their domain name.

Think yoga.rocks, reading.rocks, surfing.rocks – the list is endless.

.wtf – – was £24.99/yr now £2.99/yr

This domain won’t be suitable for all businesses. However, if your venture involves humour, playful discussion or spotlighting the bizarre, then this could be a great option for you.

You will know your audience and if a domain like this would go down well with them.

A note on creative TLDs and SEO

Google has confirmed that it treats the less well-known TLDs the same as more traditional ones, like .com, when it comes to its search rankings.

It said: ‘We’ve heard and seen questions and misconceptions about the way we treat new top level domains (TLDs), like .guru, .how, or any of the .BRAND gTLDs, for example.

“Overall, our systems treat new gTLDs like other gTLDs (like .com and .org). Keywords in a TLD do not give any advantage or disadvantage in search.”

Creative TLDs and digital brand protection

If you already have a more conventional domain name with a .com, .co.uk or a .net – and so on – you can use the more creative domains, like those mentioned above, to complement what you already have.

Find out more in our blog ‘Four ways domains can help you protect your brand identity online’.

Domains at Heart Internet

We offer all the above domains and more than 100 more at Heart Internet. .pizza, .pink, .beer, .dance, .events, .expert and .recipes are just a few of the other options.

We keep our prices affordable and offer regular sales to make sure you have even more room in your budget.

Check out the full list of options, as well as our current sale prices on our Domains page.

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