is it ok to use .io domain?

[hardik9099]

i know.. .com is more preffered and you all will suggest that. but .com or .net is not available ( costs 2000$ so close to no ). .io is available for what domain i want. many startups started using .io and sounds techy.

question is: is it country specific domain? yes, it is. but then will it limit my site's reach to the limited region or it will not affect for international targeting in SEO.

check this. http://www.name.com/blog/domains/2016/06/why-io-powerful-domain-choice/

it says ..
Google treats .IO as gccTLD, so you won’t fall prey to unwanted geo-targeting

but when I searched, it is showing domain .io is assigned to British Indian Ocean Territory. means country level domain.

 

[jamie3000]

You will see .io become very popular. It's quite a cool "in" thing for people in tech at the moment.

 

[3bisu]

Many startup are using .io without any problem. Go for it

 

[Warrenway]

IMO, it depends what your purposes are. Yes, .io domains are frequently used now by tech startups, so having a .io would be fine if you're a tech startup or in a similar niche. If you're in a non-tech niche, however, I would avoid it (if you can).

 

[iOptimize]

Although .io was originally meant for Indian Ocean territory .io is treated by google as a global TLD and don't have any restrictions when targeting a global audience. You should have no problems or drawbacks using it.

 

[hardik9099]

IMO, it depends what your purposes are. Yes, .io domains are frequently used now by tech startups, so having a .io would be fine if you're a tech startup or in a similar niche. If you're in a non-tech niche, however, I would avoid it (if you can).

i want to use it for a app development company portfolio site. .com is too costly for that name and .io is cool matching with the domain. but when i searched, it was showing coutry level. i will need to rank the website for USA, UK and Australia ... will it cause any issue while ranking?

 

[Carol Glover]

There is no problem to use it. The top-level code is for that territory. But you can use it worldwide. And it is a better choice for tech niche than .com.

 

[t5o1m]

I know others have said this, but it depends on what it is being used for IMO. Lots of startups are using .io now, and I think it will continue to become more common. Park .io sells them at auction and the prices can get pretty crazy. I will say the .io renewal cost is higher than the typical .com, .net, .orgs and it is something you should also be aware of. It is cheapest to register a .io at NameCheap as of right now.

 

[Wenndigo]

So we have whois for .net/.com/.org ... does anyone know resources for looking up information on .io domains or .(anything else) ?

 

[t5o1m]

So we have whois for .net/.com/.org ... does anyone know resources for looking up information on .io domains or .(anything else) ?

https://www.eurodns.com/whois-search/io-domain-name

 

[Deleted member 708208]

It's one less letter in the branding and I've never had an issue. =)

 

[Ariful12345]

.io domain is pretty good.

 

[ErrorSMM]

It's just like .co where it's technically a gTLD, but it's used for businesses, startups and companies. People see .io as a startup type domain, and it shouldn't mess with SEO.
.com would obviously be the best option, but .io is great as well.