Country domain vs .com: how to choose

Country domain or .com? Take a country domain such as .be, .de or .nl when you mainly sell in that one country: Google treats it as a strong signal that the site is meant for that country, and local buyers recognise it. Take a .com, or a .eu inside the EU, when you sell across borders, and put each market in its own folder (/de/, /fr/) on that one domain. Whatever you choose, register it in your company's name, not your web builder's, and switch on auto-renewal.

The name matters more than the extension. A short name you can spell over the phone without explaining, without hyphens or digits, that sounds like your company rather than a search term, beats a perfect extension. This guide covers both, with the renewal prices you pay every year after the first.

What Google does with a country domain and a .com

Google's documentation on multi-regional sites is clear on three points:

• A country-code domain(.be, .de, .fr, .nl) is "a strong signal" that a site is intended for that country. Good if that is your market, limiting if you later want to rank in others.
• A generic domain(.com, .net, .io) is not tied to any place. You target countries through the structure of the site and with hreflang tags that say which page is for which language or country.
• Regional domains such as .euare treated as generic, even though they belong to a region. A .eu does not make you local in Germany or France.

A domain per country sounds tidy, but every domain has to earn its own authority in Google from zero. For most companies one domain with folders wins. How to build those language versions properly is covered in our page on a multilingual website and in what is technical SEO.

Who may register which extension

The first year is often cheaper: OVHcloud asks 6.99 euros for a new .be, 7.49 for a .eu and 7.99 for a .com. Look at the renewal price, because you pay that every year after. A non-EU company without an EU entity cannot hold a .eu; a US or UK company that wants one needs an EU-based subsidiary or an eligible person as holder.

At the end of 2025 there were 1,701,999 .be domains alone. Short names in any established extension are mostly taken, so start with a list rather than one favourite.

Six rules for a good domain name

1. Short and easy to say

Say your domain out loud to someone on the phone. If you have to spell, explain or repeat it, it is too long. Shorter means fewer typos and more recall. Aim for two words or fewer.

2. No hyphens or digits

Hyphens and digits always need explaining. Avoid them. If you cannot, register the version without as well and redirect it.

3. Read it written together, in every language

Words joined together sometimes read as something else. Write the name in lower case without spaces and read it slowly, also in the languages of your buyers.

4. Your company name, not a search term

A domain full of keywords, like cheap-web-design-london.com, used to look like a shortcut into Google. It no longer works: Google ranks the content of your pages, not your address. A brand name builds trust and still fits when you grow.

5. Will it fit in five years?

A city or product in your domain becomes a brake as soon as you expand. Want local visibility? Do it with a page per city and a Google Business Profile; see create a Google Business Profile.

6. Think of your email

Your domain becomes your email address. info@yourcompany.com looks more professional than a free mailbox, and it stays yours when you change provider.

Worked example: a domain over five years

A company registers yourcompany.be and protects .eu and .com. Over five years, before VAT:

The same .be costs five times more over five years at one registrar than at another. Some registrars include more service, such as local-language support; that is a choice, not a must. What the rest of your site costs per year is in website maintenance cost per year.

How to register a domain

1. List three to five names that pass the rules above.
2. Check availability at a registrar.
3. Check the name as a trademark. Registering a domain gives you no right to the name. Search the EUIPO register for the EU and your national register, free and online. An existing mark with the same name in your sector can cost you the domain later.
4. Register it to your company, with a general email address that stays when someone leaves.
5. Switch on auto-renewal and note which registrar holds it and how to log in.
6. Point it at your site and email with DNS records, or have your web builder do it.

Mistakes that cost you the domain

• The domain is in your web builder's nameIf the relationship ends, you have to ask for your own address. Whoever owns the domain owns your site and your email.
• An expired domainMiss a renewal and, after a grace period, anyone can register it, including people who resell it.
• An outdated email address as ownerRenewal and transfer notices then go nowhere.
• A trademark disputeFor .be, disputes run through a written procedure at CEPANI that takes 55 days on average; lose it and you lose the domain. For .com, the UDRP plays the same role.
• Bait pricingA domain at 0.99 euros the first year and 50 after is no bargain.

Moving your domain to another registrar

You can transfer a domain without your site going offline. Ask your current registrar for a transfer code (also called an auth code), give it to the new registrar and confirm. Take your DNS records along so site and email keep working. Moving the site at the same time? Read moving a website to a new host first. If the site no longer shows in Google afterwards, run the website not showing on Google check.

Your domain and your email

Your domain also carries your email, and mail from a domain without the right DNS records lands in spam. Three records matter: SPF says which servers may send for your domain, DKIM signs each message, and DMARC tells receiving servers what to do when a message fails both. Since 2024 Gmail and Yahoo require them from anyone sending in bulk. Whoever sets up your domain should set these too, and they move along when you transfer the domain.

A domain is not yet a website

A domain alone is not a site. You need hosting or a website builder, and the site itself. Not sure you need one yet? Start with do I need a website. What a site costs is in how much does a website cost; whether to build it yourself is in build your website yourself or hire someone, and which builder to pick in Wix or WordPress.