What are cityTLDs?
Very simply, they are city-specific “new” TLDs that target some of the world’s biggest cities. Domain investors and end users register domains under cityTLDs to boost businesses and promote local interests. Some of these cityTLDs restrict domain registrations to residents of the city, such as .NYC.
As of today, 36 cities enjoy their digital city brand and some of them even have two TLDs or an IDN version! For example Barcelona with .barcelona and .bcn, Istanbul with .istanbul and .ist, Cologne with .koeln and .cologne, Moscow with .moscow and .mockba and Abu Dhabi with .abudhabi and ابوظبي.
InterNetX, our premium sponsor, presents the highlights of a market research performed by DOTZON. The original research is in German, so InterNetX stepped in to provide us with important metrics in English. Here’s what they sent us:
Top 10 most successful cityTLDs.
For the fifth time, DOTZON has examined the success factors and key performance indicators of cityTLDs and published their findings in their study “Digital City Brands 2021” (PDF, available in German). Let’s look at the cities with the most successful domain extensions in 2021.
1# .berlin
The cityTLD of the German capital remains at the top of the chart as the best digital city brand for the fifth year in a row. The domain is operated by dotBERLIN and it was the first cityTLD available to the public.
2# .tokyo
The Japanese capital holds the second position in the Top 10 ranking of most successful cityTLDs worldwide.
3# .nyc
New Yorkers have their digital home in .nyc.
4# .amsterdam
The Dutch capital loves its cityTLD! The domain achieves excellent values in most of the parameters taken into account by DOTZON.
5# .koeln
Moving from tenth to fifth position, the city on the Rhine has improved dramatically over the last 12 months.
6# .miami
The coastal city in Florida has achieved the biggest climb in 2021, from 16th to 6th place!
7# .hamburg
Hamburg is the third German city in the Top 10 of the most successful cityTLDs!
8# .london
By June 2021, 47,122 domain names were registered under .london, which corresponds to the fourth-best value in the city ranking.
9# .paris
One of the most significant metropolitan cities globally could certainly not be missing from the top cityTLD charts.
10# .brussels
The Belgian capital has paved its way into the Top10 chart for the first time, climbing two positions over last year.
Do you want to learn more? Read the InterNetX article “The 10 most successful cityTLDs in 2021“.
