GO.CO

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Frequently Asked Questions  /  General Questions

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    Every website lives within a domain space such as .com, .net, .biz and others. Introduced to satisfy the need for short and memorable web addresses, .CO is a new domain extension that offers you a global option for branding your online presence.

    .CO is already meaningful and recognizable in multiple languages and cultures.

    • It's the acronym for "company". For most people1, the two letters – CO – are recognized as meaning company and/or corporation across the globe. Look around and someone near you is already using the letters CO in that context.

    • It's used in country-code domain extensions. More than 20 countries use .CO to mean company and/or commercial content in their websites (e.g. .co.uk, .co.in, .co.il, .co.jp, etc.). By adding a .CO domain to their online marketing strategy, country specific websites can now have a version of their site serving their global customers.

    • In other uses it has geographic meaning. CO means Colombia and it also means the State of Colorado in the USA.

    1 According to a research study conducted by Penn, Schoen and Berland in 2009, out of 600 past and prospective domain registrants in the USA, more than 75% of respondents associated .CO with company, corporation, or other commercial endeavors.

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    .COM is the legacy domain extension with more than 100 million registrations. Stick with .com if you're OK with the status-quo. .CO on the other hand is fresh, shorter, social, and... it's available! With an increasing number of people web browsing on mobile devices, the need for short and memorable web addresses has never been so important. In essence, if you want something innovative and cutting edge, go with .CO.

    Domain extensions like .info, .mobi, .org and .tv enjoy specific niche markets, which is great if that is what you need for your online branding. .CO is different in that it is more general in meaning and not niche specific.

    .CO is registered just like all the other domain extensions. You can get it from domain retailers (a/k/a registrars) for one year or multiple years in advance. As long as you renew your .CO web address, it's yours to keep.

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    Yes, it sure does! Google has specifically labeled .CO as a generic domain extension ("gccTLD" to be exact) and that means your site is given equal treatment in their search results pages assuming you have quality content. Check out our section about .CO and SEO for more information.

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    It's fairly simple and your search engine rankings will not be affected. Just make sure to implement 301 redirects appropriately. Check out the section on how to upgrade to .CO.

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    Absolutely. In a little-known language called "ICANN-ese", .CO is the ccTLD for the country of Colombia according to ISO 3166. However, if you're interested in building a website for users in Colombia, we highly recommend using a .COM.CO domain instead. It's the domain extension used by Google in Colombia and some of the largest websites targeting Colombian users. If you're building a global site, targeting users in any country in the world, go with .CO.

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    .CO was launched globally on July 20th, 2010. To learn more about our trajectory, check out our three year anniversary infographic.

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    .CO Internet S.A.S. is a Colombian simplified stock corporation that was formed for the express purpose of developing and operating the .CO Internet registry. Its parent company, Registry Services, LLC ("Registry Services") is a leading provider of global registry and managed DNS services for top-level domains, including .US and .BIZ.

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    As the Administrator of the .CO top-level domain, we both recognize and embrace our responsibility to serve as a trustee for the .CO name space – a unique digital resource with broad, global appeal. We are committed to managing both the .CO registry, and the domain name system that underpins it, as a steward of both the local and the global Internet communities.

    The .CO registry has been built on a long and proven track record of technological excellence, operational performance, product innovation and world-class customer service. Our registry platform, supported by Registry Services, has been in operation since 2001 – seamlessly powering the resolution of over 4 million domain names around the world.

    Beyond technology, we have and will continue to implement best practice policies and procedures to protect the IP rights of registrants; and are putting cutting edge security measures in place to ensure that the .CO extension is the premier platform of choice for secure Internet commerce and 21st century innovation.

    We have retained world-leading marketing, PR and communications strategists to help promote the .CO brand worldwide. Through targeted marketing initiatives, .CO Internet is committed to working closely with Registrar and Reseller partners to help you generate awareness, educate consumers, and convert more prospects to sales in your target markets.

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    As a ccTLD, the .CO Registry is not bound by ICANN policies, nor does it currently have in place any accountability frameworks or exchange of letters defining any specific accountabilities. This said, we have great respect for the ICANN global consensus process and have implemented many ICANN- supported best practices on policy and procedural matters in developing the .CO registry.

    We have become a member of ICANN’s ccNSO, which is an independent process that entails developing policies that are binding for ccNSO members within the limits of national law. We will continue to reference and consider ICANN supported policies and watch with interest the evolution of policies and practices on topics like the URS, DNSSEC, etc. as we define and refine our registry policies.

    The .CO registry is deeply committed to ensuring the safety, security and integrity of the .CO name space and will continue to monitor and implement best practices promoted by ICANN and other industry leaders as we move forward.


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