6 Domain Name Trends for 2022

In the simplest terms, a domain name is your web address, but you can also think of it as the main entrance to your online space. It’s something you want people to remember so that they can type it in their browser at any time and visit your website. It’s also something you want to be up to date with the latest trends so that it stays effective and relevant. Just like brick-and-mortar stores continuously change the look and feel of a shop’s entrance to suit the latest trends, online business owners should be aware of the latest trends in the domain world.

1) .me will continue to be popular

.me has been a hit ever since it was released onto the market in 2018 – the first 100,000 .me domains were registered in just 48 hours. However, the domain has really come into its own during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of these workers needed to set up websites for their online businesses. When it comes to choosing a domain, the .me domain became a more popular option than traditional domains such as .com as it gives sites a more personal feel. Usually, .me is used for personal blogs, but today, we see it being used more by creative professionals and photographers.

2) .live will continue to rise

Video streaming has become a major hit lately, with social platform giants YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Stream, and Instagram running wild with new streaming content. But that is just one part of it. There are also yoga instructors, music festival organizers, athletes, musicians, and online gaming users that have had the need to stream videos. One study predicts that the global video streaming market will grow by 21% by 2028. So, if you have content to stream and are in the market for a new domain, .live is the one to go with.

3) The keyword ‘meta’ will skyrocket

In October 2021, Facebook announced that it was rebranding its corporate identity to Meta in a bid to become a key player in metaverse technology. A day after the news broke, over 48,000 new ‘meta’ domains were sold. The metaverse – aka the place where the physical and digital worlds come together – is expected to succeed the current mobile internet. It will begin with things like avatars, 3D meetings and who knows where it might end – Mark Zuckerberg expects that we will socialize, learn, collaborate, and play in the interconnected 3D space that the metaverse will become.

4) Descriptive domains will become increasingly popular

Descriptive domains are those that allow businesses to fully utilize both sides of the dot in domain names to make their web address more self-explanatory. Some examples are drink.haus and switchboard.live. There are multiple benefits to these extensions – they are easy to remember and can contribute to SEO. In one case study, African headwrap company Wrap Life doubled sales within the space of two months after changing its domain name to thewrap.life.

5) Demand for shorter domains will go up

Research suggests that more people are registering shorter domains. In fact, non .com domains were 26% shorter in October 2021 than in previous months.

6) .eco and eco-related domains will become more popular

The .eco domain was created to help promote a greener earth and brighter future for our planet. Companies in the solar panel space, environmental awareness, and recycling have since began adopting this domain to better identify themselves as “green” businesses. This trend will continue to grow, so if your business is there to help increase sustainability for the world, the .eco domain will help get your message out there.