African gccTLDs: Africa's "Global" ccTLDs

gccTLDs is an invented term referring to "generic ccTLDs", these are ccTLDs which do not have automatic geotargeting set by Google. Google has a geotargeting feature in the Google Webmaster Tools that allows you to specify your geographical location to enable Google deliver more relevant results to your target audience.

Normally, the search engine is able to place your location either by using your domain name extension, hosting location, information on your website showing your phone numbers and location details or Google Webmaster geotargeting tool.

While some of these methods are not as clear cut, for example, you can live in Kenya but have a .COM website hosted in the US, the use of a ccTLD extension of your blog enables Google to quickly determine your location. ccTLDs are the most authoritative way for Google to determine your country of origin.

If you are using gTLDs like .COM .NET .ORG .INFO .TRAVEL .COOP .ASIA .MUSEUM .AERO .INT which are global, it might not be very easy for Google to automatically determine your location. The case is not as clear cut as for a ccTLD. In this case, Google will give you flexibility in determining your target audience by setting your geographic location using Google's Webmaster Tools.

There are however ccTLDs which are treated as gTLDs, i.e. the geotargeting feature is not automatically set to the country of origin and the ccTLD can therefore be targeted at any global audience. Popular examples of these gccTLDs include .me for Montenegro, .TV for Tuvalu .ws for Samoa.

Some of the Africa gccTLDs include:

.cd  DR Congo
.sc Seychelles
.dj   Djibouti

In addition, the following African ccTLDs are normally preferred by global registrants:
.st  Sao Tome and Principe , the Street Domain, many English words also end in "st" e.g true.st
.so  Somalia e.g. www.ithink.so

I always imagine Eritrea's .ER should join this list, but like the country itself, the ccTLD is closed to the outside world.

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Nominet Report: ccTLDs Increase Sharply in 2011

Nominet today pubblished a report which showed the growth rate for ccTLDs has increased from 1.4% to 11.5% since 2010. There are now 87 million ccTLDs, compared to 131 million gTLDs.

Tokelau Punching Above its weight
One highlight from the report was the .tk domain for Tokelau. The number of registered domains for the South Pacific territory has increased by 37% from 2010, largely because domains have been handed out for free.
German and UK domains continue to lead the market, followed by Tokelau which was described as making "remarkable progress and a disproportionately high market penetration" by the report.

Canada, which is now 14th in the rankings, has seen a 20% increase in .ca domains since last year. Director of marketing and communications at the CIRA Registry, David Fowler, said rebranding and advertising programs had contributed to the increase.

Countries such as Colombia have continued to market their ccTLDS as generic domains. Online retailer Overstock rebranded from its .com site to o.co, and companies such as Twitter and Google use a .co extension to shorten their .com URLs.

Montenegro's .me domains, which have made a "significant amount"  of registrations at  NetNames in 2011, according to domain operations manager Ben anderson, have also been regarded as a success because of their personal style.

Anderson said registrants have much wider choice of ccTLDS compared to gTLDs. He said most of the leading ccTLD registries now allow foreign registrants to take domains, another factor for the increase in growth.

Two countries that have slipped down the rankings, China an Russia, both increased security on domain registrations. China employed hundreds of people to check validity of websites, a process which decreased the .cn registry by half.

The report said that by the end of September 2011 the total number of domains was 218 million. Global growth increased by 6.1% last year to 9.5% this year, evidence that the economic slowdown in the US and Europe has not negatively affected the global domain industry.

View Nominet Report Here

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African ccTLD Marketing: Example from Malaysia's .MY Merdeka Day Promotion

More examples for African ccTLDs on how to market your ccTLD namespace. Malaysia's ccTLD  is the latest ccTLD offering domain name promotions to celebrate  its Independence Day. According to the promotional details,new registrations & renewals of domain names ending with .my, .com.my, .net.my and .org.my will be offered a very special price from 1st August to 30th October 2011 in conjunction with the Malaysia's Merdeka Celebrations.

 Hari Merdeka refers to Malaysia's independence day Celebrations and runs throughout the month of August although the actual day of celebration is supposed to be 31st August. This year, the Merdeka Day will be celebrated together with Malaysia Day, the day Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak joined together to become the federation of Malaysia in 1963. Malaysia gained independence from British rule in 1957. This is particularly the best time to sell domains to patriotic Malaysians at "patriotic prices"

Many innovative ccTLDs use special holidays to offer advantageous pricing for domain names in order to capture the market of registrants wishing to identify with their nations/national history.