What is a .IN domain?
The .IN domain is a ccTLD (country code
top level domain), and the Internet country code for India.
Located in Southern Asia, India borders the Arabian Sea and
the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. India spans
1,269,346 square miles, an area equivalent to about one
third of the United States. According to the July 2008
census, the population was at 1,147,995,904 people. Hindi is
the national language and primary tongue for 41% of the
population, although English is the most important language
for national, political, and commercial communication. Aside
from Hindi, there are an additional 14 official languages:
Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam,
Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and
Sanskrit.
Why should I register a .IN domain name?
Traditionally the .IN domain was not very popular with
Indians, as they preferred gTLDs such as .COM. However, the
liberalization of registration rules in 2005 led to a
drastic increase in .IN registrations. The .IN domain is now
one of the fastest growing TLDs available.
The .IN domain name presents a great opportunity for
local and international companies wanting to represent their
business in India. Local domain names give your company a
professional image, which demonstrates proof of your
commitment to local customers. By targeting the local Indian
market, you can maximize your company's revenues.
Aside from being used by those with a local presence, the
.IN domain has become popular among Internet companies, who
use the TLD as an abbreviation for 'internet'.
Protecting yourself and your identity is all too
important in today's world. The same standards apply to
protecting your business and personal identity online.
Protecting your brand is an important reason to register
ccTLDs. Being the initial purchaser of your brand in a TLD
is a much wiser idea than attempting to acquire names after
someone else has registered them.
Additionally, it is much easier to purchase a common word
or short domain name in a ccTLD than in the more popular and
heavily populated TLDs like .COM. Country code TLDs also
present the opportunity to register domain hacks such as
conta.in, pumpk.in, or zeppel.in.
Are there any restrictions for registering a .IN?
There are no restrictions for registering a top level .IN
domain. Registration for these
domain names is open to
anyone, similar to .COM, .NET, or .ORG.
