You are likely familiar with these domain name extensions. The two-letter, short endings that often seem to stand for and represent a bigger idea. They’ve become popular alternative domain names to the familiar “.com” and are memorable and recognizable extensions. These two-letter domain extensions are called Country Code Top-Level Domain names, or ccTLDs, and are meant to represent a country. These extensions are often managed, at least in part, by the government of their respective country. Today, we’ll highlight the change in use of three ccTLDs over time: .ME, .CO, and .IO. What started as a country’s domain extension in all cases was eventually opened to the public and is now used in a variety of ways by individuals, brands, and big companies. Read on to see how you can use ccTLDs for your brand and learn about the interesting history of these domains.

.IO Domain: Then and NowThe .IO domain name is the Country Code Top-Level Domain of the British Indian Ocean Territory and is managed by a registry based out of the UK. It’s acted as the domain extension representation of a small set of islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean since 1997. In 1998, Levi Strauss & Co. was the first company to use this domain name extension for something outside of the country. They secured the domain name, levi.io.

In 1999, the technology industry realized that the term “IO” is an interesting representation of I/O as it’s a short form of input/output. From 2007 until today, .IO has been incredibly popular with the technology startup scene. As of 2013, Google declared .IO to be a “generic ccTLD” which means it’s treated as any other TLD in their rankings.

Google owns a .IO domain name with material.io, an open-source design system that allows design teams to create exceptional digital experiences.

.ME Domain: Then and NowThe .ME domain name is the Country Code Top-Level Domain of Montenegro. After Montenegro gained its independence in June 2006, the Internal Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for countries and geographical areas, assigned Montenegro the country code ME. The .ME domain name is operated by doMEn and sponsored by the government of Montenegro.

In 2008, the .ME domain name has been available to anyone, without restriction. .ME is a domain name that translates well and is a very popular extension for anyone building a personal brand. Domains with popular words, like insure.me and sync.me, got snatched up fast once the extension was made available. That said, big companies have seen the attraction of the domain and its many uses.

Spotify uses the .ME domain name in spotify.me to give you an understanding of your listening patterns and habits. The process provides a bit of insight into the intelligence behind Spotify’s streaming suggestions and how that pairs with brands who advertise through Spotify.

.CO Domain: Then and Now

The .CO domain name is Columbia’s ccTLD. The .CO domain was released in 1991. The .CO domain extension became available to the public in 2010. Nowadays, the .CO extension has become incredibly popular amongst communities and companies. There are also perks open to members of .CO which are great for burgeoning entrepreneurs.

To celebrate the release of the domain to the public, the registry auctioned single-letter .CO domains. Lonnie Borck of B52 Media bought ownership of e.co, the very first single letter domain to be sold on .CO, with others like a.co (Amazon) and s.co (Snapchat) being sold shortly after.

.CO domain name brings people together, which can be seen with the Good Good Good brand. Good Good Good is a brand surrounding the idea of promoting the good in the world. The community engages with their digital content, their print content, and their podcast. The .CO domain name, used by Good Good Good as goodgoodgood.co, connects the community that they created around their brand.

If you were launching a business and couldn’t secure the .com, what domain extension would you choose? What other country code domain extensions are you familiar with? Let us know in the comments below!

Over the last several years, there has been an explosion of products and services that aim to improve the lives of our pets. The list is endless, from dog boarding sites like Rover to on-demand walking services like Wag, to less practical innovations like the Bubbletastic Bacon Bubble Blower (try to say that three times fast), and the PooTrap.

Steven Vogel avoided bubbles and pursed a more practical path, one that was challenging his family and friends. With four dogs of their own, they discovered that some products made their dogs sick, while others didn’t. It was then that they realized it was really hard to buy products that gave them peace of mind. Steven put his entrepreneurial cape on, crafted the business plan and launched a monthly subscription service to prevent health issues like bad dental health, a dull coat and of course, boredom, because we all know what happens when our fur babies get bored.

After running a couple crowdsourcing contests, he and the team landed on the business name WagWell. A moniker that is easy to spell, suggestive and memorable. More on this in a sec.

Here’s how WagWell works…

You select the size of your dog, the subscription plan that best fits your budget and then simply enter your shipping address and payment method at checkout. The process is as easy as buying a product on Amazon. Each month, WagWell will send a box to your doorstep with two bags of organic treats, two natural chews and a premium toy. For smiles and entertainment, we highly recommend following them on Instagram.

After you committed to helping dogs live their best life, how did you commence on your naming journey?

When we started this project my biggest concern was not standing out and just being noise with all the other competitors that were out there.

Over a period of about a month we must have gone through hundreds of names and nothing seemed right or stood out. I was always gravitating towards coming up with a name that is very descriptive that would tell everyone what & who we are. I think most people, like myself, take this route as it seems so logical. So I started doing research on how to choose a name and came across a guide called “The Igor Naming Guide.” This guide really helped me see the light on how to create a proper product name that would stand out and, more importantly, people would remember.

That is when I decided to go to a naming agency to find help. We ended up going with a heavily advertised crowdsourcing company called Squadhelp. It was an interesting experience as this was the first time I had used crowdsourcing for anything. We thought the more people submitting name ideas the better. But in reality it just made things worse, as not everyone has your best interest at heart and would just keep on submitting re-arranged words that created more and more noise and made the experience frustrating after receiving almost 1,000 different names.

What convinced you to work with Ink & Key over other crowdsourcing sites?

After working with a major crowdsourcing company, we decided that going with a smaller one that had more of a personal touch would be a better option for us. We were now looking for quality not quantity. After reading different forums and reviews we decided to go with Ink and Key.

What did you like most about working with Lynn and team?

The big difference was that they have a team of people that they have vetted over time that truly care about what you want in a business name and will listen to your feedback. The other thing that I was impressed with was that they did not give up on finding a name for us.

What surprised you most about the crowdsourcing experience?

The different directions that you can get from name submissions. Other people can see things differently from you and suggest names, or use words that you never would have thought of. This can trigger a whole different avenue of ideas and direction.

Knowing what you know now about naming, what advice would you give other entrepreneurs?

I would say to do your research on your competitors and industry to see how crowded it is. This will determine which direction you need to go with your name. Then once you have gotten your list down to the top 3-5, test them with a group of people to see if they meet your objective.

Big thanks to Steven for sharing his naming journey with us! If you have started a business before, tell us about your naming journey in the comments below.

Launching a new brand name involves a lot of screening, both legal and linguistic. Legal screens are obvious: Can you file for a trademark? Can you obtain the right domain name? But linguistic considerations are a bit more complicated than that. In this article I’ll explain what’s possible and what’s necessary for your new brand name.

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