Back to Blog
TrendsMarch 5, 20247 min read

Domain Name Trends 2024: What's Hot and What's Not

Stay ahead of the curve with the latest domain naming trends, popular extensions, and emerging patterns.

Trends, Domain Strategy, 2024

Domain Name Trends 2024: What's Hot and What's Not


The domain landscape is evolving. Here are the biggest trends shaping domain names in 2024.


TLD Trends


What's Hot


**.ai Explosion**

  • Went from niche to mainstream
  • Every AI company wants one
  • Prices skyrocketing
  • High demand continues

    • **Why:**

  • AI boom
  • Tech association
  • Premium positioning
  • Investor-friendly

    • **Price trend:**

  • 2020: $50/year
  • 2024: $75-150/year
  • Premium .ai: $5K-500K

    • **.io Staying Strong**

  • Still the tech startup favorite
  • Widely accepted
  • Premium feel maintained
  • Consistent demand

    • **Examples:**

  • Notion.so → Notion.io
  • Growing ecosystem
  • Developer-friendly

    • **.co Mainstream**

  • No longer "alternative"
  • Fully accepted
  • Startup standard
  • Great availability

    • **Why it works:**

  • Short
  • Professional
  • .com proximity
  • Affordable

    • What's Cooling


    **.biz Declining**

  • Associated with spam
  • Low trust
  • Minimal use
  • Avoid unless specific need

    • **.info Fading**

  • Once popular
  • Now low value
  • Limited commercial use
  • Better alternatives exist

    • **Weird TLDs Struggling**

  • .ninja
  • .guru
  • .rocks
  • .club

    • **Why:**

  • Gimmicky
  • Low credibility
  • Limited adoption
  • Poor ROI

    • What's Emerging


    **.app Growing**

  • Google-backed
  • Requires HTTPS (security)
  • Mobile association
  • Increasing acceptance

    • **.dev Rising**

  • Developer community
  • Technical projects
  • Growing credibility
  • Strong branding

    • **.store for E-commerce**

  • Clear purpose
  • SEO for retail
  • Growing adoption
  • Alternative to .com

    • **Country codes as brands:**

  • .ly (link.ly)
  • .me (about.me)
  • .to (link.to)
  • Creative naming

    • Naming Style Trends


    Hot: Ultra-Short (4-6 Letters)


    **Examples:**

  • Zoom
  • Bolt
  • Wise
  • Plaid

    • **Why trending:**

  • Easy to remember
  • Mobile-friendly
  • Global appeal
  • Premium feel

    • **Availability:**

  • Very limited
  • High prices
  • Creative spelling needed

    • Hot: One-Word Domains


    **Examples:**

  • Stripe
  • Square
  • Figma
  • Linear

    • **Appeal:**

  • Simple
  • Memorable
  • Brandable
  • Timeless

    • **Challenge:**

  • Extremely rare
  • Very expensive
  • Need creativity

    • Hot: Verb-Based Names


    **Examples:**

  • Zoom (the verb)
  • Slack (relax)
  • Asana (yoga pose, but verb-like)

    • **Why it works:**

  • Active
  • Engaging
  • Easy to say
  • Memorable

    • **Trend:**

  • Drop, Ship, Send, etc.
  • Action-oriented
  • User-focused

    • Cooling: Long Descriptive


    **Old style:**

  • BestCoffeeShopInSeattle.com
  • AffordableCarInsurance.com

    • **Why declining:**

  • Too long
  • Hard to remember
  • Not mobile-friendly
  • Less professional

    • **Exception:**

    Local SEO still works for service businesses


    Cooling: Hyphens


    **Declining:**

  • Your-Business.com
  • My-Great-Company.com

    • **Why:**

  • Awkward to say
  • Hard to remember
  • Looks spammy
  • Better alternatives exist

    • Emerging: Compound Words


    **Growing trend:**

  • MailChimp
  • DropBox
  • SnapChat
  • LinkedIn

    • **Why:**

  • Available
  • Descriptive
  • Brandable
  • Memorable

    • **2024 style:**

  • CamelCase branding
  • Two words merged
  • Creates new term

    • Industry-Specific Trends


    AI/ML Companies


    **Naming patterns:**

  • [Name].ai
  • [Action]AI
  • Smart[Name]
  • Neural[Name]

    • **Examples:**

  • OpenAI
  • StabilityAI
  • MidJourney (unique approach)

    • **Trend:**

    Moving away from "AI" suffix toward unique names


    SaaS Companies


    **2024 style:**

  • One word
  • 4-6 letters
  • .io or .com
  • Invented words

    • **Examples:**

  • Linear
  • Notion
  • Coda
  • Miro

    • **Moving from:**

  • Descriptive names
  • "Get[Name]"
  • "[Name]App"

    • E-commerce


    **Trending:**

  • Short .com
  • .store growing
  • Brand > description
  • Unique names

    • **Examples:**

  • Alo (activewear)
  • Allbirds (shoes)
  • Warby Parker (glasses)

    • **Away from:**

  • [Product]Store.com
  • Shop[Product].com

    • Web3/Crypto


    **Trending:**

  • .io domains
  • Short names
  • Protocol suffix
  • Tech feel

    • **Examples:**

  • Uniswap
  • Aave
  • Compound
  • Curve

    • **Style:**

  • Single words
  • Made-up terms
  • No "coin" or "crypto"

    • Regional Trends


    US Market


    **Preferences:**

  • .com still king
  • .io for tech
  • .co acceptable
  • Brand over keyword

    • European Market


    **Trends:**

  • Country codes (.de, .uk, .fr)
  • .eu growing
  • Local TLDs important
  • Keyword domains still used

    • Asian Markets


    **Patterns:**

  • .com preferred
  • Short domains premium
  • Number domains (.xyz)
  • Local TLDs (.cn, .jp, .in)

    • Emerging Markets


    **Africa:**

  • .io gaining
  • .co popular
  • Country codes (.ng, .ke)
  • Price-conscious

    • **Latin America:**

  • .com standard
  • .la creative use
  • Country codes
  • Spanish keywords

    • Pricing Trends


    What's Increasing


    **.ai domains**

  • Up 50-100% since 2020
  • Premium .ai: $10K-500K+
  • Registration: $75-150/year

    • **Premium .com**

  • Top tier: $100K-10M
  • Mid tier: $10K-100K
  • Quality names scarce

    • **Short domains (all TLDs)**

  • 3-4 char .com: $10K-1M
  • 4-5 char .io: $1K-50K
  • Increasing yearly

    • What's Decreasing


    **New TLDs**

  • .online: $2-5/year
  • .site: $2-5/year
  • .tech: $5-10/year

    • **Promotional pricing:**

  • First year cheap
  • Renew at full price
  • Watch for this

    • **Bulk pricing:**

  • Many TLDs negotiable
  • Volume discounts
  • Reseller pricing

    • Content & Keyword Trends


    Fading: Exact Match Domains


    **Old approach:**

  • BestPizzaNewYork.com
  • CheapCarInsurance.com

    • **Why declining:**

  • Google EMD update
  • Less SEO value
  • Looks spammy
  • Limited branding

    • **Exception:**

    Local service businesses still benefit


    Rising: Brand + Location


    **New approach:**

  • Location + Service (SeattlePizza.com)
  • Simpler keywords
  • Cleaner feel

    • Growing: Hybrid Approach


    **Strategy:**

  • Brand domain (Stripe.com)
  • Own keyword domains too
  • Redirect to brand
  • Capture all traffic

    • **Example:**

  • Main: Stripe.com
  • Also own: PaymentProcessing.com →

    • Redirects to Stripe


    Emerging: Voice Search Optimization


    **Consideration:**

  • How does it sound?
  • Easy to speak?
  • Natural language?
  • Conversational?

    • **Impact on naming:**

  • Shorter
  • Easier pronunciation
  • Common words
  • No creative spelling

    • Technical Trends


    Rising: Domain Security


    **DNSSEC adoption**

  • Security important
  • Trust signals
  • Required for some TLDs

    • **SSL certificates**

  • HTTPS standard
  • Required by browsers
  • SEO factor

    • **Domain locking**

  • Prevent hijacking
  • 2FA standard
  • Security priority

    • Growing: Domain Privacy


    **WHOIS privacy:**

  • Standard practice
  • Required in EU (GDPR)
  • Included free often
  • Privacy-conscious

    • Emerging: Blockchain Domains


    **.eth, .crypto, .nft**

  • Web3 ownership
  • Decentralized
  • Experimental
  • Limited adoption

    • **Status:**

  • Niche use
  • Growing interest
  • Not mainstream yet
  • Watch this space

    • Future Predictions


    Next 12 Months


    **Will grow:**

  • .ai demand
  • Short domains premium
  • Voice-optimized names
  • Brand over keyword

    • **Will decline:**

  • Long keyword domains
  • Hyphens
  • Weird TLDs
  • Over-creative spelling

    • **Will emerge:**

  • AI-generated names
  • Voice-first domains
  • Personalized TLDs
  • Dynamic domain strategy

    • 2-3 Year Outlook


    **Likely:**

  • New TLDs from big tech
  • More country code creativity
  • Blockchain domain growth
  • AI-powered domain tools

    • **Maybe:**

  • Voice-activated domains
  • Emoji domains mainstream
  • Personalized TLDs
  • Domain-as-identity

    • What This Means For You


    If You're Buying Now


    **Hot strategies:**

  • Short .com if affordable
  • .io for tech
  • .ai for AI companies
  • Compound words

    • **Avoid:**

  • Long keyword domains
  • Obscure TLDs
  • Hyphens
  • Over-creative spelling

    • If You Own Domains


    **Trending up:**

  • Short .com
  • .ai
  • Clean, simple names
  • Brandable domains

    • **Trending down:**

  • Long keyword domains
  • .biz, .info
  • Hyphenated
  • Weird TLDs

    • **Action:**

  • Hold quality domains
  • Drop declining value
  • Invest in trends
  • Watch .ai market

    • If You're Rebranding


    **Consider:**

  • Short, memorable
  • .com or .io
  • Easy to pronounce
  • Future-proof

    • **Avoid:**

  • Chasing trends too hard
  • Over-creative spelling
  • Limiting yourself
  • Ignoring voice

    • The Bottom Line


    **2024 domain trends:**

  • Shorter is better
  • .ai exploding
  • Brand over keyword
  • Voice optimization matters
  • Security important

    • **What's timeless:**

  • .com still king
  • Memorable beats clever
  • Easy spelling wins
  • Quality over quantity

    • **Smart strategy:**

  • Follow trends loosely
  • Don't chase fads
  • Focus on your brand
  • Think long-term

    • The best domain is one that:

    1. Fits your brand

    2. Is easy to remember

    3. Will age well

    4. You can afford


    Trends inform, but don't dictate!


    Ready to find a domain that's trendy AND timeless? Use our domain finder to explore current options!


    Ready to Find Your Perfect Domain?

    Use our free keyword domain generator to discover available, brandable domains

    Try Domain Finder Now