Country codes (ccTLDs) provide local and regional “front doors” to websites.
They also can be used as local brand extensions, as shown here with Amazon:
Not surprisingly, country code registries are proponents of ccTLDs. But I thought this visual was worth mentioning, this from the registry of .nl (Netherlands):
SIDN, the .nl registry, surveyed Dutch Internet users and found that “Between 75 and 80 per cent of private individuals and businesses would consider .nl if they were to register a domain name in the immediate future.”
Also interesting is this chart:
Search engines are the primary way people reach websites on smartphones — which is an implicit recommendation for using country codes. After all, search engines use country codes as important indicators for local websites.
Here’s the link to the full report.
