Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Lazar Bošković, marketing, PR and internet consultant
National internet domains are territorial affiliation tags and are essential for defining the internet identity of those who live or work in a particular country. Serbia has two equal national internet domains: .RS and .СРБ, the first being ccTLD, and the second, the Cyrillic one, is IDN ccTLD.
In short, the advantages of national .RS domains are: better positioning in searches, greater availability of free names, a permanent solution to the Internet identity, greater security from abuse, and recognition in the domestic market. All this applies to the .СРБ domain as well.
1. Location
The address of each website is defined by the name of the internet domain, and this is also the first piece of code that Google’s algorithm sees in its searches. Internet searches are largely based on geolocation, so if the website is on a local domain, and in local language, it has greater chances to be better positioned in local search results, because in local searches Google favors the sites in local, national domains, such as .RS. Google claims that as many as 97% of clients look for local businesses on the Internet.
It is not well known that Google does not give all users the same search results. Wishing to provide maximum relevant information, Google’s algorithm assumes that for someone who searches from Serbia the most relevant information is that on .RS or .SRB domains. And what the world’s Internet experts say about this topic, as well as a detailed explanation of how things are from the Google’s angle, you can read at izuglagugla.rs.
2. Availability
The domain name can contain any term you want, if it meets the technical conditions and if it is not already taken, meaning if the domain name you want is free for registration. Domains, globally speaking, can be national or generic, such as the .RS and .COM. There are no functional differences between them – both do the same job, but many interesting terms within the generic internet domains (.COM, .ORG, .NET …) have long been occupied. On the other hand, within the .RS domain, there are still a large number of potentially interesting terms (key words) available for the name of your future internet domain – for any registered name in .RS domain, there are almost 1400 registered .COM domain names!
Registration takes place in five domains, depending on the legal status of the user, regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign. Thus, the .RS is intended for all interested users, whether legal or natural persons, while .CO.RS is for business users only, .ORG.RS is for non-profit organizations, .EDU.RS is for educational institutions, .IN.RS is for physical persons. Registry fees vary, so the domains with .CO.RS and .IN.RS extensions can be registered at the same or a lower price than the one for which many generic domains can be registered. And the Cyrillic .СРБ domains are more favorable! You can immediately check the availability of desired domain names at domen.rs/whois.
See the infographic with illustrated explanations of 5 advantages of .RS domains.
3. Identity
The Internet domain is the basis of an Internet identity, because the domain name determines the web address of your site and the address of your e-mail. Only on your own internet domain you can build your own permanent business or personal internet identity, without fear of losing anything you’ve ever put on the Internet. By registering all the required names on the .RS domain you protect the names of your company and its brands, products or services, thereby protecting your global Internet identity. Do not hesitate, as someone else can register a domain name that can be very important to you.
Advice from good internet practices on how to treat your internet domain as a basis for your cyber identity are the same for companies as well as for individuals who want to build their own brand from their name or nickname. If you have a company that operates only on the local market – register the national domain. In most cases, it will be enough. If you have a company that operates in multiple countries – register a national domain for each of the states, and also have for example the .COM domain, as the “general” internet address (it’s better that you register it rather than someone else). If you have brands and multiple products or services – register all of the domains that you can afford and which contain important terms in your name. A wider story about business and personal internet identity is available at znamosesaneta.rs.
4. Security
It is well known that .COM domains can be registered without any identification and with completely false data. By contrast, registrars of national .RS domains must, when registering domains, provide accurate, complete, and valid data, which is verified occasionally. National internet domains cannot be registered by unidentified companies or individuals, providing a greater degree of reliability and security for both visitors and site owners.
The benefits for site visitors on .RS domains are lower risk of misuse of domain for fraudulent presentation and other forms of cyber crime (spamming, phishing …), as well as the much smaller potential for fraud with online shopping and other online transactions. Benefits for users of .RS domains are reflected in as much as three levels of domain name protection, which prevents cyber criminals from taking control of the domain, and national domains also instill a greater degree of trust in site visitors because they can more easily test who owns the site. More about Internet domains and security can be found at domen.rs/internet-domeni-i-bezbednost.
5. Recognizable
The national internet domain is the determinant of presence in a particular market. All of the world’s largest brands in Serbia are already present on .RS domains, and on their local sites they address local consumers in the local language and script, with local offer, local currency prices, local time and local sales conditions. The choice of the national internet domain also affects the brand perception, because it tells the visitors to the internet site that a multinational company, operating globally, is locally present, offering products or services for that country.
The national .RS domains make up more than 60% of all registered domain names in Serbia, as domestic business owners for their sites register a very large number of .RS domains, wanting their address to tell where the firm is from. More about this can be found at naravno.rs.