Today, there are more than1.1 billion domainsregistered online, andfive billion internet users. This massive growth has greatly impacted the popularity of commondomain names.
2022 marked some significant popularity changes for web domains around the globe. Large domains like Google and YouTube reclaimed their dominance at the top of the pack, pulling ahead of newcomers like TikTok. Other members of the list remained relatively steadfast, despite tough competition.
Read on to discover who took made the top 10 ranking in 2022.
Table of Contents
Top 10 popular domains of 2022
- Google.com
- YouTube.com
- Facebook.com
- Twitter.com
- Instagram.com
- Baidu.com
- Wikipedia.org
- Yandex.ru
- Yahoo.com
- Whatsapp.com
This list, based onSimilarweb data, is slightly different when compared to themost popular domains of 2021.
Last year, TikTok.com was the world’s most popular domain, while Google.com and Facebook.com took the second and third position.
Insights from the world’s most popular domain names
The most popular domains reveal some interesting insights about TLDs and domain name length.
Current trends show that .com will continue to be the most popular domain extension. More thanone in three peoplesay that .coms are more memorable than other TLDs (top-level domains), which is why it’s considered to be the most trustworthy extension on the internet.
The popularity of .com is reflected in multiple domain rankings for 2022. Only two of the world’s top 10 most popular domains end in something other than .com. Those ending in .ru and .org place further down the list.
But popular domains may also be supported by a less obvious component: their name. According to a Nielson study, naming conventions are one of the most important elements ofsupporting a brand. The best domain names are short, sweet, and to the point, with a touch of memorability. Most of 2022’s 10 most popular domains consist of two syllable words.
Most popular domains by type
全球领域流行未必paint a full picture of the digital ecosystem. Today, there are thousands of high-ranking domains within individual categories, particularly ecommerce, social media, video, and more.
These rankings were accumulated fromStatistaandSimilarWeb.
- The most popular TLD extension is .com
- The most popular ecommerce domain is Amazon.com
- The most popular social media domain is Facebook.com
- The most popular video streaming domain is YouTube.com
- The most popular news domain is Yahoo.com
- The most popular sports domain is ESPN.com
- The most popular health domain is Healthline.com
- The most popular travel domain is Booking.com
- The most popular chat domain is WhatsApp.com
- The most popular banking domain is Chase.com
Popular domain TLD extensions
The .com remains one of the most popular TLDs in the world and is currently used by53.3% of global websites. The lesser known .ca controls less than 11% of the market, followed by .org at 4.4%.
Ranked by use in global websites, the top domain TLD extensions of 2022 are:
- .com
- .ca
- .org
- .ru
- .net
- .au
- .uk
- .in
- .ir
- .de
Popular ecommerce domains
Since 1995, retail giant Amazon.com has been one of the most popular ecommerce domains. Today, Amazon reachesthree billion monthly visitors, across all devices. Rivaled by AliExpress and eBay, the company continues to hold a40% market shareacross the ecommerce industry.
The top 10 most popular ecommerce domains in 2022 are:
- Amazon.com
- eBay.com
- AliExpress.com
- Walmart.com
- Etsy.com
- Taobao.com
- Avito.ru
- Craigslist.org
- Wildberries.ru
- Mercadolivre.com.br
Popular social media domains
Social media use continues to grow among different demographics. Facebook ranks at the top of the list, followed by Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The top 10 social media domains in 2022 are:
- Facebook.com
- Twitter.com
- Instagram.com
- WhatsApp.com
- TikTok.com
- Reddit.com
- LinkedIn.com
- VK.com
- Discord.com
- Pinterest.com
Popular video streaming domains
Video is the most popular form of online content. Today,four in five consumersuse the internet just for video streaming. YouTube.com boasts the highest amount of traffic, with500 hours of footageuploaded per minute. While perhaps more curated, video streaming domains like Netflix.com and Hotstar.com take a back seat to user-generated content.
The 10 most popular video streaming domains are:
- YouTube.com
- Netflix.com
- IMDB.com
- Hotstar.com
- DisneyPlus.com
- HBOMax.com
- Hulu.com
- PrimeVideo.com
- Nicovideo.jp
- Xfinity.com
Popular news domains
Internet users prefer Yahoo.com as a trusted news source, followed closely by Naver.com and QQ.com. Non-English sites includingGlobo.comandUOL.com.brretain a spot in the top ten.
2022’s top 10 news domains are:
- Yahoo.com
- Naver.com
- QQ.com
- MSN.com
- Globo.com
- TurboPages.org
- BBC.co.uk
- CNN.com
- NYTimes.com
- UOL.com.br
Popular sports domains
The sports industry has a strong online presence. ESPN.com is the most popular sports domain, with more than500 million unique visitorsevery month.
The 10 most popular sport domains in 2022 include:
- ESPN.com
- Marca.com
- AS.com
- Cricbuzz.com
- CBSsports.com
- Futbol24.com
- ESPNcricinfo.com
- Livescore.com
- Kooora.com
- Betman.co.kr
Popular health domains
Website traffic related to health and wellness spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Healthline.com pulled ahead of nonprofit and governmental sources with an average of190 million visitors per month.
The top 10 most popular health domains are:
- Healthline.com
- NIH.gov
- MayoClinic.org
- WebMD.com
- MedicalNewsToday.com
- CDC.gov
- CVS.com
- MedlinePlus.gov
- NHS.uk
- Tuasaude.com
Popular travel domains
Sites like Booking.com enjoy420 million visitorsfrom all over the world, helping travellers book flights and reserve hotels. Other popular sites, including TripAdvisor and Airbnb, lead the industry in terms of size, traffic, and general interest.
Below are the 10 most popular travel domains worldwide:
- Booking.com
- TripAdvisor.com
- Airbnb.com
- Expedia.com
- Uber.com
- Travelerdreams.com
- Southwest.com
- AA.com
- Ryanair.com
- Hotels.com
Popular search engine domains
Google.com is the decided victor of search engine domains worldwide. As of 2022, more than 90 billion people in 180 countries rely on the website to find what they’re looking for. Google’s web traffic can’t be matched by secondary competitors Baidu.com (six billion monthly visits) and Yandex.com (four billion monthly visits).
The top 10 search domains in 2022 are:
- Google.com
- Baidu.com
- Yandex.ru
- Bing.com
- DuckDuckGo.com
- Daum.net
- Seznam.cz
- Sogou.com
- Sm.cn
- Ecosia.org
Popular banking domains
PayPal.com is the leading domain in the banking and financial industries. Online web traffic hovers at514 million visitors per month, with an average growth rate of 10%. Chase.com lags behind at200 million total visits.
Globally, the 10 most popular banking domains of 2022 are:
- PayPal.com
- Chase.com
- WellsFargo.com
- BankOfAmerica.com
- CapitalOne.com
- CreditKarma.com
- AmericanExpress.com
- Sberbank.ru
- HDFCBank.com
- Citi.com
Factors that influence domain popularity
Humans are attracted to the best of the best—including the domains they visit. Although the vast majority of traffic stems from having a powerful brand name, generating buzz is a surefire way to attract attention, draw visitors, and grow an online presence.
There are several factors that affect the worldwide popularity of domains:
- Social media trends.The whims of social media are infamous for dictating domain trends. Sharable content or memes with relevant images often influence the flow of online traffic. However, social media trends usually cause very short-term spikes in popularity.
- Worldwide relevance. Breaking news and changing geopolitical climates can have significant impacts on the way domains are accessed. The Russia–Ukraine conflict kept many users offline or away from certain domains, blocking some114.9 million usersfrom accessing the internet.
- Major holidays. The closer the holiday season gets, the higher certain domains will rank. Amazon saw more than29亿独立访客in December 2021, which slumped to 2.2 billion the following February. Domains—particularly those in ecommerce—quickly climb the ranks during busy seasons.
Domain name trends for 2022
Domain names have a relatively predictable pattern. Traditional naming conventions haven’t changed much at all in 2022, although new TLDs, price increases, and unique extensions continue to shape the industry.
One of the biggest influencing factors is the sheer number of TLDs. The WHOIS list of extensions continues to grow, withmore than 1,200 availableas of April 2022. .com is the most popular TLD, with 53.3% of the world’s websites choosing it over other extensions .
The .com extension’s success is set to cause significant price increases throughout 2022. According to Politico, certain domains with a .com extension may see a7% price increasefour out of every six years. An8.4% increasein US inflation is not likely to help the issue.
To circumnavigate higher costs, more companies are turning to easily branded domains with unique extensions. Generic TLDs like .dev, .eco, and .ai are perhaps some of the most popular. But not all that glitters is gold. Some extensions face the threat ofbeing scrubbed entirely, with many domains hanging in the balance. Despite this, unique and less competitive domain extensions continue to trend.
Subdomainswill continue to be an important element of internal strategy. Brands will continue to hedge investment bets with internal testing and optimization, as well as differentiating certain sites for individual countries. Popular domains like news.google.com and blog.hubspot.com are the most obvious (and popular) of these.
Which domains will be the most popular in 2023?
With brands likeTikTok eclipsing Googlein less than 10 years, it can be difficult to forecast domain trends even months in advance. However, we do know that current events and social movements will continue to emphasize certain platforms, TLDs, and searching behaviors.
- Domains in the metaverse will become more popular. The keyword “meta” is already seeing significant upticks around the web, with a global search volume of 74,000 monthly searches. This interest has also extended into website creation. According todomain providers, almost50,000 new domainshave been registered with .meta—proving the trend is popular right now.
- Mobile-friendly domains have the upper hand. In 2022,50.59% of all web visitswere undertaken on mobile, with 49.41% on desktop or laptop computers. Users have come to expect adaptability across all domains, with75% of audiencesreporting a preference for mobile rather than desktop-friendly destinations.
- SEO-based domains won’t be as effective. Google’s John Mueller released a statement in 2022 explaining thatSEO phrases in domain namesno longer provide a benefit to ranking.Choosing a domain namebased on keywords alone may even detract from brand authority and page ranks. 2023 will show an increase in brand-friendly, sustainable, and catchy decisions.
Looking ahead to domain evolution
2022 brought monumental changes to the world ofdomains, although whether they will last for any significant amount of time remains to be seen. Plenty of factors affect a domain’s popularity, and there’s no telling what the future will bring.
If history is any indicator, we can expect to see most of these domains back on the list next year. We may see some new competitors climbing up the list, including domains that are just beginning to find their footing online.
In either case, the most popularregistered domainsof 2022 as of this time have already been decided. As for what you might see later this year and next—only time will tell.
Popular domains FAQ
What are the common top-level domains?
- .com
- .ca
- .org
- .ru
- .net
- .au
- .uk
- .in
- .ir
- .de
What is the most popular domain?
- Google.com
- YouTube.com
- Facebook.com
- Twitter.com
- Instagram.com
- Baidu.com
- Wikipedia.org
- Yandex.ru
- Yahoo.com
- Whatsapp.com
What is the difference between .com, .edu, and .gov?
Though each top-level domain (TLD) functions the same way, they’re meant to designate websites used for different purposes. The TLD.comis meant to designate websites used for commercial purposes,.eduis for educational purposes, and.govis reserved for U.S.-based government organizations.