Key takeaways:

• .com is by far the most trusted extension, with two-thirds of consumers describing it as “extremely” or “very” trustworthy
• No surveyed consumers considered .com or .org untrustworthy
• A quarter of consumers don’t place implicit trust in .ai or .io domains: brands using these extensions need to work harder to build trust.

Objective: The scarcity of clean .com domain names means many brands are turning to alternatives, from .co for diverse industries to .ai and .io for tech-based brands. Domain name can play a key role in first impressions of trust online, so we sought to discover when, and to what extent, consumers place implicit trust in a domain name. Beyond top-tier, trusted extensions brands may need to work harder to build trust by matching these TLDs with one-word names and clean, clear brand identities.

Question:

How much trust do you place in websites that use the following domain extensions?

Surveyed extensions:

• .com
• .ai
• .co
• .net
• .org
• .io

Audience:

A representative panel of American consumers aged 18 – 64.

Overall Results

• .com is by far the most trusted extension, with two-thirds of consumers describing it as “extremely” or “very” trustworthy
• No surveyed consumers considered .com or .org untrustworthy
• A quarter of consumers don’t place implicit trust in .ai or .io domains: brands using these extensions need to work harder to build trust.

How much trust do you place in websites that use the following domain extensions?

Gender Breakdown

• Male audiences place more trust in .ai and .io
• 16% of men consider .ai untrustworthy vs. 31% of women
• 16% of men consider .io untrustworthy vs. 33% of women.

Men

How much trust do you place in websites that use the following domain extensions?

Women

How much trust do you place in websites that use the following domain extensions?

Age Breakdown

• Older consumers need more convincing on .ai and .io

18 – 34

How much trust do you place in websites that use the following domain extensions?

35 – 54

How much trust do you place in websites that use the following domain extensions?

55 – 64

How much trust do you place in websites that use the following domain extensions?

Conclusion

Despite the growing usage of alternative extensions, consumers still consider .com to be the gold standard for trust, with .org coming in at a close second. Meanwhile, popular tech extensions, including .ai and .io don’t bring implicit trust among consumers. That doesn’t mean they can’t be a strong foundation for brands in relevant industries: but any founder considering an alternative extension must choose an extension that their audience knows and understands, and such an extension may mean working harder to prove yourself to your customers.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into our findings, or asking your own questions on domain choice and branding topics, contact thom@atomradar.com to learn more.

Further Reading

• Must-Read Insights on Domain Names Backed by Deep Audience Research
• Industry Insights: Building an AI Startup Brand the Smart Way
• Domain Extension Perception Survey: 70% Place Implicit Trust in .com Domains

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About The Author

Grant Polachek

Grant Polachek is Chief Growth Officer at Atom.com. With 15 years experience in marketing, he has run market research projects for brands like Dell, Hilton, and Alibaba. Grant has expertise in a range of topics including domain names, naming and digital marketing.

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