Today, there are more than a billion domains registered online, and over 5.4 billion internet users. This massive growth has greatly impacted the popularity of common domain names.
2024 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 made the top 10 domain ranking in 2024, using Similarweb data.
Top 10 popular domains of 2024
- Google.com
- YouTube.com
- Facebook.com
- Instagram.com
- X.com
- WhatsApp.com
- Wikipedia.org
- Yahoo.com
- Reddit.com
- Yahoo.co.jp
Insights from the world’s most popular domain names
The most popular domains reveal some interesting insights about common top-level domains (TLDs) and domain name length.
Current trends show that .com will continue to be the most popular domain extension, but it’s declining in popularity. The .com TLD accounted for 44.4% of all domains in 2024, which is down from 53.3% in 2022.
The popularity of .com is reflected in multiple domain rankings for 2024. Only two of the world’s top 10 most popular domains end in something other than .com. Other popular options—websites with .ru and .org TLDs—ranked further down the 2024 popular domains list.
But popular domains may also be supported by a less obvious component: their name. Name memorability is crucial to building a successful brand, and that starts with a brand’s domain naming conventions. The best domain names are short, sweet, and to the point, with a touch of memorability. Most of 2024’s 10 most popular domains consist of two-syllable words.
Most popular domains by type
Worldwide domain popularity does not necessarily paint a full picture of the digital ecosystem. Today, there are thousands of high-ranking domains within individual categories, particularly ecommerce, social media, and videoe.
These rankings were accumulated from Statista and SimilarWeb:
- 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 NIH.gov
- The most popular travel domain is Booking.com
- The most popular search engine domain is Google.com
- The most popular banking domain is PayPal.com
Popular domain TLD extensions
The .com TLD remains one of the most popular in the world and is currently used by 44.4% of global websites. The lesser known .org controls less than 4.2% of the market, followed by .de, at 3.5%.
Ranked by use in global websites, the top domain TLD extensions of 2024 are:
- .com
- .org
- .de
- .ru
- .br
- .net
- .uk
- .jp
- .it
- .fr
Popular ecommerce domains
Since 1995, retail giant Amazon.com has been one of the most popular ecommerce domains. Today, Amazon reaches 2.7 billion monthly visitors, across all devices. Rivaled by AliExpress and eBay, the company continues to hold a 40% market share across the ecommerce industry.
Unsurprisingly, Amazon claims multiple spots in the top 10 most popular ecommerce domains in 2024:
- Amazon.com
- Temu.com
- eBay.com
- AliExpress.com
- Amazon.co.jp
- Rakuten.co.jp
- Walmart.com
- Amazon.in
- Etsy.com
- Amazon.de
Popular social media domains
Social media use continues to grow among different demographics. Facebook ranks at the top of the list, followed by X, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The top 10 social media domains in 2024 are:
- Facebook.com
- Instagram.com
- X.com
- WhatsApp.com
- Reddit.com
- TikTok.com
- LinkedIn.com
- VK.com
- Pinterest.com
- Twitter.com
Popular video streaming domains
Video is the most popular form of online content. The vast majority (91.8%) of people watch videos online. YouTube.com boasts the highest amount of video traffic, with 500 hours of footage uploaded per minute. While more curated than YouTube, video streaming domains like Netflix.com and DisneyPlus.com take a back seat to user-generated content.
The 10 most popular video streaming and online TV domains in 2024 are:
- YouTube.com
- Netflix.com
- Kwai-video.com
- IMDB.com
- DisneyPlus.com
- Rutube.ru
- Max.com
- Waisheph.com
- PrimeVideo.com
- Tenki.jp
Popular news domains
Internet users prefer Yahoo.com as a trusted news source, followed closely by Naver.com and QQ.com. Non-English sites Yahoo.co.jp and Globo.com also retain a spot in the top ten.
2024’s top 10 news and publishing domains are:
- Yahoo.com
- Yahoo.co.jp
- Naver.com
- News.Yahoo.co.jp
- Globo.com
- MSN.com
- BBC.co.uk
- CNN.com
- NYTimes.com
- BBC.com
Popular sports domains
The sports industry has a strong online presence. ESPN.com is the most popular sports domain, with more than 413 million unique visitors every month.
The 10 most popular sport domains in 2024 are:
- ESPN.com
- Olympics.com
- Marca.com
- AS.com
- CricBuzz.com
- Sports.Yahoo.co.jp
- MundoDePortivo.com
- MLB.com
- Sport.es
- NikkanSports.com
Popular health domains
In 2024, the National Institute of Health (NIH)—which is owned and operated by the United States Department of Health & Human Services—pulled ahead of private for-profit publishing sources with an average of 200 million visitors per month.
The top 10 most popular health domains are:
- NIH.gov
- Healthline.com
- MayoClinic.org
- WebMD.com
- CVS.com
- ClevelandClinic.org
- MedicalNewsToday.com
- Walgreens.com
- 1mg.com
- NHS.uk
Popular travel domains
Sites like Booking.com enjoy 621 million visitors per month from all over the world, helping travelers 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 and tourism domains worldwide:
- Booking.com
- TripAdvisor.com
- Airbnb.com
- Agoda.com
- Expedia.com
- Uber.com
- Jalan.net
- NaviTime.co.jp
- Trip.com
- AA.com
Popular search engine domains
Google.com is the decided victor of search engine domains worldwide. As of 2024, more than 83 billion people rely on the search engine to find what they’re looking for. Google’s web traffic can’t be matched by secondary competitors Yandex.ru (2.8 billion monthly visits) and Baidu.com (2.5 billion monthly visits).
The top 10 search domains in 2024 are:
- Google.com
- Yandex.ru
- Baidu.com
- Bing.com
- DuckDuckGo.com
- Google.de
- Ya.ru
- Daum.net
- Google.co.jp
- Google.com.br
Popular banking domains
PayPal.com is the leading domain in the banking and financial industries. Online web traffic hovers at 511 million visitors per month. Chase.com lags behind at 192 million total visits.
Globally, the 10 most popular banking domains of 2024 are:
- PayPal.com
- Chase.com
- CapitalOne.com
- Citi.com
- BankOfAmerica.com
- AmericanExpress.com
- WellsFargo.com
- HDFCBank.com
- Caixa.gov.br
- TinkOff.ru
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, including:
- Social media trends. The whims of social media are infamous for dictating domain trends. Sharable content or memes with relevant images regularly influence the flow of online traffic. However, social media trends usually cause very short-term spikes in popularity, making way for the next internet trend.
- Worldwide relevance. Breaking news and changing geopolitical climates can have significant impacts on the way domains are accessed.
- Major holidays. The closer the holiday season gets, the higher certain domains will rank. Amazon saw more than 2.7 billion unique visitors in December 2023, beating that September’s record by half a billion. Domains—particularly those in ecommerce—quickly climb the ranks during busy seasons.
Domain name trends for 2024
Domain names have a relatively predictable pattern. Traditional naming conventions haven’t changed much at all in 2024, although new top level domains, price increases, and unique extensions continue to shape the industry.
One of the biggest influencing factors is the sheer number of new TLDs. The WHOIS list of extensions continues to grow, with more than 1,500 available as of September 2024. The most popular TLD is .com with 44.4% of the world’s websites choosing it over other common domain extensions.
That said, .com popularity is down from two years prior (back in 2022, 53.3% of all domains used the top level domain). More companies are turning to easily branded domains with unique extensions. Generic TLDs like .xyz, .online, and .shop are some of the most popular TLDs in 2024.
Subdomains are also still an important element of internal brand strategy. Brands will continue to hedge their bets with internal testing and optimization, including efforts to differentiate 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 2025?
Young brands like TikTok are giving Google a run for its money: 40% of Gen Z users say they use TikTok or Instagram as search engines before turning to Google. With the tides turning like that, 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.
Here are a couple of popular domain predictions:
- Mobile-friendly domains have the upper hand. In 2024, 59.70% of all web visits were on mobile devices. Users have come to expect mobile adaptability across all domains.
- SEO-based domains won’t be as effective. Google’s John Mueller released a statement explaining that SEO phrases in domain names no longer provide a benefit to ranking. Choosing a domain name based on keywords alone may even detract from domain authority and search page rankings. 2025 will show an increase in brand-friendly, sustainable, and catchy decisions.
Looking ahead to domain evolution
2024 brought monumental changes to the world of domains. Whether those changes 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 popular registered domains of 2024 year to date, have already been decided. As for what you might see later this year and next—only time will tell.
Read more
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- What Is a TLD? Top-Level Domains Definition and Guide
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Popular domains FAQ
What are the common top level domains?
- .com
- .org
- .de
- .ru
- .br
- .net
- .uk
- .jp
- .it
- .fr
What is the most popular domain?
- Google.com
- YouTube.com
- Facebook.com
- Instagram.com
- X.com
- WhatsApp.com
- Wikipedia.org
- Yahoo.com
- Reddit.com
- Yahoo.co.jp
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 .com is meant to designate websites used for commercial purposes, .edu is for educational institutions, and .gov is reserved for US-based government organizations.
How do I choose the right domain name for my business?
- Choose a popular TLD (e.g. .com).
- Make it memorable.
- Avoid commonly misspelled words.
- Remove punctuation.
- Avoid numbers.
- Include your brand name.
- Avoid trademarks.
How can I sell my domain name?
- Research sale prices of comparable domains.
- Consider a domain auction.
- List your domain information on WHOIS.
- Make a “for sale” landing page on your domain.
- Review offers for your domain name.
- Use an escrow service to transfer the domain name.
- Transfer the domain to its new owner.
