Mexico and the use of ccTLDs

As some of you may know, I’m a destination marketer and part-time domainer based in Baja Mexico. For some time now I’ve been studying the use of domains in my little piece of the Baja, as well as in mainland Mexico, especially in the business and travel markets that I deal with on a day to day basis.

One of the things I’ve observed over the past few years is the culture in Mexico when it comes to the use of domain extensions. It varies from that of, say, Germany, where the use of the .de ccTLD is very strong and often preferred to that of the .eu extension and maybe even the “king”— .com.

In Mexico, however, it’s still a mixed pot, varying from region to region and market segment to market segment. It’s more of a marriage between .com as king and .com.mx as queen. Additionally, an unusual and strange relative to the king and queen in Mexico has always been .net. In fact, if you go back you will find that a large part of the population in Mexico used to prefer a .net extension some years ago, with thousands of Mexican websites making use of it until recent years.

Today, the well-established .com.mx extension has strong usage with the mainstream masses. Small business owners use it to establish their online presence and its use is most apparent in the larger populated areas of Mexico. While the top national newspapers have registered .com.mx, one or two may automatically redirect you to the .com version of the URL.

When it comes to our new arrival, the simplified .mx extension, I believe it will see growth over the long run. I’m seeing many new registrations. However, the behavior out there is ruled by force of habit. The majority of users in Mexico still look for the .com.mx extension before they even think of the simpler, more attractive .mx.

This also holds true for the hundreds if not thousands of companies owning and doing business through the newer .mx ccTLD in Mexico. They will either redirect you to their .com.mx or .com extension. Some will let you go with what you pick, but in the end they’re sticking with the .com.mx ccTLD… at least for the time being.

Happy domaining.

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