The .COM guide
A familiar ending.
A specific decision.
Evaluate the full name, its purchase path, and the alternatives within your budget.
Explore .COM domainsThe extension conversation
The words and the ending.
Compare complete addresses through your audience, your brand, and the cost of keeping the name.
An extension choice is most useful when it is tied to actual candidates. Put the .COM and .XYZ names beside each other, say both aloud, and test how each works as an email address. Then compare the total acquisition and renewal costs rather than just the first price you see.
Our guides make room for different audiences and naming styles. They do not treat either ending as a promise of traffic or business results. Start with the criteria that matter to your project, and be explicit about the compromises you are willing to make.
A familiar ending.
The .XYZ guide
An open-ended name.
A clear purpose.
Test pronunciation, audience fit, and the renewal terms for your exact candidate.
Explore .XYZ domainsMake the comparison on paper
Use a short list of criteria: clarity, recall, fit, availability, continuing cost, and handover complexity. Write a sentence explaining how each candidate performs. This gives you something concrete to discuss with a colleague and something to return to when a listing price or deadline changes the conversation.
The full .COM versus .XYZ decision guide develops this process and points to Google’s own guidance on top-level domains in search.
What’s your domain question?
A topic worth unpacking, a marketplace update, or a detail we should revisit. We’d like to hear it.