Today, there are over 1.1 billion domain names registered online and 5 billion internet users. This robust growth has greatly influenced the popularity of various domain names.
The recent years marked some significant changes in the popularity of web domains globally. Major domains like Google and YouTube reclaimed their dominant positions at the top, surpassing newer domains like TikTok. Other members on the list remained relatively stable, despite fierce competition.
Top 6 popular domains now
- Google.com
- YouTube.com
- Facebook.com
- Twitter.com
- Wikipedia.org
- Instagram.com
What Is The #1 Most Visited Website?
As of January 2024, the most visited website in the world is Google. The next most popular websites are YouTube, Facebook, Twitter (X), and Wikipedia.
It’s worth noting that the total number of website visits differs from the number of unique visitors. In a world with 8 billion people, 177.8 billion monthly visits can happen because certain people visit the site multiple times daily.
The only other site that competes with Google in total visits worldwide is YouTube, at 117.3 billion. Notably, both websites are owned and operated by Alphabet Inc., highlighting their dominance in the space.
Insights from the world’s most popular domain names
The most popular domains provide interesting insights about Top-Level Domains (TLDs) and domain name lengths.
Current trends indicate that .com will continue to be the most popular domain extension. More than one in three people find .coms more memorable than other TLDs, which is why it’s considered the most trustworthy extension on the internet.
The popularity of .com is evident 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 are further down the list.
However, popular domains may also be supported by a less obvious factor: their name. According to a Nielsen study, naming conventions are crucial in supporting a brand. The best domain names are short, concise, and memorable. Most of the top 10 most popular domains in 2022 consist of two-syllable words.
Most popular domains by type
Global domain popularity doesn’t necessarily provide a complete view of the digital ecosystem. Today, there are thousands of top-ranking domains in individual categories, especially ecommerce, social media, video, and more. These rankings were gathered from Statista and SimilarWeb.
- The most popular Top-Level Domain (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 by 53.3% 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 reaches three billion monthly visitors, across all devices. Rivaled by AliExpress and eBay, the company continues to hold a 40% market share across 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 consumers use the internet just for video streaming. YouTube.com boasts the highest amount of traffic, with 500 hours of footage uploaded 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 including Globo.com and UOL.com.br retain 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 than 500 million unique visitors every 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 of 190 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 enjoy 420 million visitors from 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). In 2023, monthly traffic to Google is about 177,800,000,000.
Popular banking domains
PayPal.com is the leading domain in the banking and financial industries. Online web traffic hovers at 514 million visitors per month, with an average growth rate of 10%. Chase.com lags behind at 200 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 some 114.9 million users from accessing the internet.
- Major holidays. The closer the holiday season gets, the higher certain domains will rank. Amazon saw more than 2.9 billion unique visitors in December 2021, which slumped to 2.2 billion the following February. Domains—particularly those in ecommerce—quickly climb the ranks during busy seasons.
