Domain extensions: which one to pick

Three kinds of extension

• Generic (gTLD): .com, .net, .org and newer endings such as .online or .shop. Anyone, in any country, can register them.
• Regional: .africa is shared by the whole continent and suits brands and organisations that want an African identity.
• Country code (ccTLD): an ending for a single country. Ethiopia’s is .et, with categories beneath it such as .com.et, .org.et and .edu.et.

What we recommend for Ethiopia

Extension	Best for	Price a year
.com	Companies of every size: start here	₵178
.africa	Brands working across Africa, or a fallback when the .com is gone	₵250
.org	NGOs, associations, churches, charities and foundations	₵178
.net	Software, internet and technology businesses	₵210

Every other extension is listed with its price under all domain prices.

.com, .africa or .org?

	.com	.africa	.org
What it signals	An established business	An African brand	A non-profit or organisation
How well known	The most familiar ending	Newer, still growing	Widely recognised
Free short names	Hard to find	Easier to find	Somewhere in between
Price a year	₵178	₵250	₵178

Our advice: if you sell in Ethiopia, make a .com your main address. It is what customers type out of habit, and it works just as well for buyers and partners abroad, which matters to exporters, tour operators and companies with diaspora customers. Register the .africa of the same name too, so nobody else can use it. NGOs, associations and faith organisations usually belong on a .org, and a .net is a sensible second choice for a tech company whose .com is taken. Read .com vs .africa for a closer comparison.

What about .et and .com.et?

Ethiopia’s own domains (.com.et, .org.et, .edu.et and the others) are run by the Ethiopian registry. Registering one means applying with details about your business or organisation, so it is not an instant online purchase. We don’t sell them online, but ask our team and we’ll help you through the application. Can I register a .com.et domain? explains what to expect.

A common approach is to launch on a .com straight away and add the .com.et later, pointing both to the same website.

Does the extension change your Google ranking?

Not on its own. A .com or .africa site can rank well for searches made in Ethiopia. What tells Google that your site serves Ethiopian customers is content written for them, an Ethiopian address and contact details on the site, links from local organisations and the settings in Search Console. Useful pages count for far more than the ending.

Other endings

Newer extensions such as .online, .shop or .store can suit a single campaign or an online shop, but keep your main brand on a .com. Search any name on domain registration to see which extensions are still available.