Recent reports from registrars say that the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States, .us, has become more popular with registrants over the past few months. This is excellent news for any business wishing to trade in the US, for two important reasons.

Firstly, a ccTLD suggests credibility and trustworthiness; people like to see a website especially designed for their own country, and many web users report that they will usually prefer to use the local version of a website when it is available to them. While .com has always been the TLD of choice in America in the past, the growing popularity of .us suggests that American web users are beginning to find the .us domain more appealing. Even if you already own a .com, a .us domain could be a valuable addition to your portfolio if you are targeting the American market.

Secondly, the supply of .com Domain Names is rapidly running out, meaning that the chances of registering a good-quality domain name are far higher with .us. Finding that perfect Domain Name may be far easier if you opt for a .us domain than if you search high and low for a .com. The .us domain has also been used for some interesting "domain hacks", where the letters of the TLD form part of the name of the website. The social bookmarking site del.icio.us is one very successful example, and there are many possibilities for the creative domain buyer.

Domainmonster.com offers cost-effective .us registration, with fantastic bulk discounts, powerful domain management tools including full DNS control, and an all-new easy-to-use website design service.