What Is .AR Domain?

There are hundreds of top-level domains—the small sections of text at the end of a domain name, like .US or .UK—and .AR is an increasingly popular option. This guide explores what the .AR domain is, how it’s used, and some of the pros and cons if you’re considering it for your next website.

An Introduction to the .AR Domain

First, let’s answer our titular question: What is .AR domain?

The .AR domain is the official top-level domain for the South American nation of Argentina. Similar to how .FR is the official top-level domain for France or .MX for Mexico, .AR is primarily aimed at organizations, businesses, and individuals based in or doing business in Argentina.

However, it also has a secondary use, which has led to it becoming increasingly popular far beyond the borders of its homeland.

How the .AR Domain Is Used

There are two main uses for the .AR domain:

Businesses and People in Argentina

.AR is classed as a ccTLD, or country code top-level domain, which means it’s specific to a certain country – in this case, Argentina. So, like other ccTLDs, the main purpose of .AR is for individuals or companies based in Argentina to connect more easily with one another and market their brands at the local or national scale. It’s also useful for international brands or organizations wishing to expand into the Argentine market.

Tech Companies Specialized in Augmented Reality

Some ccTLDs have taken on secondary meanings because of their favorable combination of letters. .AI, for example, started as the ccTLD for the Caribbean island of Anguilla, but is now used for AI-oriented companies. You’ve probably also seen .TV used for streaming services, but it’s actually the ccTLD of Tuvalu. Similarly, the .AR domain is favored by many tech firms focused on augmented reality (AR).

Examples of this include:

• Rendered.AR: The official website for an AR product visualization platform.
• Pins.AR: An online shop selling pins that come to life in augmented reality.
• Arti.AR: A platform for creating AR-enhanced video presentations.

How Do You Register a .AR Domain?

Domain name registration can get quite complex, depending on which TLD you use. A lot of country-code TLDs come with certain restrictions, designed to protect their intended use and prevent misuse.

Fortunately, for .AR domain name registration in Argentina, there aren’t any strict requirements to worry about. You don’t need to live in Argentina, for example, or provide an Argentine passport or any other justifying documents before obtaining your domain name.

The Pros and Cons of the .AR Domain

If you’re considering setting up a site in Argentina or launching your own AR business, the .AR domain could be the right choice. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons.

Pros

• Short and snappy: .AR is a top-level domain that’s easy to pronounce by itself or append to other words as a suffix. That makes it simple for people to remember and quick for them to type on any device, which may help your site gain more traffic and repeat visitors.
• Ideal for Argentina: If you want to do any sort of business, branding, or marketing in Argentina, the .AR domain is the one to choose. It’s the domain name that local people are familiar with, so it’s best for gaining traction among the populace.
• SEO benefits: In each country around the world, Google often prioritizes websites with relevant country-code TLDs in its rankings. So, you’ve got a better chance of ranking well on the Argentine version of Google (google.com.ar) if you use a .AR domain.
• Associations with tech and innovation: These days, .AR isn’t just for Argentinians. As explained above, it’s also strongly associated with innovative tech solutions, like augmented and extended reality. It’s ideal, then, for tech startups that wish to appear innovative and forward-thinking.
• Availability: According to recent data, .AR is only used on 0.19% of domain names. That’s far less than .COM, for example, which appears on almost half of the domains. Since .AR is way less popular, it’s got much greater availability, so you likely won’t have to compromise on your name.
• Future value: With AR and similar technology on the rise, there’s a lot of potential for .AR domain names to rise in value in the years ahead. Getting in early, before the domains become too popular, could be a great way to save or even make money in the long term.

Cons

• Lack of international appeal: One of the only real downsides to opting for a .AR domain name is that, beyond Argentina, it doesn’t have too much international appeal or recognition at the moment. You may struggle to make much of an impact globally with a .AR address.
• SEO: While there are SEO benefits for companies wishing to make a mark in Argentina, you may not have the same high SEO rankings with your .AR address elsewhere in the world. So, you might have to work a little harder on your SEO campaigns to get ahead.