And Register.com Slot .Co Second — Network Solutions

Big registrars pushing .co as next best thing to .com.

Last month Go Daddy created quite a buzz by briefly changed its default domain name search parameter to .co.

Although Go Daddy and its competitors continue to offer .com first, two sizable retail domain registrars are making a significant push to get clients to register .co.

Both Network Solutions and Register.com are promoting .com as a second choice to .co, with Network Solutions even promoting .co above other domain extensions you’ve selected.

Here’s a screenshot from Network Solutions. I searched for xyzdomain and selected the default .com and .net TLDs. .Com is unavailable, but Network Solutions slots (and auto selects) .co along with .net, even placing it ahead of the available .net.

If the .com is available, Network Solutions still slots .co as number two but doesn’t auto select it.

At Register.com .co is called out as an alternative whenever your .com isn’t available. The site pitches the domain as an alternative to .com, saying .co is short for “firm”. Alternative TLDs are far down the page: