.US

.us is the country code extension for the United States, opened to the public in 2002 and run today by GoDaddy Registry under contract with the US Department of Commerce. It never caught on the way .co.uk did in Britain or .de did in Germany, mostly because Americans already thought of .com as theirs.

Two rules set it apart. You need a US nexus to register, meaning a citizen, resident or a business with a US presence, and it's spot-checked. And privacy or proxy registration isn't permitted, so the registrant's real contact information is public. That second rule alone keeps a lot of investors away.

Aftermarket demand is modest and mostly from small businesses and organizations that want the "American" signal. Nice keyword .us names sell, but at a discount to .com you can drive a truck through.