You’re getting the van signwritten, ordering shirts and setting up a work email, and the question comes up: is it yourname.co.nz or yourname.nz? Ask around and you’ll get strong opinions both ways. The good news is that, for a trade business, it’s one of the lower-stakes decisions you’ll make. The two questions that actually matter are the ones nobody asks until something breaks: whose name is the domain registered in, and will it renew on its own?
Here’s what’s actually different between .nz and .co.nz, which one we’d pick, and the ownership and renewal mistakes that take trade businesses offline.
The short answer
- Both are New Zealand domains, run by the same registry, with the same rules. Neither ranks better on Google.
- Buy both if your name is available in both, make one your main address and point the other at it. Each costs about the same as a coffee a month.
- Pick the main one with two tests: say it on the phone, and picture it on the van.
- Register it in your business’s name, not your web designer’s, and turn on auto-renew. Those two settings matter more than the extension.
What’s actually different between .nz and .co.nz
History
.co.nz has been the standard address for New Zealand businesses for decades. In October 2013 InternetNZ decided to allow registrations directly under .nz, and the shorter yourname.nz addresses opened from 30 September 2014. So .co.nz is the one people grew up with, and .nz is the shorter newer option. That’s most of the difference.
Google and SEO
There’s no SEO advantage either way. Both are country-code domains for New Zealand, and Google’s own guidance says country-code domains “provide a strong signal to both users and search engines that your site is explicitly intended for a certain country”. That signal is the same for .nz and .co.nz.
What actually decides whether you show up when someone searches “plumber Hastings” is your Google Business Profile, your reviews and a website with a page for each service and area. We cover those in our map pack guide and Google Business Profile checklist. The extension doesn’t move the needle.
Perception
This is the only real difference, and it’s a soft one. .co.nz reads as established and familiar. .nz reads as shorter and a bit more modern. Plenty of people still type “.co.nz” on autopilot, which is the main reason to own both: if a customer adds the “co” and lands nowhere, that’s a lost enquiry you’ll never hear about.
Which one we’d pick for a trade business
If both are available, buy both. Then choose which one is the main address (the one on the van, the quotes and the email signature) and set the other to redirect to it. Customers can type either and still find you, and nobody else can register your name in the other extension and confuse your customers.
To choose the main one, run two tests.
The phone test. Read your address out loud the way you would to a customer on the phone: “it’s dave’s plumbing dot co dot nz” versus “dave’s plumbing dot nz”. Most Kiwis have heard the first one a thousand times. If you’re constantly spelling things out on calls, the familiar version saves you repeating yourself.
The van test. Picture it on the back of the ute, in a font big enough to read at a set of lights. Shorter wins on signage. If your business name is already long, the shorter .nz can be the difference between one line and two.
When both tests are a tie, it doesn’t matter. Pick one and commit to it, because the real cost of a domain is changing it later: repainting signage, reprinting cards and quote pads, updating every directory listing and telling every customer your email has moved.
What about .com?
If you only work in New Zealand, you don’t need it. A .com says nothing about where you are, and a .co.nz or .nz tells a local customer straight away that you’re local. Buy the .com only if you plan to work overseas or someone could cause real confusion by owning it.
What about a keyword domain like napierplumber.co.nz?
A domain stuffed with your trade and town won’t rank you on its own, and it ties your business to one town forever. Your business name is easier to trust, easier to protect and still works when you start covering the next town over. If you already own a keyword domain that’s been your address for years, keep it. Just don’t buy one hoping it’ll do your SEO for you.
Who should own it: the registrant
Every .nz domain has a registrant, the person or organisation that holds the rights to it. The company you pay each year is the registrar (or a reseller). They’re different, and the difference matters.
The Domain Name Commission, which oversees .nz, is blunt about this: make sure your company name (or your own name, if you’re a sole trader) is listed as the registrant. If the listed registrant is your web developer or the domain provider, you need to get it transferred to you. The Commission says it regularly hears from businesses who believe they own a domain, only to find a former staff member or a previous provider listed instead.
Why it bites: when the domain needs renewing or moving to a new provider, the registrar deals with the registrant. If that’s someone who has moved on, you can be stuck while your website and email are down.
Two related things worth knowing:
- The UDAI. To transfer a domain to a new provider you need a Unique Domain Authentication ID, a code issued to the registrant. Keep it private: anyone with it can make changes to your domain.
- The privacy option. Individuals can hide their contact details from the public lookup, but only if they don’t use the domain to any significant extent in trade. A trade business website almost certainly doesn’t qualify, so expect your business contact details to show in the public record. Use business details, not your home address, where you can.
You can check who’s listed as the registrant of any .nz domain, yours included, with the Domain Name Commission’s lookup tool. It takes a minute and it’s the most useful thing you’ll do after reading this.
If someone builds your website, your domain should still be yours. Ours is: our terms say domain names stay the client’s at all times. Whoever you work with, ask the question before you sign.
Renewals: the quiet way tradies lose their email
Domains are registered for a set term, anywhere from one to ten years. When the term runs out, the domain goes into a 90-day redemption period. During that time, the Commission says, any services linked to the domain, like your email and website, stop working.
You can still get it back inside those 90 days by contacting your registrar, sometimes with a reinstatement fee on top. After that, the domain moves to “pending delete”, can’t be reinstated, and within a few working days becomes available for anyone to register. If someone else grabs it, getting it back can be very hard.
For a trade business, that means a missed renewal email can take down your website, your quote emails and your invoice emails at once, and nobody tells you why the phone’s gone quiet. Three habits prevent almost all of it:
- Turn on auto-renew with your registrar. The Commission recommends it, because renewal notices go to spam, to an old staff member or to nobody at all.
- Keep the card on file current. Auto-renew fails quietly when the card expires.
- Don’t use an email on the domain itself as the contact on the registration. If the domain lapses, that email stops working too, so the warning never reaches you. Use a personal or separate address for the registration record.
Email on your domain
A quote from dave@davesplumbing.co.nz lands better than one from a free webmail address, and it’s yours to keep however your business changes. If you own both extensions, set up your email so messages sent to either one arrive in the same inbox. Customers will get it wrong, and every misdirected email is a lead that disappears.
Domain email does cost a little per person per month on top of the domain itself. We break down the running costs of a website, domain and email in what a website costs in NZ.
The 10-minute domain check
Do this today, even if your website is years old:
- Look up your domain on the DNC lookup. Is your business listed as the registrant?
- Check the expiry date and confirm auto-renew is on with your registrar.
- Check the contact email on the registration isn’t on the domain itself.
- Check whether the other extension (.nz or .co.nz) is available. If it is, buy it and point it at your main site.
- Write down where your domain is registered and the login, and keep it somewhere your business can find it if you’re away.
.nz and .co.nz FAQ
Is .nz or .co.nz better for business?
Neither is better for Google, and both are trusted New Zealand addresses. .co.nz is more familiar, .nz is shorter. For most trade businesses we’d buy both, use one as the main address and redirect the other.
Is .nz a real domain, or is it just for email?
It’s a full domain, the same as .co.nz. You can run a website on it, use it for email or both. Since 2014 you can register names directly under .nz, like yourname.nz.
How do I buy a .nz domain name?
Through an authorised registrar or a reseller (the company you pay each year). Check the name’s available, register it in your business’s name, and turn on auto-renew. The Domain Name Commission keeps a list of authorised registrars on its website.
Do I need both .nz and .co.nz?
You don’t have to, but it’s cheap insurance. Owning both means a customer who types the wrong one still finds you, and nobody else can use your name in the other extension.
What happens if my domain expires?
It goes into a 90-day redemption period, and your website and email stop working. You can reinstate it through your registrar during those 90 days, possibly with an extra fee. After that it’s deleted and anyone can register it.
Want us to check your domain, website and the rest of how enquiries reach you? Get a free leads audit: 20 minutes with Ryan or Matt, no obligation. If you’re starting from scratch, see how we build websites for trade businesses.