What are the registration requirements for .QA domains?
. QA:
There are no requirements for this extension. However, if the owner is a company, it must own the same domain under .COM.QA.
.COM.QA:
In order to register a .COM.QA domain, the domain owner must meet one or more of the following requirements:
- The owner must have a valid trade license issued within the State of Qatar by the Ministry of Business and Trade, and/or the competent authorities of the State of Qatar in accordance with Qatari laws; OR
- The owner must have a registered trademark in the State of Qatar.
.NET.QA:
In order to register a .NET.QA domain, the owner must be a Qatari Telecom or Networking Provider.
Notes:
- Please note that any application is subject to revision from the Qatar authorities; in order to avoid deletion, your domain name should not violate the laws and regulations of the State of Qatar. (Registration policies .QA)
- Regarding .COM.QA and .NET.QA, domains can only point to DNS name servers located in Qatar. Additionally, if the registrant name (or the domain name) is different from the company or trademark name, an authorization letter will be required.
What does .QA stand for?
.QA is the official domain extension or the internet country code top level domain (ccTLD) of Qatar. It was introduced in 1996 and was intended for entities affiliated with this country. Internet Qatar is the authorized body for carrying out its registry. All registrations must go through an accredited and authorized registrar such as Marcaria.
Aside from being used as Qatar’s two-letter country code, QA is also often used as an abbreviation for other popular words. QA also stands for: quality assurance (business process), quality analyst (occupation), question and answer (miscellaneous), Qantas Airways (airline), quick assets (finance), Queue and Accumulator (system) and Queen Amidala (character in Star Wars).
Why register a .QA domain?
Qatar’s economy is among the highest and most powerful in the world. Its economic activity is predominantly based on petroleum and natural gas exports. Purchasing power is also consistently high that allow Qataris to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle. Foreign companies are attracted to invest in this country because of multiple factors. One reason is the exceptional support that they get from the local government. Incentives are given and tariff exemption is available for a wide range of products. Another reason is the luxurious lifestyle that residents are able to enjoy. People working and living in Qatar can afford a high quality of living.
Qatar should be your company’s next target for business expansion. Opportunities to grow your revenues are endless and the environment is also business-friendly. But before anything else, we highly suggest that you buy a .QA domain website for your company. Having a .QA domain extension will:
- Help you to represent your business online in a professional way. Using the country code .QA establishes a good online reputation as well.
- Show that your company web page is not just a generic website, but a website that is specifically made to serve Qatari customers. Using the .QA domain suffix is one way of showing that you are committed to doing business with them.
- Instantly localize your website. Customers will be able to identify your website as a business that is operating in Qatar. This is crucial if you want to increase customer trust and loyalty because most internet users prefer to shop from local websites.
- Increase your local traffic volume. Internet users from Qatar are redirected to www.google.qa which is the Qatari version of Google. All searches made from this Google version get local results. Hence, .QA websites are automatically ranked higher for all local searches.
- Help in minimizing your company’s advertising cost. Since country code domains are good for organic SEO and generating local traffic, reliance on paid ads will be reduced.
- Help you choose a premium domain at an affordable price. Register the exact words that you want and avoid ending up with domain names that have no relevance to your business.
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