How to choose a domain name for a business in Uzbekistan
Domains rarely change and always painfully — moving loses part of your SEO weight and confuses returning customers. Pick once, and pick right.
.uz or .com
For a business serving only the local market, .uz is the logical choice: it signals locality to both users and search engines. Google Search Console lets you manually assign geo-targeting to a .com domain, but a .uz domain gets that association by default.
.com makes sense if you plan to expand beyond Uzbekistan within a year or two, or if a short memorable name is only available in .com. Registering .uz goes through accredited registrars and takes 1-3 days.
Spelling rules
A domain should read and be pronounced correctly the first time, without explaining it over the phone. Avoid hyphens — they're forgotten easily and get lost when an address is spoken aloud. Avoid digits replacing letters ('4' for 'for') — that convention doesn't translate to a local Uzbek audience.
Keep it under 15-20 characters. Say it out loud in both Russian and Uzbek: words that look fine written can sound awkward spoken in the local market.
Matching the brand
The domain should match the company name, or come as close as possible. If the primary name is taken, don't bolt on random digits or extra words — a slight rebrand across the board beats a domain that doesn't match your signage and business cards.
Check availability across several zones at once: .uz, .com, .uz.com — and on social media (Instagram, Telegram). A mismatch between the site's spelling and social handles confuses customers and dilutes brand recognition.
Legal check before registering
Check whether a similar trademark is already registered with Uzbekistan's Intellectual Property Agency — a conflict with a registered trademark can force a domain transfer through court even after years of use.
Register the domain under the company's legal entity, not a staff member's or contractor's personal account. Retroactively changing domain ownership is a common headache when the employee who originally registered it leaves.
What to do right after registering
Turn on auto-renewal and attach a corporate email to the domain rather than the personal email of whoever registered it. Register the domain 2-3 years ahead rather than one — it's cheaper per year and reduces the risk of losing it to a forgotten renewal.
Buy up 2-3 close misspellings of your domain (common typos, hyphenated versions) and redirect them to the main site — cheap protection against phishing and competitors intercepting typo traffic.