Research Guides: How to Google More Effectively: Getting Started

Understanding the URL

The URL for a site can tell us a great deal about the kind of information we will find there.

All URLs have a domain name and an extension.

The domain name is, in most instances, the name of the website itself, the organization hosting the site, or its abbreviation. The extension tells you what type of organization the website is. Put together this would look like https://www.domainname.extension.

Let's look at a few real websites and break down their URLs.

https://www.harvard.edu/
The domain name for this website is Harvard and the extension is .edu. This means that the site is an educational institution. Typically, the information available through .edu sites should be considered trustworthy, however, you must keep in mind that .edu is used by all educational institutions from kindergarten through higher education.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu
The domain name of this website is "CDC", and the extension is ".gov". The ".gov" means that this is a government website, and as such, information published on here can typically be considered trustworthy. This particular URL also has a file path (flu) included. This tells us that we will be going to the section of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a US government agency, website related to the flu.
https://www.health.gov.au/
The domain name of this website is "health" and the extension is".gov." Unlike the previous examples, this URL also has a country code ".au" at the end. This means that this particular website is a governmental website on health from Australia. Or, more precisely, it belongs to the Australian Department of Health.

Common Website Extensions

The extension of a website is the text immediately following the . after the domain name (http://www.domaninname.extension).

.com	An abbreviation for commercial. .com sites have profit as their primary aim. They are usually selling or entertaining. This does not mean they are inherently untrustworthy, though, only that we must verify their information through other sources.
.edu	An abbreviation for education. .edu sites are used by schools from kindergarten through 4-year universities. They are usually informing.
.gov	An abbreviation for government. .gov sites are local, state, or federal government websites. It is important to note lobbying or candidate websites cannot be .gov, and many .gov sites host major research organizations (like NASA, NOAA, the CDC, National Institutes of Health, etc.) Their purpose is also usually to inform.
.org	An abbreviation for organization. .org sites are almost always nonprofit organizations (such as cancer.org, or nra.org). Their purpose is usually to influence or advocate. Nonprofits can include science-based organizations like the American Cancer Society, but can also be lobbying organizations like the National Rifle Association. Be careful to look for biases when using a .org site.