The short answer
If your customers are in Sint Maarten, or your brand is tied to the island, .SX is usually the better primary domain: it is local, short, and the name you want is far more likely to be available. If you sell mainly to a worldwide audience with no link to the island, .COM is the familiar default. Many businesses register both and point one at the other.
Side by side
| .SX | .COM | |
|---|---|---|
| What it says | "We are part of Sint Maarten" | "We are a business", with no location |
| Name availability | Short, meaningful names are often still free | Most short and obvious names were taken years ago |
| Length | Two letters after the dot | Three letters after the dot |
| Who can register | Anyone, worldwide | Anyone, worldwide |
| Local search | A clear signal that your site is relevant to Sint Maarten | No location signal on its own |
| Familiarity | Well known locally and growing | Known everywhere |
Why .SX works for local businesses
It shows where you belong
Restaurants, tour operators, villas, real estate agents, shops and professional services in Sint Maarten all trade on being local. A .SX address says that before a visitor reads a single word on your site, and it looks right on a business card, a shop sign or a rental car sticker.
You can get the name you actually want
With .COM you often end up with a long name, an extra word or a hyphen because the obvious name is gone. In .SX, names like yourtrade.sx or yourbrand.sx are much more likely to be available.
It helps with local search
Search engines generally treat country-code domains such as .SX as relevant to their country. That is a helpful signal when people in Sint Maarten search for what you offer. It is not a shortcut, though: good content, a Google Business Profile and links from other local sites still matter most.
When .COM makes more sense
- You sell online to customers around the world and have no connection to the island.
- You already own a well-known .COM and have built your brand on it.
- Your audience is mainly in a market where .COM is the only domain people trust.
The best of both: register both
Domains are inexpensive compared with the cost of a customer typing the wrong address. A common setup is:
- Choose one main domain for your website and email (for a local business, usually the .SX).
- Register the other one too, so nobody else can take it.
- Redirect the second domain to the first, so every visitor ends up in the same place.
Is .SX good for SEO?
Yes. Google ranks .SX sites on the same things as any other site: useful content, a fast and secure website, and links from other sites. For Sint Maarten searches, the local domain is an extra point in your favour.
Ready to choose?
Check whether your name is free on our .SX domain registration page, or follow our step-by-step guide on how to register a .SX domain.
