Have you heard or read about all these new domain name extensions coming out?
It is a little overwhelming. It is like a MacGyver episodes ending with all the explosions. Yes, it is truly a “Domain Name Explosion!” Extensions include .ninja, .pub, .rest, and .bar. just to name a few. When ICANN opened up the extension registration to the public, I do not believe they were ready for what happened.
What is happening with all these domain name extensions?
So you may be wondering, what happened and where did all these domain extensions come from? Once the ICANN opened up domain registration to the public, any organization could submit an application to register and run their own extension. If their application was accepted, they would have to provide the infrastructure and systems to manage the domain registration for their new extension. They would have full control over the extension (like Reatlor.com managing .realtor).
So as you can imagine, all these organization went crazy over this opportunity to have their own extension. Thus came .apple, .ibm, and others like .shop, .pro, .services. And the end is not in sight…the ICANN is releasing new extensions each and every day for the rest of the year, if not forever.
Should I buy all the domains out there for my company or brand name?
Some of our clients have asked, “should we buy up these domains with our company or brand name?” That is a good question, and it all depends on your industry, market, and goal for each domain extension you buy. I do not believe a website that does not have an online store should run your-company.shop as their main website. But yes, if you have an e-commerce website (online store), it would make perfect sense for you to use your-company.shop for your current shop page, but not the overall company website. So, the new domain extensions give you tons of flexibility and the ability to be more creative with your website’s URLs overall.
How can these new domain name extensions help me?
So, yes, there are some applications that make sense, as I discussed above, but what you really care about is how these new domain name extensions can help your business’ website and SEO?
Well, first, you can use these extension, to your advantage. For example, when running online/offline campaigns about buying products from your website, you could use the .shop domain to assist in your marketing efforts by putting the call to action item actually in the URL! Also, the new URL is clean and easier for your customer to remember, which is a win-win.
Example: Looking for the best products from “your-company-name”, come shop online today at your-company.shop!
In the SEO world, the main domain extensions (.com, .org, .net) will, for now, retain a higher level of trust than the newer domain extensions. However, if you can obtain new domain names that are more keyword rich than your current .com, .org, .net, then it may be worth snagging the domains now while they are still available. This will give you the flexibility to switch to those domains as they start showing more frequently in search engine results.
Do you have any questions or comments about the new domain extensions? Be sure to leave a comment below.
Are you ready to purchase some of these domains for your brand? If so, contact us today!
