Whenever we log on to the World Wide Web, we’re often tasked with completing a set of rituals. These online rituals, like any habit of consistency, often go by unnoticed, like typing http:, www., or .com (dotcom) into the address bar. And while dotcom isn’t the only top level domain in popular use (i.e. .gov, .edu, .org), it is the most popular—but for how long?
2014 isn't just full of new web design trends, but web trends altogether. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (mouthful/ICANN) is raising the bar, significantly, on the amount of top-level domains in use online this year. And we aren’t talking about ten, or twenty. We’re talking in the “multiple hundreds.” And although the move opens many previously locked doors in web browsing, it also raises innumerous questions in regards to the future of the Internet.
The possibilities are endless, and yet causing concern: Will the addition of hundreds of new top level domains clutter the Internet? And will it cause added frustrations while navigating the web?
It’s one of the most dramatic changes to the Internet in recent years, and begs the question: How can you utilize this shift to promote your company? By next year, you’ll be seeing .xbox, .youtube and more, so now’s the time to jump on board if you’re looking to take advantage—or get ahead of the competition if your brand’s name is common or lesser known.
After all, regardless of if you utilize the domain, you’ll still prevent others from registering your domain and stealing any of visibility you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
As Andrew Rosener, CEO of Media Options says, “Whether you are looking to purchase the domains to increase the reach of your own organization or simply make money reselling them, the opportunity is there.” And if you're looking to expand your reach by leveraging new domains, it would help to have a marketing strategy around it.