Got this email this morning from the guys who host this site
Over the last month we have seen the launch of the first few dozen of over one thousand new domain name extensions. From '.shop' to '.app' to '.uk', these domains are completely changing the way we see web addresses. There are a few myths to clear up, and a few changes that we can anticipate.
Background
ICANN, the global body that oversees domain names, last year opened applications for new domain extensions. For an application fee of $185000, anyone could apply for their own extension. ICANN received 1930 applications. Some of these were what we called 'closed', which means they will not be available to the general public: examples include .acer or .nike. However, most were 'open'. What is just starting to happen is that these 'open' TLDs are launching and becoming available to register.
At Vidahost we have already had 25 domain launches; the most popullar so far has been .photography.
Impact on domain availability
Probably the biggest impact of these new TLDs is increased choice. At the moment if you want to register a .com / .net / .co.uk domain, you may have to choose a fairly obscure domain for it to be available. Single words or catchy names are usually already taken. This has pushed the value of the domains in the secondary market high: for example vacationrentals.com sold for $35 million in 2007! Most of the new registrations we see are therefore for lengthy combinations of words such as window-cleaner-in-bath.co.uk. We would expect that to change.
Of course a .com / .co.uk domain still has a high level of user trust associated with it, and will probably remain the most valuable of domains. A study by Nominet showed that 81% of UK consumers preferred a .co.uk domain name.
Trademarks
One of the risks with the new TLDs is that another party could register your domain with a different extension, potentially confusing customers. Brand-protection is therefore driving many pre-registrations, something we also saw when the .xxx extension launched.
I do not want to overstate this risk; there is no need to go and register hundreds of domains. However, it is definitely worth browsing through what domains are coming and seeing if there is anything of value to you coming up, or any domains that could cause you problems if they were registered by a third party.
One area Dan (Vidahost domains manager) is investigating is whether .blog may rank higher for blogs in search engines than a .com -- that would make sense as 'blog' is in the URL. What could the impact be if you run a blog? Similarly, when .shop launches, what impact will that have on ecommerce searches? If a customer searches for 'jumper shop' then where would jumper.shop rank in relation to jumpers.com or jumperstore.co.uk for instance?
Some interesting points there
Domain resale market seems to be a good place to make money if you own a decent domain name
And these .blog ones - will you bloggers be buying up those as well?
Looks like the landscape could be about to change get again..
Over the last month we have seen the launch of the first few dozen of over one thousand new domain name extensions. From '.shop' to '.app' to '.uk', these domains are completely changing the way we see web addresses. There are a few myths to clear up, and a few changes that we can anticipate.
Background
ICANN, the global body that oversees domain names, last year opened applications for new domain extensions. For an application fee of $185000, anyone could apply for their own extension. ICANN received 1930 applications. Some of these were what we called 'closed', which means they will not be available to the general public: examples include .acer or .nike. However, most were 'open'. What is just starting to happen is that these 'open' TLDs are launching and becoming available to register.
At Vidahost we have already had 25 domain launches; the most popullar so far has been .photography.
Impact on domain availability
Probably the biggest impact of these new TLDs is increased choice. At the moment if you want to register a .com / .net / .co.uk domain, you may have to choose a fairly obscure domain for it to be available. Single words or catchy names are usually already taken. This has pushed the value of the domains in the secondary market high: for example vacationrentals.com sold for $35 million in 2007! Most of the new registrations we see are therefore for lengthy combinations of words such as window-cleaner-in-bath.co.uk. We would expect that to change.
Of course a .com / .co.uk domain still has a high level of user trust associated with it, and will probably remain the most valuable of domains. A study by Nominet showed that 81% of UK consumers preferred a .co.uk domain name.
Trademarks
One of the risks with the new TLDs is that another party could register your domain with a different extension, potentially confusing customers. Brand-protection is therefore driving many pre-registrations, something we also saw when the .xxx extension launched.
I do not want to overstate this risk; there is no need to go and register hundreds of domains. However, it is definitely worth browsing through what domains are coming and seeing if there is anything of value to you coming up, or any domains that could cause you problems if they were registered by a third party.
One area Dan (Vidahost domains manager) is investigating is whether .blog may rank higher for blogs in search engines than a .com -- that would make sense as 'blog' is in the URL. What could the impact be if you run a blog? Similarly, when .shop launches, what impact will that have on ecommerce searches? If a customer searches for 'jumper shop' then where would jumper.shop rank in relation to jumpers.com or jumperstore.co.uk for instance?
Some interesting points there
Domain resale market seems to be a good place to make money if you own a decent domain name
And these .blog ones - will you bloggers be buying up those as well?
Looks like the landscape could be about to change get again..