New TLDs – Great Opportunity for Everyone

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has done something amazing for your online business presence. They have created new Top Level Domain (TLD) names.

What this means for your business

You likely already have a website that is probably named something like “mybusinessname.com.” The dot-com addresses are used for everything from business to personal websites. There are other domain names reserved for certain types of websites. For example, “.gov” is used for government websites, “.edu” is used for universities, and “.org” is reserved for non-profit organizations. As a consumer, you’re left with “.com” or “.net.” These are referred to as Generic Top Level Domain Names (gTLD) because they say nothing specific about the website other than the name in front of the dot. There are currently only 22 possible gTLDs available.

ICANN has released new TLDs that help internet users not only find your site but also know a little bit about what you do, simply by the extension of your website. If you are a photographer, you can register a new domain name as “mybusinessname.pictures”, “mybusinessname.photo”, or “mybusinessname.photography.” If you are running for political office, you can register your website with “.democrat.” If you’re an expert in your field, you can register “mybusinessname.expert.” Your website can now represent you better than ever before. The number of available TLDs will escalate from 22 to over 1,300 different domain names.

These new domain names allow smaller businesses to stand out on the web and be more competitive with their larger competitors. Local communities and charities will also have the ability to stand out on the web.

The new domain names also can contain geographic information. The new TLDs “.london” and “.uk” are very successful and have been received well. ICANN suggests that large companies add a regional TLD such as “McDonalds.uk” so customers know exactly which location they’re visiting on the web.

How to get a new TLD

You can register your new TLD online right now 1and1.com offers domain names for 99 cents for the first year. For just a few cents a month, you can have a web address that tells internet surfers who you are and what you do before they even read a word on your homepage.

Simply go to 1and1.com and type in your chosen domain name. Then, click the arrow on the box to the right to display the entire list of new TLDs available. Click the yellow and blue arrow when you’re done to find out if that name is available. If the result screen indicates that your selected domain name is available, you can register the name immediately.

Why bother?

You may ask yourself why you should register a new TLD when you’ve been successful for a number of years with your current domain name. The simplest answer is answered with another question: why not? Why not spend the few seconds and the one dollar it costs to register a new domain name right now?

If it turns out that web users don’t like the additional long names, you haven’t invested a lot of time or money into it by registering the new name. But, if it turns out to be the hottest new trend to hit the internet in years, you will not want to miss that wave of success.

It’s cheap and it’s easy to register the new name but it could be the best investment you’ve made for you and your business especially if you’re a small business owner. Adding a geographic location to your domain name gives you a distinct online advantage. For example, if your current domain name is “housepainters.com” and you register a new TLD named “housepainters.nyc”, your customers now know a lot more about your business. Search engines can locate your site and prioritize it better. In fact, Google is constantly making updates to their search algorithm and one of the most recent changes had to do with prioritizing local websites in the search results. Your business simply cannot afford to miss out on a higher ranking that also gives potential customers more pertinent information. Anything you can do to help people find you easier is going to help your business in the long run.