As local business owners, you’re likely familiar with domain name extensions such as “.com”, “.net”, or “.org”. However, there are several other domain name extensions an organization can purchase if they’re available and they so choose. For example, country extensions are common, such as “.ca” in Canada and “.de” in Germany. At the same time, a local business owner needs to consider what makes sense for them based on their industry and where they operate around the world before purchasing additional extensions. In other words, “.org” likely doesn’t make sense unless you’re a non-profit or government entity of some sort; and “.ca” doesn’t make sense unless you operate in Canada.
But it appears there may be more domain name extensions available come 2013.
ICANN, the group created to manage the Internet’s Domain Name System, began accepting application for customized domain name extensions this year and began reviewing them last week. For example, Bing might purchase the “.bing” extension with this new ICANN offering. And Google has been reported as applying for the “.google”, “.youtube”, “.docs”, and “.lol” extensions.
Should a local business owner consider applying for a custom domain name extension?
Well, there are hefty fees attached, according to one post stating that the application fee is $185K, implementation requirements cost around $500K, and maintenance will cost around $150K per year. So it’s probably not a financially feasible investment for the average local business owner. In addition, we won’t really know the impact of these domain name extensions until after their implemented in 2013. How will they be used by businesses? Will they impact search engine ranking and SEO? We simply don’t know, and it’s too soon to speculate.
What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you think companies will sell these extensions?
For nearly three decades, Chris Marentis, Founder and CEO of Surefire Social, has been responsible for driving innovation and sales growth for large media and e-commerce brands as well as start-ups. With a long-history of counseling local businesses about their marketing efforts, Marentis provides insight on what it takes for small businesses to succeed and thrive in today’s evolving digital environment. His notable career includes creating the foundational blueprints for online marketing, e-commerce and content branding for AOL’s Interactive Marketing group, where he served as Senior Vice President. While CEO of Clearspring Technologies, Marentis developed one of the most widely adopted venture-backed Web 2.0 technology platforms. Marentis is a frequent speaker at local digital marketing conferences and a contributor to SMB and technology-focused publications.
It’s a very interesting marketing idea. I’m guessing that some of the top level extensions will be bought and traded like crazy, specifically ones like .money, .travel and .food. But for most companies, having your own extension is just cosmetic. Would be GREAT to have the .lol extension though