The world of domain names will start to change from Thursday 12th January, 2012. On this day, businesses can apply to ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to register new gTLDs (generic Top-Level Domains). Current restrictions on suffixes will be lifted, allowing you to apply for a name that says just about anything you like.
Marketed as the "next big .thing", this project could change the face of internet marketing and e-commerce. What will change, what are the advantages and disadvantages and how could this affect consumers and online businesses?
What Are gTLDs and How Will They Change?
Top-Level Domains sit at the top of the DNS hierarchy. There are just over 20 that are classified as generic at the moment. These include .com, .biz, .info and .net. Together with country specific suffixes, these names are the best recognised/trusted and can also be the hardest and most expensive to buy.
From this week, however, ICANN is accepting applications for new gTLDs. This will allow people, if approved, to register just about any suffix name. So, for example, instead of using .com, major corporations could use their brand or company names (think .apple, .microsoft and .dell) and will be given more flexibility in their use of language or alphabet.
They will, if successful, effectively become an Internet registrar managing all elements of their names/brands online.
What Are the Advantages of the New gTLD Rules?
Although this process has been under consultation since 2008, it is not yet clear just how this will work for businesses that register a new suffix and for those that operate in related markets but that don't have the buying power to get a name. The true benefits will only become clear once domains roll out. This is unlikely to happen until 2013.
There are, however, some projected advantages. This program will allow a business to effectively buy its own name/brand and to take control of who uses it and how it is used online. This could have other positives:
The extension of the list of potential domains could make it easier for a business to get a TLD.Internet marketing, SEO initiatives and e-commerce programs could be easier to set-up and manage as companies could use sub-sets of their gTLDs rather than having to rely on the availability of new domains for campaigns.Consumer security could be improved. Control of a banking domain and the sale of its subsets, for example, could reduce online fraud and scams. Brand name counterfeiting online could become much more difficult.The ability to use native languages could help companies in non-English/Latin language regions. This could also help businesses looking to extend their reach into these markets.A business could target individuals, groups, customers and geographic regions on a more personalised basis. This could help with brand and trust building.Some costs could be recovered by the sale of domain names as a registry.There are, however, some possible downsides too. What are they?What Are the Disadvantages of gTLDs?
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