You have never heard of a TLD (Top Level Domain). So the fact that over 1000 new TLDs are available this year shouldn't matter to you, right? Not quite. Here is why the new TLDs should matter to you.
Previously, domain names were limited to organization type (such as .org, .edu, .net) or country (like .us, .cn, .ca). However, a few years ago, ICANN (the organization that regulates domain names) decided to open up the internet to essentially any domain name extension that someone wanted to pay for. The price was steep (over $750,000), but over 1000 new TLDs were registered, and have been releasing every week.
Each of these new domains give you a chance to have a domain name that is shorter, easier, more accurate and/or more memorable. Some of the TLDs are focused on location (such as .vegas and .nyc - both of which have released to the public). Others focus on industry (like .lawyer and .accountant). Others are just fun (.ninja and .wtf). But with every new extension, more prime real estate is up for grabs. And you will miss out if you don't get yours.
Our client la Terrine is a brick and mortar store in New York City. A restaurant in France owns the domain name laterrine.com, so they use laterrinedirect.com. So when .nyc came available recently, we reserved laterrine.nyc for them. Simple, easy to remember and a much clearer identity. Because wedding registries are an important part of their business, we also grabbed bridalregistry.nyc and weddingregistry.nyc as well!
Of course you do. Even if you are not looking to replace your primary domain name, having additional, relevant domain names helps in a number of ways:
I'm a domain hog. I admit. The expense is not that great and the value is much greater. So we always recommend obtaining the domains that represent your business or could be used to market your services. Our domain is webinstinct.com. That won't change. But we own 90 other domain names (and counting!) that give us the flexibility to use if we choose as well as prevents others from usurping. We truly practice what we preach.
The world of domains can be confusing. What will the new domain do? Or not do? Can you use emails with them? Can they show the same site? How do they affect SEO? We can help you fully understand the implications of owning multiple domain names. We can even take the headache out of owning them by managing them for you. We are already managing almost 600 domain names for clients and have built systems to be sure they are always accounted for. Give us a call. We'll help guide you toward a great decision.