Everyone is familiar with field extensions counting .com, .net, and .org, but what in this area more marketable dot-brand extensions such as .coke or .nyc? Signal impossible? Maybe in the past but the latest breaking news from the chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit coordinator of cyberspace’s global naming system, recently revealed a remarkable milestone in history stating it “will clear the way for new offerings like .law, .coke or .nyc. Sites with those endings are expected to start rolling out late next year.” The latest trend: dot-brand domains.
Work in Progress
The ICANN has been considering the thought of allowing website owners to add suffixes to market and promote specific brand names, cities, and additional general keywords for over a decade. Despite the apprehension of causing waves by altering the field structure of the Internet, fearing global ramifications, the non-profit naming organization is beginning to make progress toward unveiling a revolution surrounding field names. Over the years, though, ICANN has launched new domains counting the notorious .xxx field.
Brand-Dot Field Name Registration
With an anticipated overwhelming demand for dot-brand domains, the regulatory organization ICANN has established some criteria for registering a marketable dot-brand field. Each field application consists of 150 individual pages of policy documents, along with a staggering $1850, 000 registration fee for each field application received. Website owners can also expect to bombard out another $100,000 for the logistical complex, and another $100, 000 per year for maintenance fees. ICANN is expected to start reviewing field applications as early as November of this year and extend into the beginning of 2012.
Compensation of Dot-Brand Domains
Although dot-brand domains have yet to hit cyberspace, there are some foreseeable benefits. The initially advantage is it’s a huge benefit from a marketing perspective. Secondly, it has the potential to tighten hosting wellbeing measures. Hackers won’t be able to mislead users to phishing sites because the field of legit sites will end in the specific company or service’s brand registered field extension. Finally, it will allow website owners to be creative with respective niche keywords.
Disadvantages of Dot-Brand Domains
Although the concept of dot-brand domains sounds appealing, though, there are honest drawbacks. The most obvious is the price-tag. Website owners opting for a dot-brand field can expect to pay in total $385, 000 per year for initial complex and maintenance. Therefore, it’s not a feasible option for small business on a limited budget. Another disadvantage is fierce completion vying for the same field. In cases of multiple applicants applying for the same field, once ICANN approves individual applications, the batch of contenders are forced to bid on the field name as it goes up for auction. If a field is place up for auction, converted domains could potentially sell for millions of dollars.
Conclusion
While dot-brand domains have yet to make a web presence, the topic is generating a lot of buzz. Although the concept is intriguing, the fact is that it’s not a feasible option for small businesses that are by now limited in the resources they have readily available. Regardless, it’s certainly a milestone in the making.