Let’s play a word association game. I say “domain extension,” you say?…
If you answered .com, you’re not alone. However, don’t dismiss new top level domains so quickly.
For a plethora of reasons – lackluster domain names, local buzz, clarification of industry – many companies are flocking to new TLDs. And we shouldn’t be surprised to see this new market take off.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a handful of companies who have ditched the traditional, boring dot-com for something better.
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Many larger companies have made the move away from dot-com for security reasons. Going to a .brand domain name adds an extra layer of security for clients.
Barclays, UK’s largest bank made the move from it’s .com to a brand-centric domain name in 2015 to one more aimed at streamlining the customer experience.
And did you know that there are 2.5 million fake or misleading travel bookings reported annually? Despite a number of anti-counterfeiting measures major travel organization may take, this number doesn’t seem to be falling.
One company taking a stand against frauders with a brand-centric domain name is Marriott Hotels. With its new .marriott name, customers who book directly can do so with confidence.
“Marriott is helping to pioneer how businesses use this new type of top-level domain as an opportunity to evolve, innovate and simplify your online journeys.”
Location, location, location
The internet is a global marketplace and anyone in the world can check out what you’re offering online. But in many instances, people and businesses don’t need a global reach.
Restaurants, regional banks, local politicians — these people and places are focused locally and can often benefit from local TLDs. It’s important to know your market.
The Travel Channel – nope, not that one – is an extremely popular TV network in China. In 2015, they moved their dot-com site to one completely in Chinese – 旅游卫视.在线 (translates to travelchannel.online). Makes sense given their market.
One of the world’s most famous landmarks not only lives in Paris, but now can be found on toureiffel.paris. Formly tour-eiffel.com, Tour Eiffel now pays tribute to its location.
Sometimes your space isn’t as small as you think.
Renowned for its innovation, it’s no wonder that Switzerland-based CERN has migrated its website to domain extension .cern.
The previous cern.ch domain limited CERN to one country, and didn’t acknowledge the global nature of the organization, or that its science and values transcend geographical and political boundaries.
They’re just so much cooler
Sometimes industry and location just don’t cut it and you want something fun and exciting.
After Google restructured in 2015, people flocked to abc.xyz for its announcement. It’s simply a cool and relevant name for a company called Alphabet. Marketed to the next generation of internet users, the domain extension is just one more nail in the dot.com casket.
Highlight your industry
From finance to real estate to even porn, using an industry-specific extension is a great domain hack. Not only does it help customers know what it is exactly that you’re doing simply by looking at your URL, but it’s also a great way to show you’re up on online trends and know where the future is headed.
The website for the world’s largest innovation trade show – The Consumer Electronics Show – migrated entirely from its .org site to a site befitting a tech-centric event.
For a tech show – or anyone with a tech company – a .tech name just makes sense.
Similarly, the recently launched .store extension is the only nTLD focusing on the e-commerce industry, specifically on online shopping sector. Formula One’s online store has the perfect extension of f1.store.
So the next time you’re tasked with choosing a domain name, don’t limit yourself to an out of date extension or accept a name that’s simply available. Instead, use the creativity that got you here in the first place and go for something dot-better.
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