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New Domains
Next Generation Domain Names
NEW GTLDs
Internet Extensions
April 4, 2015
The goal of the new Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) is to promote domains while
relieving pressure from the so-called saturated .com, similar to the introduction of the second generation toll free
area code 888, which served to augment 800.
If you fork out the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) application fee of $185,000 plus the annual renewal fee of $25,000, plus tying up tens-of-thousands more in escrow,
you are on your way to owning the rights to a single gTLD. But what if you don't have or care to lock up so much money
on a single string, what do you do?
Have you already heard that the new extensions are destined to fail? But
wait one minute before you throw all the new gTLDs into the failure bucket just because you read some bearish reports
filled with a lot of negative speculation and rather poor comparisons. Based on ICANN's list
of new gTLD Applied-For Strings, some heavy hitters have moved a lot of cash into the field. Google, for example, has
applied for 101 new gTLDs through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Charleston Road Registry Inc., which has already spent more
than $18.6 million in application fees. Google's primary competitor is Amazon, which has filed for 21 similar domain
name strings including .drive, .search, and .play. Oddly, the bears always avoid the fact that there are some
very savvy players who are well-versed in all things internet involved in this field. I, for one, definitely wouldn't
bet against the likes of Google or Amazon, and they are not getting into the business just on a whim.
Those gloomy reports and accounts online usually say that the new suffixes are simply
rehashed failures of a handful of second tier names released during the early 2000s. But what these proponents of doom fail
to disclose is that none of those so-called second tier names, from the early 2000s, were ever approved by ICANN and
therefore were referred by many as hijacked extensions, and, as such, soon failed. So they are comparing apples to oranges,
and it is wrong.
Not all gTLDs will survive, in fact, if you look at the sales for the
strings that have been on the market for nine months to one year, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that many of them
have failed to come close to paying for the application fee. And the numbers for some extensions are so poor, are they
going to pony up the $25,000 annual renewal fee? Well, at least for three years, because each applicant had to bond for three
years of operations as one of the requirements with ICANN.
While gTLDs remain confusing to some and have yet to prove themselves,
total figures, however, show that some 4,000,000 gTLDs were sold during the 2014 inaugural year. And who remembers
when the bears were pumping out speculative reports describing how .net and .org would soon fizzle. Well, they haven't.
And who really wants to bet against Amazon or Google? Not this writer.
On a related subject, the .com startups from the 90s, there were many
startup companies that cratered and took many VCs and investors with them into the abyss, but there were
and remain winners. And with more than 1,000 gTLDs being released through 2016, smart money continues to focus on
only the best ones -- meaning the gTLDs that are most likely to succeed -- and the numbers show it. I don't always
buy gTLDs, but when I do it's because they really make sense.
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Niche and Community Searching
From one perspective it is believed that relevant domain plus relevant
extension is going to increase the SEO score of a new gTLD website. So perhaps contrary to negative speculation
it is important, it will only help, to own the right domain plus suffix going forward for search engine optimization.
I don't think that anyone will disagree that to own a domain name that has its market, the relevant keywords, in its
domain and extension is only going to help and not hurt anyone trying to optimize their brand. It also makes the domain easier
to remember.
While the major search engines Google and Bing (owned by Microsoft), respectively, currently
maintain a no change policy with the newly released gTLDs, this will likely change. Look for search engines to adopt a
more gTLD friendly search feature, because Google, and most people don't know, currently has the feature
to search by .gov or any other existing extension, but the new change will likely make the new suffix much more
visible, as now explained.
Why are the newly released gTLDs important? Think of them as a community.
Let's use .pizza, for example, and you would like to search for current pizza specials and delivery times on the evening
of the Super Bowl. Wouldn't it be nice to click the .pizza extension and search in your area for both specials and approximate
delivery time? Although performing a niche search would by no means be 100% accurate, because there will invariably be .pizza
websites hosting content unrelated to the subject, it would be the start of niche searching while it would filter
and penalize any niche extension hosting irrelevant content.
Singular vs. Plural
Avoid the plurals! While we are not holding our breath for the pending
release of the hyped .web and .webs, the market is already showing its disdain for .webcam, but its love, for what I
expect to be a short-lived affair, with .website. Yes Virginia, .web will be accompanied with .site, which
borders on ridiculous when you think about ICANN's goal and purpose of the new gTLDs. Wasn't the purpose of releasing all
the gTLDs to take pressure off the so-called saturated .com, similar to the introduction of the area code 888, which augmented
800? Why on earth did ICANN approve the release of so many confusing plurals? As in all things business -- Money.
As ICANN has already raked in half-a-billion dollars, its coffer is already being shined for round two.
But in the future, when we type a domain in the browser,
which one will be the default? Will it default to the shortest gTLD or the singular, or perhaps neither? Will the surfer end
up on your competition's website- yeah, bummer. But what it really does it clutter as well as make a mockery of ICANN's
intent for the gTLDs.
About the plural and singular. It is a fact, human nature (perhaps
because we are prone to laziness) that the greater majority have and will type in the singular and not the
plural when looking for anything on the web. Whereas the singular extension .click may serve both singular and plural
nouns with toy.click and toys.click, a plural extension may sound proper, and be grammatically correct, only with
a singular noun but it would be awkward with both the plural domain and suffix. Take the word calendar as the noun. While
calendar.world and calendars.world both sound right and are grammatically correct, calendars.webs is just an
ugly combination. If possible, particularly for domainers, purchase both the singular and plural noun
with your singular gTLD. Take www.toy.click, for instance, because while it was passed over by someone who bought toys.click, yours truly was able to snag
it for merely $9.99.
| Fastest Growing Domains |
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| Courtesy namestat.org |
Rhyme vs. Synonym
The synonyms should have been expected, but not to extreme that is
currently unfolding. Look first at the highly successful .com and .net, which are both TLDs and for general use.
The next gen gTLDs that complement .com are the previously mentioned such as .click and .world, to name a few, and unlike
practically every other gTLDs (like .blackfriday or .car), they are both universally recognized terms associated with
the internet itself. World is obviously found in World Wide Web, the WWW, and click is the term used on
most websites, and, while they are both English words, they are recognized in practically every language worldwide. Both extensions
have also proven to date to be highly marketable with monthly sales figures show it.
Clash of the synonyms. Where ICANN made a huge mess of things is with
the example of .web, .webs, .website, .webcam, and likely other related terms to be released at some point, which
serve only to undermine anyone wanting to purchase a gTLD. ICANN could have easily refused to allow plurals and extensive
overlapping of the gTLDs, but the almighty dollar dictated otherwise. One can understand why anyone is skeptical of the
entire new suffix process, particularly if they wanted to buy a new extension, but have reservations because they really don't
want to see 5 or 6 websites that closely resemble their own. Really, just the thought of seeing car.web, car.webs, car.website,
and car.webcam should show the obvious.
Rhyming gTLDs are a nightmare for the business owner. Did you
say car.place or car.space? Was it app.bot or app.hot, blue.link or blue.ink? We can only thank ICANN for this mess.
Relevance
The best and even most expensive domains tend to be the shortest ones that
are catchy and easy to remember. Why should you avoid lengthy multi-syllable domains, because there are just too many short
ones out there. Think about the following domain name resume.blackfriday, for example, that would likely be penalized
unless the resumes related to Black Friday. So the suffix is likely awkward and irrelevant for most, compared to resume.click
since "click" is a powerful, universally recognized internet term and is spelled and applied exactly the same way in
most languages worldwide.
While the odd and lengthy extension .Blackfriday is referring to the day
that many lose sleep or even get trampled, another gTLD ".World", meanwhile, forms the "w" in www. and it is recognized
in the United States, but the domain is slightly more expensive, as are the vast majority of the gTLDs. But I still highly
favor .world and .click, which are both excellent alternatives to .com and .net. Sometimes it cost more to play. I jumped
on one domain for less than $200 during its final preregistration phase. So to pay a little more for such a strong investment
can be very rewarding for those with patience. Although .online, .web, and .site also look somewhat attractive, two of
three are mainly recognized in English speaking countries, but .web, as discussed, will be released with .webs. The pricing
on .online and .site are not yet know as preregistration has not been set, but they will likely be priced to market,
meaning $30 and higher. So there are really only a few gTLDs, out of a few thousand scheduled for release, that give
us that universal appeal, but by all means if you can still purchase a .com or .net at a reasonable price, it should
be done. One reason why I would avoid .online is that it is two syllables, which also opens the gate to .on and .line ruining
the party.
What Happens when a gTLD Fails?
ICANN’s program requires applicants to post a bond covering three
years of operations, and it will also select a registry provider to act as an emergency manager if a gTLD manager fails. When
gTLD businesses fail, and they will, they’re designed to fail gracefully. In
addition, taking on an extra gTLD after its previous owner goes out of business would be little burden to an established registry
provider — once the transition work was done, a new string would be a extra renewal revenue stream with possibly little
additional overhead.
Conclusion
There are going to be a lot of losers in these gTLDs, and the present speculation
reminds me of the infamous Tulip Mania. I occasionally view the total percentage of each extension's parked domains-- and
it doesn't look good. The speculators are driving more than half of all gTLD sales, and come time for the annual renewals,
there is going to be a sucking sound devouring many. Anyone investing in domains should look at history as our teacher.
Remember that the ones who bought the great million dollar .coms were far and few, and it took a whole lot of patience.
Avoid the niche gTLDs, because how many domains will actually make any sense with an
extension such as .Blackfriday? At some point I expect many of the niche domains to implode like a Ponzi Scheme that
can no longer round up new money to support its depleting numbers.
While many of us missed the .com that we wanted, now is the opportunity.
But there is no get rich overnight with the purchase of any domain, because some will outright flop while others, with patience
and luck of the Irish, will likely purchase your next car. Take a look at the gTLDs and see which extension is right for you? The newly released extension .click, which I obviously like, is a strong generic
internet term that is already globally known, and perhaps it will be the next best thing to .com. It is currently
the 6th fastest growing gTLD and is gaining momentum by the week, as of January 2015. .Click is a one syllable word that
is always priced under $10 dollars, regardless of the domain that is being purchased. (Try finding that with any
other gTLD.)
Click is what brought you here. Another reason
to like .click is because it commands, it instructs, meaning that it says to click. Now what does .shiksha mean? I had
to look it up, so it either means I don't know too much or the new suffix will likely flop. But having viewed its current
year-to-date sales, .shiksha will likely be in the first round of failures.
See the era that we now live in, so prior to purchasing your next domain,
perform your DD.
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