Until recently, companies were limited to a small number of domain names when registering their websites.
Along with basic domain names such as .com, .edu or .gov, websites should be created with country specific domain names. This is radically changing as the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is now allowing businesses to register their websites with a wide range of generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs).
According to Website Magazine, ICANN will be releasing more than 700 new gTLDs by 2016. Recently released gTLDs show the wide range of possibilities available for website owners. New domain names cover a span of categories that describe types of businesses (such as .guitars, .plumbing and .cruises), locations (.tokyo, .berlin and .london) or depict emotions and verbs (.wtf, .meme and .fail).
These new domain names give business owners plenty of exciting online marketing opportunities. New gTLDs allow companies to have domain names that directly relate to their business. For example, a plastic surgery center can develop a website with a .surgery domain name. This not only lets potential customers know exactly what the website is related to but it also allows them greater freedom when naming their sites. More domain names mean less competition for popular website names.
Pairing your domain name to your business can also have a positive impact on your search engine optimization plans. Jennifer Wolfe at ClickZ believes that Google’s algorithms will react positively to websites with gTLDs that match the content of the website. In fact, she wrote that domain names that relate directly to a site’s content will have a great chance to rank highly in organic search results.
The expanded number of gTLDs now available for purchase can make it complicated for website owners to determine the right course of action for naming their sites. Working with an experienced domain name registrar can help you to find the right domain name for your site. After doing research, many people discover Network Solutions and other domain registration services are better options for navigating the world of gTLDs than attempting to do it on their own.
