Two years ago, the shortage of traditional .com and country code endings lead to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announcing the launch of new domain name endings called generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs).
gTLDs provide brands with the unique opportunity to grow and modify the face of their online marketing strategy through the creation of bespoke web addresses. This means that under the new gTLD programme, businesses can now register domain names such as .restaurant, .bank and .shop or they can even have their own .BRAND suffix such as .Nike and .Barclays.
According to a recent study by NetNames, 92% of large companies have already, or are planning to, invest in these new domain names. With brands likely to encounter both threats and opportunities in this new online environment, it is important that owners take the time to recognise how this opening of the internet will impact them.
The new domain names provide the opportunity for brands to significantly enhance their digital marketing strategies and use new gTLDs to their advantage in the fight against fraudsters. However, in creating the opportunity for innovative campaigns, the gTLDs also offer cybercriminals new ways to take advantage of well-known brands, which means that companies will have to work even harder to protect their valuable online identities
Using new domain names for a marketing advantage
First and foremost, the new domain name endings give marketers the chance to use web addresses to their advantage and refresh their digital strategies. Brands now have the opportunity to own a memorable web address that marketers can use to revitalise customer engagement. For example, Amazon could advertise for consumers to navigate to Amazon.sales where it could provide all the latest offers.
A further opportunity for businesses is the chance to own their own .BRAND Top Level Domain. Adopting a .BRAND domain name will enable companies to manage their own space of the internet by effectively controlling their own domain name registry.
.BRAND web addresses are expected to become a natural starting point for direct-type browser-based navigation. In support of this view NetNames recently learned that 80% of internet users think the new gTLDs would make them enter a company’s web address directly into their browser rather than use a search engine. They are also likely to be given the highest relevance in searches relating to companies and brands – boosting a brand’s SEO.
A .BRAND domain name will also help companies fight the fraudsters. This is because only the brand itself can apply for its .BRAND domain name, eliminating the risk of cybersquatters purchasing a domain name only to sell it on for a large sum. Like the businesses that were early adopters of online security measures, companies using their own gTLDs will be seen as “safe harbours” by internet users — and therefore able to increase consumer trust and brand loyalty dramatically.
