The New TLD Program Has Launched. What is Your Strategy?

Over the past three years, the evolution of ICANN's proposal for new generic Top Level Domains (TLDs) has taken many twists and turns, but the ICANN board approved the new TLD program in 2011. Now, it is incumbent upon you to develop a strategy—to capitalize on the new business opportunities that this program presents.

Whether you support new TLDs and are interested in applying for one, or are not in favor of the launch, having a new gTLD strategy is critical for any organization conducting business and/or wanting to engage customers and potential customers online. 

The New TLD program allows organizations to turn their brand(s) into domain extensions (.brand) or to create a broad range of new gTLDs such as .Company, .Poker, .Charity… the list goes on. The bottom line is that the game has officially changed. Will you continue to play?

What's the Potential Impact?

The New TLD program potentially means additional and more aggressive competition. Anyone can apply for industry or brand specific TLDs—such as .Brand, .Company, .Service, etc.—and can use the new domain extension to make registration available to the community at large.

What if someone applies (or has already applied) for your industry term (e.g. www.company.insurance or www.company.marketing)? How will this impact search engines and traffic to your site? Did you know that you can oppose an application that is a potential threat to your business, brand or industry?