New Internet domains alter dynamics for protecting, promoting your business online
There are a handful of new GTLDs that pose interesting marketing opportunities. For instance, “.Technology” could be a useful domain to own for specific products. My personal favorite is the “.Solutions” domain, because almost every successful product or service solves a problem. The word “solutions” implies problem solving.
During IWCE, I noticed that almost one-third of the booths included the word “solutions” in the company name, booth graphics or their marketing literature. Registering “<your-most-important-market>.Solutions” and using that domain in a marketing campaign presents a unique opportunity to either introduce your product in a vertical market where you do not currently have brand recognition or to reach new customers with an informative web landing page that refers visitors to your main web site. While there are many companies vying for participation in FirstNet, there will only be one www.FirstNet.Solutions web site.
Whether your interest is in protecting your brand image or promoting your own products and services, registering one of the new GTLDs is fairly easy. Each new GTLD will be introduced with the following schedule:
· Sunrise Period: This is a limited pre-registration period and is open only to those who have had their registered trademarks validated through the Trademark Clearinghouse. This is the time to register your most important web names.
· Landrush Period: This is a non-mandatory period that will be used for most domain names. During this time, registrations can be submitted for an increased fee (from hundreds to thousands of dollars). Incidentally, “.Reviews” is in the Landrush Period until May 26th.
· General Availability: Once General Availability begins, each domain registration is processed first come, first served. At this stage, registration typically costs between $15 and $50 annually per name.
It should also be noted that prior to each new GTLD launch, pre-registration might be available. Pre-Registration does not guarantee that you will be granted the domain name, but it does let your registrar to auto-submit the domain names you want just a few seconds after midnight (Pacific Time, because ICANN is in California) on the go-live date.
If only one pre-registration was received, the domain name will be immediately granted. If more than one pre-registration is received for a particular domain name, a seven-day auction will commence immediately, with only those that pre-registered being allow to participate. After the launch, domain names can be registered first come, first served, immediately.
The introduction of new GTLDs presents new challenges and new opportunities. For companies that are nimble enough to act quickly and capitalize, new digital marketing venues will be realized. Those that are slow to act, or lethargic, will lose out to competitors that grab the best domains and will be enduring rants at the “<yourbrandname>.”reviews”> domain for years to come.
Scott Tschetter is vice president of Eastern Communications—one of the largest Harris dealers in the country—and is a member of IWCE’s Urgent Communications advisory board.
