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News Release from: Bigmouthmedia | Subject: ICANN domain changes
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 30 June 2008
ICANN changes could have profound
implications
Last week, the internet governing body ICANN announced changes to the top-level domain system that could have profound implications for the online sector, claims bigmouthmedia.
In a nutshell, the new policy opens up the internet so that from 2009, anyone can apply buy a top level domain (TLD) such as .card, .hotel or .airline A move that took much of the industry by surprise, it has prompted a rash of speculation that marketers could be facing a fresh new attack on the integrity of their brands
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 17 Jun 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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While predictions are difficult to make at this early stage, we do not expect to see a sudden surge of cyber-squatting cases.
Buying a TLD will be very different to securing a standard domain name, and is unlikely to prove attractive to the casual opportunist.
Every top-level domain will cost a minimum of $100,000, a strategy conceived to prevent a registration free-for-all.
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ICANN is deliberately keeping demand low by strictly limiting purchases to companies and entrepreneurs, a policy designed to recoup the cost of necessary changes to the internet's infrastructure.
While a repeat of the first internet land-grab is not expected, the change will undoubtedly attract a great deal of interest from online marketers.
What's so attractive about the prospect of top-level domains is that once you purchase one, you can then sell an infinite array of web addresses that fit within it.
For example if an entrepreneur bought .shoes, they could then sell www.mens.shoes, www.big.shoes, www.elevator.shoes or any number of useful online locations.
With such obvious potential, the demand for generic domains is likely to be enormous, so snapping up .creditcard, .jobs or .loans isn't likely to be straightforward.
All the hotel groups will be competing for the .hotel domain, for example, and in such cases competed domains will enter into an auction system for sale to the highest bidder.
In the longer term, some of the new TLDs could lead to a shift in the search marketing landscape.
Google has patent applications which note that some domains are hard to get links from - like .gov - and that therefore links from them could be worth more.
For example, if someone sets up .globaldigital and only sells domains (at a large cost) to digital marketing agencies that have to pass thorough testing procedures, then when the search engine notices that the TLD's sites tend to be high quality it should, in theory, add that new domain to its list of "respected" domains.
In many respects, the ICANN announcement leaves us in untested waters.
It is possible that domains like .shop or .deals might improve click-through rates in ads, and while Google doesn't allow superlatives in PPC ads, what happens if someone has a domain on .best? As ever, the devil will be in the detail, and the facts will become clearer when applications for the new domains open in April 2009.
Rest assured that we will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will be in touch to keep you informed of any developments.
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