New Domains Will Become Available MARCH 2013

Just think of the marketing and corporate branding opportunities here!  For example...you think Apple might like to own the domain of iPhone.Apple?  

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is preparing to release the biggest change to the Internet address scheme since its initial introduction in the 1980s. Over a thousand new suffixes are being considered giving customers significantly more choices than *.com and *.net.

 

These top-level domains (TLDs) will offer more choices but create challenges to companies wanting to protect their brand. The initial TLDs that we are all familiar with were *.com and *.net. The next TLD release consisted of country-specific domains such as *.us and *.ca. To ease the demand for the *.com domain, *.biz and *.info were created, but didn’t catch on.

 

People chose domains such as AAAHousePainters.com over HousePainters.biz.

Companies have been giving feedback on domains and are already to become registry operators for their own TLDs.

 

Company-specific domains such as *.ibm will likely be controlled by that corporation and highly restricted. Other more general domains such as *.food and *.car will be highly sought out by companies wanting a piece of the registry action.

 

The first domains are expected to be released in mid-2013. These will be the foreign language domains, giving ICANN time to prepare the more exhaustive list to release.

 

In a few weeks following the initial release, domains that had limited interest except by corporations and organizations will be released. These domains are most useful to individual entities and not the public at large. Domains such as *.ibm and *.toyota fall into this category.

 

Also in this category are geographic and location-based domains such as *.newyork and *.grandcanyon.

 

Another set of generic-sounding domains have few bids for registry. Domains such as *.vacation may find a following but didn’t receive much interest during the input period last year.

 

Also, generic-sounding domains have received much more attention and several bids for control. Domains such as *.app and *.tech are perceived to have a high value and many companies are seeking to become the registry of them.

 

Once the final decision is made as to who will control these domains, they will be released.

 

During 2012, almost 2,000 businesses and organizations gave input to ICANN with requests to control nearly 1,400 new domain names. The goal of this TLD release is to broaden the Internet addresses to reflect more intuitive domain names instead of the current creativity used to keep a *.com for a company.

 

Starting late March 2013, ICANN will give companies the chance to protect specific domains for a fee. These will typically be trademark holders such as Dell and Ford. The Trademark Clearinghouse will closely monitor who controls these domain names to prevent some of the chaotic domain purchasing and hoarding (cyber-quatting domains) seen in the 1980s.

 

Companies will be able to register the new suffixes before they are open to the public. After that deadline, the Trademark Clearinghouse will contact the company if someone else wishes to register the name. This system is only for notification and doesn’t control the actual registration. The company will then have to work with the person or company to sort it out.

 

For instance, if Ford Motor Company fails to register *.ford and another company seeks to register the domain, the Trademark Clearinghouse will notify Ford and put them in touch with the other company. It’s then up to the two entities to work out an agreement. It’s in the best interest of these companies to make sure they have the appropriate domains registered before the deadline.

 

One outstanding issue for ICANN is whether they will support common misspellings or trademarked words used within a longer domain name, such as *.fordtrucks. The release of new domain names could take time as these questions are resolved.

 

Domain names are representative of the company to which they are associated. ICANN received several foreign language requests to create domains in their native language instead of English. Companies in those countries felt that having the native language spelling enhances their Internet presence.

 

As domain names with multiple registry bidders are resolved down to a single registry by ICANN, they will be placed into the pool for release. They expect to hit a release rate of 20 domains a week once the momentum gets started. Where multiple bidders to control a domain can’t reach an agreement, ICANN plans to hold an auction for control of the domain.

 

Technical departments worldwide are beginning to get ready to support this influx of new domain names. While it gives companies more choices, like many large technical changes, the choices will likely come with some challenges.

 

ABOUT US:
Cole WebMarketing, a Charlotte, North Carolina website services company, has been an authorized reseller of Domain Names since 1999. Serving mainly small and medium sized businesses in the Greater Charlotte Metro Area, we often register one main "Primary Domain" (ABCcompany.com) and then also register one or more "Secondary Domains", most often geologically specific, and/or product/service specific, such as a domain like BlueWidgets.com and/or CharlotteBlueWidgets.com.

 

It's important to note that all domains Registered by Cole WebMarketing are registered in the name of the client company or company President and/or owner. YOU OWN the domains... we simply manage the Registration and Renewal Process, on behalf of our clients.   Be very concerned if your web company registers any domain for you in THEIR name.  That means the web company owns/controls the domain(s), and Over the years, we've heard more than a few "domains held hostage for ransom". (Google DROA or Domain Registry of America to get a glimpse of this nightmare!) 

 

For more information about about products and services, please visit www.ColeWebMarketing.com and then call use at 704-456-WEB1 (9321) to discuss your particular needs and how we can help you improve and maintain your web presence.

NOTE: Credit forr much of this article goes to Steve Baik of AddMe.com

Domain Registration(s): What's In A Name?

If you're going to be starting a new business, or if you have a business but haven't yet started to market your company online, call Cole WebMarketing at 704-456-WEB1....er, I meant to write....one of the first steps in the internet marketing process is the "Registration" of Domain Name(s).  I say names, plural, because many businesses will want to register more than one.  Why?

Regarding a "primary domain", you want to get .COM first. If corporate branding is important and you want "maximum brand protection", we suggest that you also register the .NETand .ORG domains too.  This is especially important for large national companies.

Once you've secured your PRIMARY domain names - ACME.com for example, you may want to consider registering additional "top level domains" (TLD's) to remove them from the open market to help protect your corporate identity. After these are off the market and in your pocket, many businesses will register SECONDARY domains, primarily for "internet marketing" purposes.

These can be additional TLD's that are based on their primary products/services.  If they mainly make/sell "blue widgets", then getting BlueWidgets.com can be helpful, especially regarding SEO (search engine optimization) since search engines will sometimes factor in the domain name as part of the search indexing algorithms. For local/regional businesses, using BlueWidgetsCharlotte.com or BlueWidgetsNorthCarolina.com (or your city/region) can also increase your "rankings" on the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Additional Domains & SEO: Google's "rules" seem to change with the wind, so comments made about Google can be outdated a day after they're posted online. At this time, it seems that Google usually just "picks" just one domain in their indexing, so trying to use secondary domains may not have a major SEO impact. However, Yahoo! and Bing (the #2 and #3 most popular search engines) will sometimes list sites more than once on their SERPs, so I wouldn't dismiss this SEO strategy completely.
International companies often also register "country code top level domains" (ccTLD), such as ACME.de for Germany, ACME.ru for Russia, etc. 

Here's some of the ways Cole WebMarketing uses our domains:

• ColeWebMarketing.com - "main offline domain" for biz cards, brochures, etc.
• CarolinaWebsiteDesign.com - for online marketing OUTSIDE the Charlotte area
• WebsiteDesign-Charlotte.com - this is considered my PRIMARY domain and for online marketing IN the Charlotte area
• ColeMarketingGroup.com - legal name of business, registered for brand protection but not used on or offline

Last but not least, domain name registration is one of the many services offered by Cole WebMarketing.  One domain name is included in all our Website Hosting Packages. We can register additional domains upon request.
It's important to note that all domains are registered with our clients listed as the "Registrar" (owner). Be careful if you're doing business with another website design/development firm! Make sure if they register domains for you, that they are not listed themselves as the Registrar.

To learn more about Domain Registration, Website Hosting and related internet marketing issues, please visit CarolinaWebsiteDesign.com or call us at 704-456-WEB1 (9321).

Own a Domain? Watch out for Domain Registry of America!

new blog post coming soon. 


I'll be specifically warning people to watch out for anything coming in the mail (snail or email) from Domain Registry of America (aka Domain Renewal Group). Their mailings can easily trick unsuspecting domain owners into transferring their domain over to the control of DRA. Once transferred, it's not easy for the owners to regain control and hefty penalties can add up quickly and can cost the owner hundreds of dollars to rescue their domain, held "hostage" by DRA.


Domain slamming (also known as unauthorized transfers or domain name registration scams) is a scam in which the offending domain name registrar attempts to trick domain owners into switching from their existing registrar to theirs, under the pretense that the customer is simply renewing their subscription to their current registrar. The term derives from telephone slamming.




Domain Slamming has been going on for years, but one particular company (DRA) continues to stand out.  DRA was sued by a major (legitimate) domain name registrar, claiming the company illegally lured away thousands of customers by tricking them into transferring their domains.


I just Googled - domain registry of america - and Google's drop down "popular/related search suggestions" included the words scam, refund and complaints added onto their name.  THAT alone should make you suspicious!

In 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority issued an Adjudication on Domain Registry of America.  The ASA noted the mailing was headed "Domain Name Expiration Notice" and closely resembled a bill, including a credit card payment slip, and considered recipients were likely to infer that their domain name had been transferred to DRG and a renewal payment was now required.  


to be continued...