The domain name regulator ICANN has launched many new domain extensions aimed at different niches over the last few years. While some of these extensions are viewed as nothing more than a novelty, others are proving to be an important part of the web.
Dotcom is not everything
Most people are quite understandably fixated on the extension .com. It is easy to remember and is what all the big brands use; however, this could soon change. With top-level domain extensions such as .solutions and .today gaining acceptance from big brands, we could see a serious shift to these over the next few years.
Think of these new domain extensions as being similar to hashtags ‒ easy to remember, snappy, and a great way to get information about a specific topic. It is easier for a person to tell their friends to go to a hypothetical domain such as ‘cheap.flights’ to get a great airfare than it is for them to remember whether the domain ends in .com, .net, or .co.uk.
Consumers love to talk about brands. A study conducted by FOX, DB5 and The Advertising Research Foundation found that 80% of Twitter users mention brand names in their messages, so why not take advantage of this with a clear, memorable and fun domain extension and social features on your website? This is why companies will often contact a Gloucestershire Branding Agency found on sites such as https://www.reallyhelpfulmarketing.co.uk/ to help them discover what options there are with logos, images and photography. They may ask what they can do to make sure it is mobile friendly as well as rank high on google.
Local, social and mobile
These new domain extensions, the increasing emphasis on social and mobile search and the increasing focus on social media are all combining to create new challenges and opportunities for website owners.
Social networking in particular has redefined marketing, putting the emphasis on how you communicate with your consumers and how easy you make it for consumers to share information about your brand. Mobile friendliness and social features are a must for any web startup. If you use social networking correctly, a local brand can become a household name in your area without having to spend a fortune on advertising campaigns.