Sexy Audio Blog by Brian:
Have you seen all of the exciting new Generic Top Level Domains that are now available? This is the perfect branding opportunity for those a little late to the game and found most of the .COMs taken. In this post, I’ll go over the two most exciting aspects of the recent gTLD additions and why they just may be the perfect solution for new bloggers or new online business ideas you come up with.
Recommended Registrar (Where to register your domains)
Aff Link to the registrar That I Personally USE and Recommend:
What Are Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs)?
First, what do we mean by Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs)? Well, the common .COM, .NET, .Org, etc. are Top Level Domains. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the domain issuing authority, recently began releasing many new domains for various generic terms. This has been in the works on many levels for years and it can get pretty complicated. In this post I’ll be discussing new Generic top level domains that are available from NameCheap$ right now (at the time of this post). Generic terms like .expert, .today, .photography, .menu, .bargains, .tips, .holiday, .marketing, .graphics, .equipment, and many more. I’ll list the domains available below this post but keep in mind that new domains are coming online all of the time.
New Generic Top Level Domain Branding Opportunities
Aside from the obvious branding benefit of other potential domains, the door often opens up new branding possibilities when it comes to social media. Let me explain…
Say your business or blog is about Turtle Fashion (yes, I made that up). Now let’s say TurtleFashion.com is taken. Being the type of person that doesn’t give up because of a little challenge, you carefully look over the options and decide to go with TurtleFashion.today. You can live with the new brand ” Turtle Fashion Today” and as a bonus, you can probably use TurtleFashionToday across the major social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. Now, my friends, that’s very exciting!
Marketing Opportunities With Domains
Domains are cheap, especially when registering your domains with sites like NameCheap$. You may have noticed that many bloggers and podcasters are using domains now that simply redirect to either an affiliate link or a blog post or page. Much like the Pretty Link plugin, these URLs tend not to only look and sound better but can actually convert better. You won’t gain search traffic from a redirected URL but you may see more click-throughs and conversions. I say “may” because testing is required to know for sure with each individual case but the low cost (around $10 to $25/year$) makes it a no-brainer.
Example: I’m not ready to publically announce my latest niche site but for those taking the time to read this post, you’re going to get an early look at it (Please don’t share the site, it’s just not ready yet). The site is Success Reads and it’s simply a book review site. I’ll add business books I’ve read and recommend as time permits and monetize with Amazon, both in book sales and Audible.
As far as the Audible affiliate link, rather than use the link provided, I registered GetFreeAudioBook.com for promotions, especially once I get my podcast rolling. Those .coms are getting very hard to find and the new GTLDs will open up new possibilities for marketing opportunities when it comes to affiliate and product links. Now we know we’ll see .now eventually. How cool would AudioBooks.now be? You get the idea, domains are a cool way to clean-up ugly affiliate links – often in a short format than Pretty Links can do.
Domain Considerations
There are a couple of things you should consider before jumping into the new domain craze.
- First, it generally costs more right now. For example, a .COM through NameCheap$ will run you $10.69/year right now (May 11th, 2014) if you have no promo code. In contrast, .boutique, .bargains, .guru, or .marketing will run you $24.88/year. Prices vary a bit; .photos or .photography go for just $16.88/year but .photo will run you $22.88/year. Some domains are quite expensive, like .CEO at $88.88/year and .xxx (which has some restrictions) runs $84.89/year right now.
- Second, new Generic Top Level Domains are flowing in all of the time so rushing in without researching might cause some regrets later. On the other hand, procrastination might prove even more regrettable.
- Third, it’s quite possible that many people may not recognize your new domain as a domain or URL. For example, if you seen BriansSwollen.gift on the side of a car or billboard, would you know it’s a website address? And what a fine URL it would be. LOL
- The final thing I’d like to point out is the idea that .COMs and older TLDs may rank better. Whether that’s true or not is up for debate and I honestly don’t know. I do believe time will tell and if it is true, it can certainly be overcome.
A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
~ Jeff Bezos
Lessons/Recap
If you take only one point away from this post, remember I’m incredibly smart. (Just joking, I didn’t realize you were still reading). Actually, I’d just love for this post to inspire a little creative thinking and help someone find that perfect doain for their brand. If that’s you, let me know. 🙂
Your Opinion Is Welcome and Helpful
That’s about all I have on the matter of new domains and how it can help new brands, bloggers and businesses. I’d love your comments, questions or thoughts on this exciting trend.
List of Available Generic Top Level Domains
We maintain a current (UPDATED: 12 SEP 2014) list of the new GTLDs at
Exciting New Domains – What’s Coming & What’s Here (Detailed List)
Domains I believe might be of interest to bloggers, many of which are available right now from NameCheap$.
Even More On Domains
Need more information on domains? I have you covered…
About Brian D. Hawkins
The only thing I can really see this doing is making things more confusing. Say I have url BlueWigits dot com but someone else comes along and decides to manufacture blue wigits and he buys BlueWigits dot net and someone else will have dot wigits or dot stuff or dot toys and how will we know the REAL or original or the specific BlueWigit company we are looking for?
Exactly why I registered HotBlog.tips Troy, because I knew someone would end up taking it. Here’s something else to think about. Say BlueWidgets is your registered trademark. Does that mean you can sue someone that registers Blue.widgets and take it from them? I can see that becoming a future news story soon enough.
Overall, I’m pretty excited over the new domains, even though there will certainly be a few problems.
Hi Brian, I think it will be a little confusing for sure! I’m not sure I’m a fan of having so many domain extensions. Does that mean website owners will now have to purchase a bunch so no one else takes their name and adds a different extension? Or does it just mean we are running out of domain names with .com and .net?
I agree about the confusion Lisa and I’m starting to feel so old. Remember when our parents were complaining that they’d have to dial the area code when calling a local number? lol
It is true though, it’s going to be tough to know what’s actually a web address and what’s a typo.like this. The way I look at it; there’s no stopping the train, it’s already in motion, so we may as well figure out how to make the best of the ride.
Having that many different domains seems like it would be ridiculous. I think they should just stick to the basics and leave evreything simple.
I’m unaware of this new TLDs and I guess it will be really cool to use it. As troy mentioned in his comments about using these domains will get confusing and I guess it would be confusing only for new tips or we can also forward to old domain.
Thanks
Hey Brian, I think I’ll stick with the .com domain. I personally think they hold a lot more credibility than those new gTLD domains. Sure, you may not get the exact domain you’re looking for, but with a little imagination you should be able to come up with an acceptable one.
Then of course there is the confusion issue that Troy brought up. Onya Troy!!
Credibility is important Peter but eventually we’ll become used to it since the new Generic Top Level Domains are well on their way and probably here to stay. I have to wonder if it won’t actually cause .coms to become even more valuable. Maybe we can by .com kings with our domain portfolios?
.com Moguls perhaps? Now there’s an idea.
With my last two niche blogs I’ve purchased a couple of .com domains within the same niche just in case I want to expand my portfolio. I did with my lottery site. Who knows about the other one?
I’m down to 35 domains now but I did secure HotBlog.Tips. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it yet but I had to have it.
More and more domain name extensions are popping out and that just expands the cyberspace junk.
I’d like to stay old school as well and go with the .coms and .nets.
Great topic!! .. thanks for sharing!
Im really loving the Audios and this Blog site in general!
You got a great Blog Site Brian!
Keep up the great work!
I wish you the best of the best!
Cheers!
I just caught that Freddy, “cyberspace junk”. Orbiting the World Wide Web. lol Yep, that seems to be the consensus but they’re here to stay and more are coming online every month. Infact, I just compiled a list of hundreds in a SlideShare presentation if you’d like to check it out. https://hotblogtips.com/detailed-list-new-domains