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B2BM
April 2009
30
Digital
≤
Go to www.b2bm.biz/digital
What’s in a name?
Is .com still the holy grail of domain names? Brett Mathews investigates new options for URLs
S
ome interesting and far reaching So what’s the thinking behind this registered in the DNS root zone. An
developments are afoot in the potentially monumental change, and what extensive consultation process has been
complex, slightly curious world of – if anything – should marketing folk be carried out by ICANN with big businesses,
Internet domain names. For more doing to prepare for it? “If you look in the governments, the public and other
than a decade, we’ve all become dotcomspace as an example, it can be hard stakeholders. This has ultimately led to
used to domain names that end in letters these days to register anything that is a the timetable for applications for new
such as .com, .co.uk, .net or – in our own new name, which is why you get these gTLDs being put back to the end of 2009,
case –.biz. convoluted expressions,” says Paul Levins, at the earliest.
However, the Internet addressing system ICANN’S executive officer and vice
appears to be on the brink of its most president corporate affairs. “This Protecting your brand
radical overhaul since the inception of the expansion of the generic domain space is And not everybody is happy. Charlie
World Wide Web – of which, more later. an effort to provide the most open Abrahams is vice president and general
From a B2B marketing standpoint, the jury platform possible.” manager at Mark Monitor, which works
is still out on exactly what kind of Levins points to significant interest with many major bluechips, helping to
opportunity the proposed opening up of from a number of consortiums to register protect them against brand abuse on the
the Internet to create hundreds more name new gTLDs. web. The risk of opening up domain names
endings will represent. in the way ICANN has proposed, he
Regardless of how things pan out over suggests, is that many brands will feel
the next 12 months, this would appear an compelled to start thinking defensively
opportune time to address the topic of about registering a whole set of new names
domain names generally. Issues such as for their brand.
what makes a compelling domain name, This is hardly the most enticing of
the consequences of changing domain and prospects for brands that have spent years
the relationship between domain name building web portals around the original
and brand are increasingly being gTLDs. Indeed, this opening up of the risk
addressed at boardroom level. B2B of domain fraud has been one of the main
Marketing spoke to a number of SEO criticisms levelled at ICANN’s proposals.
experts and marketers to try and answer However, Abrahams believes that with
some of these pressing questions.
“All organisations should be
these risks also come opportunities.
“If, as a brand, you could pull it off and
Generic top level domains
looking to register a mobile
over a period of time convince clients to
Before going into such issues, however, it’s
worth looking at some rather interesting
domain name and ensure
recognise that .[your name] was the
genuine place to reach you, then you could
goings on that have been taking place in
their websites are mobile
potentially have a 100 per cent secure
California, USA, in recent months. There piece of Internet and a lower cost,” he says.
resides a body called the Internet
compatible”
But what about the aforementioned
Corporation for Assigned Names and fraud issues? In answering this question, it
Numbers (ICANN). In an era when the
Andrew Stout, managing director, Dolphin
is worth considering another important
Internet’s influence and power grows by point Abrahams makes, namely that such a
the day, this decidedly low-key, not-for- Geographic names might include .nyc, high percentage of domain name
profit organisation is in a position of huge .berlin, .London and so forth as cities look registrations presently are where brands
strategic importance, given that its core to promote themselves in a more localised are acting defensively.
role is overseeing the Internet’s domain way. Community names might include .eco, He suggests the money spent on these
naming system. .green or .science to provide specific defensive registrations might be better
Presently there are 21 generic Top portals representing certain interests. And spent on proactive monitoring and
Level Domains (gTLDs). These are the then there are the branding and marketing protecting their brands or trademarks
familiar extensions that come after the dot opportunities for businesses. online.
such as .co.uk, .com, .net, .org and so on. “Imagine the power of having your With the right level of protection
Recently, however, ICANN has submitted brand at the top level of the Internet eg. Abrahams believes that “the big winners
proposals to introduce 200-800 new (insert your brand here),” says Levins. may be those brands who go for it and
domain name extensions with the aim of make the transition. For a company that is
introducing more ‘innovation, choice and No cheap feat marketing savvy, there could be the
openness to the Internet’. These extensions There is another side to this story. opportunity to do lots of clever stuff on the
could include pretty much anything a Applying for a new domain will cost an Internet, creating communities and
company might want and has, on the face estimated £130,000, with an additional personal spaces for clients.”
of it, huge marketing possibilities. £50,000-a-year fee to keep the domain Others aren’t so sure, and on an
B2BM APRIL 09 – www.b2bm.biz
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