The opportunity .brands provide is to reintroduce direct navigation via domain names by giving consumers short, memorable URLs that – whether at that address or by redirect – deliver visitors to locations deep within a website quickly and easily. Instead of relying on long and unwieldy subdomains, distracting search results or allied services such as social media, organizations can begin to train their customers to type in “anything they want”.brand to get the information they’re looking for instantly.
“Are .brand TLDs available for companies to acquire now? Or do we need to wait somehow for more TLDs to be released?”
This is a question that has become more and more prevalent as brands roll out their .brand TLDs. As the power of .brands becomes more apparent, other organizations are looking to take advantage of this valuable asset.
However the short answer is no – at the moment, the application process for brands to apply is closed.
When ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – essentially the global regulator of the Internet) opened applications for new Top-Level Domains several years ago, it was a limited application period. These applications had to go through a long period of review and testing and have started to roll out over the last two to three years. While discussions are underway as to whether a second round of applications could be conducted, currently this is looking like it may still be a few years away.
However, pressure from organizations looking to apply may well contribute to demand for a second round, so if this is something you are passionate about then make your voice heard! Get in touch with us if you’d like to know more about the road to the second round – email dotbrands@registry.neustar.
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