Google announced the launch of eight new top-level domains (TLDs), including one that may have high business potential for law firms, others that are useful for academics, and two top-level domains that are based on extensions of files, which can be problematic from a security point of view
Top level domains
The eight new top-level domains (TLDs) are suitable for different purposes.
The eight new TLDs are:
.dad .phd .prof .esq .foo .zip .mov .nexus
The .mom domain has been available for registration since 2015.
One has to wonder why it took so long to come up with a .dad domain. Whatever the reason, here’s your chance to buy WorldsGreatest.dad!
How much do new top level domains cost?
Domain names can be registered today, May 3, 2023.
Over the next week, prices will drop in six phases until it reaches the base price of $30 per year on May 10.
The sooner a domain name is registered, the more expensive it will be.
Thus, more valuable domains will initially cost more.
Six phases of Google domain registration pricing:
Phase 1 – May 3 at 12:00 p.m
$11,500 + $30/year Phase 2: Starts May 4 at 12:00
$3,500 + $30/year Phase 3 – May 5 at 12pm
$1,150 + $30/year Phase 4 – May 6 at 12pm
$350 + $30/year Phase 5 – May 8 at 12pm
$125 + $30/year General availability: May 10 at 12:00 p.m.
$30/year
First Level Domain .Esq
The word esquire (commonly abbreviated as Esq.), is a title used for lawyers in the United States.
The tite is used after his name, usually to mean that he is a lawyer who has passed the bar in his state.
As such, the .esq TLD is particularly well suited for use by US attorneys.
Without a doubt, the TLD with the most commercial potential is the .esq TLD. Esq is the shortened form of the word esquire, which is a courtesy title given to lawyers.
Keyword domain names are great for quickly communicating to users what a website is about.
A local legal service can use a domain name with a geographic area and its field to quickly communicate that the company serves the user’s area.
But many of the most desirable legal domains with meaningful words are already taken.
For this reason, the .esq TLD can provide an opportunity to acquire a suitable domain name for a lawyer.
Many desirable domain names are available right now.
But they are available at early access prices, meaning they cost at least $11,500 to sign up and then $30 annually.
Here are some examples I found this afternoon:
This is another available domain:
Some may believe that an exact match domain name for your desired keywords is helpful for ranking.
But it is not so.
Exact match keyword domain names are not necessary to rank well in Google.
Bill Hartzer (LinkedIn), CEO of Hartzer Consulting observed:
“I think inevitably many people will have questions about whether or not Google will give additional ranking weight to these new TLDs.
I think it’s the case that all TLDs have a chance to rank, and I don’t think there’s any reason for Google to give more weight to a particular TLD or domain that uses a TLD that Google offers as a registrar.”
What counts, for ranking purposes, is content and external signals such as links.
The value of an exact match keyword domain is in the unique way it can stand out from other listings on search engine results pages (SERPs).
In addition, conversion rates can improve because a keyword domain matches what the user is searching for, thus attracting visitors that are more closely matched to what is offered on the website.
Jeff Ferguson (LinkedIn), CEO, Digital Amplitude; Adjunct Professor, UCLAA, offered his thoughts on the new TLDs:
“The set of doctorate, prof, esq is an interesting combination for the professional set.
As an adjunct professor at UCLA, I see something like this being useful in a number of ways.”
Are TLDs more likely to raise security issues?
The two TLDs that seem to be problematic are the .zip and .mov TLDs.
Dot zip and dot mov are file extensions. One is for a compressed file and the other is a file extension for a movie format. Importantly, these types of file extensions are used to deliver Trojans and malware.
Jeff agreed, commenting that it seems like a “curious choice” to create TLDs based on file extensions, especially for extensions that may carry a malicious payload.
He remarked:
“Why would they do something for an existing extension?”
However, many of these new TLDs offer a rare opportunity to register elusive domain names that can be useful for business, professional purposes, or even as a gift (in the case of the .dad TLD).
Read Google’s official announcement:
8 new top-level domains for parents, graduates and technicians
Featured image by Shutterstock/Luis Molinero
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