Yes, I know it’s still early, but everyone is speculating, so I might as well put my two cents in…
Since the release, there have been over 400,000 new gTLDs registered across 150 gTLDs. That is a pretty decent number considering that the new domain extensions are only a couple of months old and the prices for them are not exactly cheap.
Leading the pack is .guru with over 47,000 registrations and .berlin trailing closely behind with over 43,000. .Photography is in 3rd with just over 30,000 registrations. .Berlin surprised me with that many registrations, but it appears they are giving away free a registration for the first year.
Having reviewed some of the new gTLDs, I think there is potential in a handful. However for the most of them (99%), I think they are being driven by hype, marketing, and bullish speculation.
Sample of gTLDs that I think have potential:
- .CLUB
- .DIRECTORY
- .MENU
In my opinion, these gTLDs are very purpose driven and also easy to remember. The other domain extensions are too vague and arbitrary.
For example, a .CLUB would be used for a club site. A .DIRECTORY would be used for a directory in a specific niche. And a .MENU for displaying menus for various restaurants. These are clear cut uses for these domains. So if I were to say, McDonalds.menu, you would clearly know what to expect even before visiting the site.
On the other hand, if you have a gTLD like .TODAY or .NINJA, what do you do with it? Sure, it could be branded into something, but the learning curve would take longer. If I told you, car.today, what would you think the site would be about? Obviously, cars, but what about cars? Blog? Dealership? Magazine? Auction? There’s too many options, and sometimes having too many options isn’t good.
I think the two key ingredients to the success of these new domain extensions are:
- Clear and defined purpose
- Sensible combination of domain prefix and suffix
Do you think there is a future for these new gTLDs?