BWMagic’s Internet Marketing Newsletter


ICANN’s New Generic Domains Could Change Everything

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I don’t see or hear
much discussion about the new upcoming ICANN changes
to how domains will be named in the future.

Starting next year – between January 2012 to April 2012 –
companies can apply for a “generic” or “dot anything”
domain. Instead of using say a “.com” “.net” “.biz”…
for a price tag of $185,000 a company can buy a domain
such as “www.hotels” or “www.hotel”, which will probably
mean anyone searching on the web for a hotel room could
just type “hotels” into their browser and the site holding
this domain will pop-up.

Assuming of course, ICANN (The Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers) approves this generic
domain and lets someone buy it… the same could
also apply for other lucrative domains such as
cars, loans, banks, gifts… and even brand name domains.

The SEO fallout could be very significant if Google and
the other search engines start listing these Top Level
domains first in their rankings. And how can they not,
because these top domains will quickly grow a whole
list of backlinks if they follow the pattern set by
the web.

As web users get used to just typing in directly what
they’re looking for on the web, this traffic alone could
result in the loss or gain of billions, if not trillions
of dollars.

It also probably means anyone holding a “.com”, “.net”,
“.org”, “.biz”… type of domain, has just seen that
domain being devalued because they are no longer the
top domains. Especially, when it comes to the now perceived
top-level “.com” domains – millions of these domains will
have their values lowered.

These “dot coms” are no longer “king of the hill” and on the
web being at the very top, means everything.

How all this plays out will be very interesting to watch.
How many generic domains are created and what kinds of
keywords ICANN will accept could be especially worth
watching.

After the vote, Chairman of ICANN’s board of directors,
Peter Thrush stated: “Today’s decision will usher in a new
internet age. We have provided a platform for the next
generation of creativity and inspiration. Unless there
is a good reason to restrain it, innovation should be
allowed to run free.”

The key will be the web user’s acceptance of these new
domains… will they still want to use the “.com” at the
end of urls. Or will they stop using the search engines
less and less, by going directly through the browser to
the site for the keyword listed.

The only problem with that, as most affiliate marketers know,
the most lucrative keywords are the “long-tail”, more
descriptive phrases… it is unlikely someone is going
to buy “florida vacation rentals” as a generic domain,
unless browsers are redesigned to go directly to
www.floridavacationrentals, even if you just type in
“florida vacation rentals”.

Of course, one way this could play out, a company would
buy the “www.rentals” domain and then have sub-domains
pointing to the different markets. Such as “florida.rentals”
or “vacation.rentals” and so on.

For big companies and some small ones, if they can afford
the hefty price, it could be a very good way of protecting
their trademarks. Just type in Sony and you go to the Sony
site. Just type in Apple and you go to the Apple site…
if nothing else, it will be faster.

But I have a feeling these new “generic” “dot anything”
domains will play a much bigger role with it comes to SEO
and your rankings in the search engine. They will make a
lot of difference in the amount of traffic your domain receives.

In actual fact, it could really change the web as we know it…

It will no longer be open and available to everyone, because
while the Internet will still be open to any Tom, Dick or Mary,
who has $8 or $10 to buy a domain… the real prize domains
will only now be available for those elite few who can afford
the hefty $185,000 price tag and the $25,000 annual fee.

For more information on this issue and what it could mean
for you as a webmaster go here:

The Internet is Dead, Long Live the Internet

Helping People Succeed Online Since 2002!

Kind Regards,
Titus

http://www.bizwaremagic.com

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