There’s an undercurrent of change happening in the tech community that could impact every single business in how it establishes and grows its brand in a digital world.
Google recently brought this broader trend into the spotlight with its launch of the top-level domain (TLD) .app. With this launch, developers, businesses and professionals with an app focus now have “a home on the web,” as Google noted in its release. Similarly, new domain options are providing a home on the web for every aspect of your brand -- both professionally and personally.
Given the swift adoption of .app, alongside the adoption of hundreds of other top-level domains for use in a growing number of online channels, it is only a matter of time that newer domains such as .app become commonplace. Domain names such as apple.news, jetblue.pizza, home.loans or tmobile.careers are helping businesses and brands communicate more effectively to their target audiences while differentiating and staying one step ahead of the competition.
Here’s Why .app And The Growth Of Top-Level Domains Matter To Your Business
Within the first two weeks of Google’s .app launch, it garnered 200,000 new domain registrations. The implications are far bigger than a successful launch in the tech world. While there may have been other records set when most new TLDs were first launched back in 2014, this is among the top 10 of most successful TLD launches within the last 10 years -- and with a name like Google, others will follow suit.
This one small leap for Google is one giant stride for individuals and businesses for three reasons:
1. The ripple effect: The success of Google’s .app launch is a powerful seal of approval to validate and encourage the use of newer TLDs more broadly.
It is already creating a domino effect in the industry, driving heightened awareness and adoption. While the tech industry is already on top of this trend, Google’s .app launch invites mainstream businesses to see the value of having multiple domain names to manage and enhance their digital identities. In addition to attention paid to the .app launch, there are other high-profile uses of new domains: Amazon already uses many different domain names across many parts of its online store (e.g., amazon.store, amazon.video, amazon.style), Apple uses apple.news for all of its in-app news, and the list continues and grows every day.
2. Market validation: Google also validated something that has been on the minds of marketers for some time: new TLDs are good for SEO.
In fact, Google itself indicated that “Using a new domain ending will not hurt your search presence.” And others have found that using a relevant, meaningful name can actually improve SEO. If you think about it, having a domain name with meaningful words or terms to both the left and to the right of the “dot” should be a favorable option, SEO-wise.
Examples such as home.loans, vacation.rentals, design.studio and houses.forsale all help to convey the meaning of their destinations; that’s better for searching consumers and certainly better for the brands that hold those domain names.
When companies consider all of their online touch points with customers, against the backdrop of resources required to maximize omnichannel strategies while maintaining brand consistency, the validation and rapid adoption of .app (among other TLDs) is a useful proof point for brands. Domain names that are more meaningful, more easily discovered in search engines and easier to remember will continue to grow in popularity.
3. Momentum: Google is a market mover in every sense of that phrase. When the company launches a product, endorses a tech trend, or is even seen to be associated with a new technology or service, the associative benefits are overwhelming because people take notice and act accordingly.
Individuals and businesses are always aware of Google because of its size and influence on all of our lives. The successful market uptake of .app and Google’s own commentary about the .app launch illustrate that Google is firmly behind the new domains trend. People and businesses have noticed (and will continue to). This is big news and will likely get bigger.
We believe the .app launch will inspire others to explore using new domain names for just about any purpose. From hiring (.careers), to social and charitable causes (.foundation), to news updates (.news or .today), to specific locations for your online presence (.app, .store, .website, .consulting, .support, .social), to bringing your personal brand and interests to life (.rocks, .life, .live, .guru, .expert) -- the possibilities are practically endless. New domains can help individuals and organizations to manage and amplify their digital identity -- whether it appears on social channels, in online ads, in direct marketing or email.
