Eisner says the new TLDs provide opporunities to reach out to new customers
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Adam Eisner, director of product management for OpenSRS (www.opensrs.com), the wholesale services brand at Tucows (www.tucows.com), spoke on Monday morning at HostingCon 2011 about the effects that new TLDs will have on hosting businesses, and how hosting providers can harness the opportunity that these new domain extensions will bring.
The WHIR interviewed Eisner in June after ICANN (www.icann.org) approved a timeline for the creation of new top level domains where he gave a preview of his session on Monday.
ICANN approved the plan mid-June and outlined a timeline of the application process.
Eisner says this decision will represent an “exciting and fundamental change” for the industry.
“How people navigate the internet is about to change,” he says.
The new TLDs will mean that “right of the dot will matter.” It is also a chance to secure your brand for prestige and control, Eisner says.
Eisner outlines the top three kinds of TLDs that will be created: brand, generic and community or special interest TLDs, including geographical locations. For example, .london.
He sees this a huge opportunity for web hosts to reach out to dozens or hundreds of new markets, and new customers.
Eisner predicts that every major city is going to secure their own domain extensions. Hosting customers want this to target local markets, he says, using the example of pizza.london. People know exactly what they will get when they go to that domain.
The application window is from January to April 2012, he says, and applications will be approved in November 2012. Eisner says additional rounds could be possible after this, though he says it won’t happen quickly.
The application fee is $185,000, but it is partially refundable if the domain extension is not approved, he says.
This amount doesn’t include the potential fees incurred if you have to go to auction if someone else wants the same extension.
Eisner says that it is a bad idea to run yourself, and that you should definitely secure a partner.
According to Eisner, a sellable TLD is well-priced (under $30), doesn’t have “wacky” rules, is specific and resonates with end-users.
A question near the end of the session asked how these new TLDs will affect search, and how the extensions will rank in Google.
Though Eisner says there is no guarantee that Google will gravitate towards the extension, it is something that needs to be worked out with ICANN to ensure that it happens.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson writes full-time for the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, and has been writing for the WHIR since September 2010. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
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