The internet's regulator, Icann, have voted unanimously to relax the rules on 'top-level' domain names, such as .com or .co.uk.
So what does this mean from a communications perspective?
Precise geographic domain names such as .cym (Wales); .london (London); .sco (Scotland); .nyc (New York) are being introduced. This geographic drilldown opens up opportunities for campaign-based online communications, enabling those that target a location to retain and reinforce a geographic message in the selected URL (e.g. www.filmfestival.london).
The new internet domain name conventions also introduce foreign alphabets (e.g. Cyrillic). As a result, domain names using the English alphabet no longer monopolise the online channel - this localisation allows for extended reach of the World Wide Web to those who do not have English as their first language. From a marketing perspective, geographic campaign communication targeting will benefit.
As the domain name relaxation continues, potentially sector-based domains could be introduced and Corporates could emphasise brand positioning (e.g. www.lloydstsb.bank), and even specific communication-based domain names could be leveraged (e.g. www.lloydstsbannual.report).
Of course Icann's announcement will affect the way search engine algorithms prioritise returned search result rankings. It will be interesting to see how they handle this.
Is the 'World Wide Web' localisation now becoming the 'Country Channel Coverage'?
No comments:
Post a Comment