Why are there so few domain names to choose from?

As it is now, few domain “good” dot com names exist for companies and individuals to choose from when creating a website because most of these .com domain names have been registered by others online. In other words, the .com suffix has been mined quite heavily by others, both legit businesses and cyber squatters. Lesser suffixes, like .me, .tv, etc. simply aren’t as attractive because their .com counterparts are already being used and most users surf the web based on the expectation that .com is going to be part of the domain name for a business.

However, an organization meeting in Singapore called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is expected to change everything to allow brands and even the most ridiculous words to be utilized as a domain name suffix.

How will brands be able to replace dot com domain names?

ICANN regulates and coordinates internet names, and pending the success of its board meeting in Singapore, it will probably allow brand names to replace dot com and the other traditional domain names in existence at this point. This new possibility means big things for major corporations and individuals as more creativity and advertising possibilities could transform the internet.

Though previously discussed, the Singapore meeting is the first serious attempt by ICANN to allow alternate domain names. The change has been speculated for several years now, but the confluence of users demanding more creative control over their websites, and major corporations desiring more advertising avenues has finally resulted in action.

What will the future of the internet be like if brand names could replace dot com domain names?

If the new change gets approved, instead of ending virtually every website with the domain name ‘dot com,’ companies could use their own brand name to end website addresses. For example, accessing the Coca Cola websites would probably consist of ending dot coke to an address. Creative minds could set up websites such as whattodoin.dallas or didyouseethat.movie to give their websites a pizzazz missing when dot com dominated the internet.

Use of new domain names might, however, prove prohibitively expensive for all except the wealthiest or the major international corporations. The right to establish a .coke or .movie is expected to cost potential purchasers $200,000 or more. While all would benefit from the increased creativity allowed to be both expressed and viewed across the internet, few except the large companies could at first afford the initial transition away from the dot com phenomenon for which the internet has thus far been known.

Will Dot Brand Domains Names Fail?

There have been plenty of attempts to expand beyond dot com but so far .com, .edu, and .org remain the bread-and-butter for those online. Although .brand domains have appeal, the high costs make it unlikely these will become as popular as .com. And it’s hard to fathom why a large company would pay the extra fees for its .brand unless those registration costs were less than the cost of defending existing registered trademarks for the brand against anyone dumb enough to register the .brand as a squatter or competitor. From an intellectual property attorney’s standpoint, this would be a bonanza in legal fees as the large companies fight over the rights to .brand names.

For the near future, dot com domain names will remain top dog because they’re inexpensive to acquire and Internet users are conditioned to look for them.