Should you join the internet “land grab”?

by Kate Pritchard - Monday, 4th August 2008 -

In June, the governing body for internet domain names approved a “land grab” for new web addresses, allowing Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic characters to be used for the first time. So should you start defensively registering domains to avoid being gazumped by cybersquatters?

“Don’t be distracted by the hype and scaremongering,” says Nora Nanayakkara, a director at Sedo, the online marketplace for domain names. "The only winners of these new regulations will be ICANN and IP lawyers.

“Registering a new domain extension takes months and costs roughly £100,000, so extension names are unlikely to be snapped up by opportunistic cybersquatters. Applications must also have a strong legal and business case – certainly not something to be undertaken lightly.”

She advises companies to do a digital audit of their existing domains and make sure they know who is responsible for their management.

“Go after domains that are close to yours in spelling to boost web traffic,” she says. “You should never overestimate the average internet user’s ability to spell!

“Only register a new domain if it fits with your business plan and sharpens your competitive edge. If most of your business comes from Germany, for example, consider getting .de to strengthen your presence in that market. If you sell books, what could be better than books.com?"

Picture source

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