In the last few years the domain universe has greatly expanded. By new domain extensions, we are specifically talking about new generic Top Level Domains (TLDs). With hundreds of domain names, it has never been so easier to find a domain that perfectly matches your brands. But, will your new extension be effective?

Here are some reasons telling you why to consider new extensions before registering a domain name:

Availability: The internet users are used to.com. To many of them, a respectable website can only have .com extension. Occasionally, they accept diversions like .net or .org. However, getting a domain name of choice with these extensions is quite difficult. Either, a business owner has to endure hefty expense to buy their dream domain from previous registrant or has to settle for another domain name that is not so attractive. Previously, these TLDs were the only choices and no alternatives existed. But, with new domain names readily available with different domain extensions, entrepreneurs have the option to go with the domain name of their choice. Most of them, if used appropriately, convey what you are trying to tell through your website. Like alessandri.law is more explanatory than alessandrilaw.com.

Price: A .com domain of your choice can cost you thousands of dollars if another party has already registered it and is looking for a premium payment to release that name in your favor. The same name with a new suffix could possibly be owned at a regular price. It can save your budget to a great extent. The startups can benefit a lot from such a savings.

SEO ranking: Google does not penalize or favor a site because of its domain extension. They treat the new generic TLDs in same way as existing TLDs. There are many instances where a website with a new domain extension not only ranks well in comparison to a .com site, but also rank better than existing TLD sites.

It is obvious that there is no negative impact on SEO rankings from using new TLDs. The success of a domain name depends upon pairing an easy to remember address along with a useful website.

Local branding: No matter from where you host your website, it will have a global reach. Though beneficial for some organizations, local players may not have an advantage. Some real estates, restaurants, pharmacy, retails and even schools may have a local target audience. The geographic domain provides these businesses the opportunity to showcase themselves to the audience as well as the search engines as local players. Therefore, their visibility increases and those people to whom these businesses are meaningful can find them easily.

Ditching old extensions: Many business owners are giving up their old extensions and adopting new extensions that make their site address more simple and relevant.

Lady Gaga’s non-profit organization, Born This Way Foundation, changed their domain name from bornthiswayfoundation.org to bornthisway.foundation.

The famous company Canon replaced their website URL canon.com with the new web address global.canon. They now cater to their global audience from this global.canon domain name.

Select a domain name that is short and simple. The users can then remember it easily. Do some research and think of a name that will be unique as well as meaningful. If you are worrying to use new generic TLDs as web users may not accept it, just bear in mind that internet users are slowly getting used to new domain extensions.

By: Uma Sri