New gTLDs : did you ask the AI ?

Something very unattractive about the ICANN new gTLD program is that you have to search for common basic questions like: "how do I proceed to create my domain name extension?", "who do I talk to?", "how much doe it cost?", etc.

You will notice that absolutely no service provider will show any price on their website.

There are several reasons for this : an easy one is: "the ICANN new gTLD applicant guidebook has not yet been published, so we can't give you a price".

With my experience learnt from the first Round of the ICANN new gTLD program in 2012 a price is difficult to produce because no one can tell what is going to happen.

Once applications were submitted in 2012, I also read invoices increased by ten times compared to what some other applicants had paid ! Some projects could absolutely not be profitable for this reason and some filed.

Today, the AI starts to offer good answers about what one must do or pay. Legal and Financial questions are important too and the AI starts to be a very good tool to help in the application process. We answer many of these questions on www.gtld.blog, the AI will answer - and publish - your answers too if you want to send them to us.

3 applications submitted

Three applications were submitted for the new gTLD Applicant Support Program (ASP). Twenty one were sent but only three are in review: "Applications submitted and in review refers to applications that have submitted application information for evaluation" (updated: 21 April 2025.

Reminder:

The ASP is intended to make the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: Next Round application and evaluation processes and fees more accessible to entities that would like to operate a registry but would otherwise be unable to apply, because of financial and resource constraints.

Learn more.

Numbers : new gTLDs are doing good !

The DNIB Quarterly Report Q1 2025

Extracted from the Verisign report : "Total new generic TLD (ngTLD) domain name registrations were 37.8 million at the end of the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 1.0 million domain name registrations, or 2.6%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. ngTLDs increased by 4.5 million domain name registrations, or 13.5%, year over year. The most recent combined renewal percentage estimate for ngTLDs was 34.2%."

Read the full report.

New gTLDs and naive thinking

It is naive thinking that one will create millions of new domain names with another new generic Top-Level Domain in 2026 : I don't believe in this since numbers prove the opposite (see https://www.gtld.report).

What I think about the next Round of the ICANN new gTLD program is that to earn money in 2026, the direction to take is to fully control a niche market using a dotBrand, not a generic, a geographic or a community TLD.

The network of accredited Registrar "does not sell", Registrars are a vitrine in which all new applicants think they will show up. Thinking Registrars will do the job of "selling" is naive : numbers don't lie.

The one to develop his business on his dotBrand (.brand), create domains added to a service, and control which domains to allow comes with something new...that sells.

Ask Jovenet Consulting for more.

Just updated, new gTLD reports for the month of April 2025

New gTLD reports are monthly domain name registration volumes' captures according to specific groups, businesses or industries. On the last day of each month, we take a snapshot of these numbers so one can see if they increase or decrease for a month to the other. This method is a good way to see if these domain names meet with adoption...or not.

We update 22 categories and .BRANDs is one of them.

New gTLDs : LOCAL = city names

I am probably sure that many noticed...that the first new gTLD applicant guidebook (and probably the upcoming one for the 2026 ICANN new gTLD Round) blocked interested applicants for submitting an application for the .LOCAL new generic Top-Level Domain.

It is the chosen one for innovative project "John Wolley" which focuses on city names but we have to take a different approach since this TLD is blocked.

Generic Names

We all know that one advantage to create a new domain name extension, a generic one, a dotBrand (or any other), is to benefit from the availability of "to be created" generic second level domains : domain names such as shoes.tld (".tld" is an example here), product.tld , mobile.tld or paris.tld

A real benefit

If the real SEO (Search Engine Optimization) benefit of using a generic name relies on what Google says, one think remains certain : the benefit of using a generic name is clear on a leaflet, a visit card, in the paper or online press. Reading a generic domain name is nicer and easier to comprehend than reading a descriptive domain name, and by the way : the shorter, the better.

City names and local visibility

Can generic city names such as "boston.tld" benefit for local content in search engine optimization? if - again - "Google decides", the benefit remains in the title : a word is a word and "boston" alone as the second level domain name says it all : a website with this generic domain name is probably going to be about the city of Boston. I asked that exact same question to an AI and this is the answer received :

"...notably Google, explicitly state that geoTLDs are treated like other generic TLDs (.com, .org) and do not provide any direct algorithmic ranking advantage for local searches based on the TLD itself. Keywords within the TLD also offer no direct SEO benefit. In contrast, country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) like .uk or .ca do serve as strong geographic signals for country-level targeting."

Scary, isn't?

Now, it also says this:

"Potential benefits of city TLDs like .boston are primarily indirect, stemming from branding and user perception. They can strongly signal local relevance, potentially enhancing user trust, reinforcing community connection, and possibly improving click-through rates (CTR) from local searchers who recognize the geographic identifier."

Much nicer.

Conclusion

Using city names as second level domains for local content makes sense in the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program. Industrializing such domain name creations using a .BRAND Top-Level Domain makes the project a cash machine if the minimum annual income per domain is $40. To learn more about this project : talk to us.

The CTO shares it factsheet about next round of new gTLDs

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is the oldest and largest Commonwealth intergovernmental organisation in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Its focus is on transforming the future with ICT, one nation at a time.

The CTO shared a factsheet on the Latest news from the ICANN82 conference held in Seattle - April 2025. Factsheet written by Peter Mujtaba – Technology Consultant.

Learn more.

Are you a Registry Service provider?

To ensure you have the proper qualifications to be a Registry Provider, The ICANN created the RSP Evaluation Program. It is closing in 20 May 2025.

Extracted from the article: "All New gTLD Program: Next Round applicants must use RSPs that have been successfully evaluated through the RSP Evaluation Program. The RSP may be the same entity as the prospective applicant, or the gTLD may outsource services to a third-party".

Learn more here.