Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Companies and generic gTLDs

New gTLD registration volumes from extensions that I believe Companies should keep an eye on. Most are generic Domain name extensions. Some IDNs (extensions with accents or non ASCII) were added to this list. Two legacy Top-Level Domains were added to this report.

This report is dated June the 30th 2019.

2019FebruaryMarchAprilMayJune
.SITE1,022,9671,146,4601,211,6311,326,0071,465,755
.ONLINE1,207,0921,235,9571,261,2621,290,3691,295,101
.APP372,341383,774392,881403,129444,213
.WEBSITE315,689323,484327,616334,242339,303
.BLOG195,987199,856202,533205,169208,836
.WORLD137,939145,880152,906157,918163,474
.EMAIL84,52585,49985,95586,37585,865
.GROUP67,64968,57769,09669,56869,545
.COMPANY69,62169,61369,21968,77467,744
.GLOBAL47,20548,04248,39548,58348,796
.公司 (company)42,95242,91642,90942,48042,320
.EXPERT35,07735,29135,38435,42834,851
.商标 (trademark)25,06925,15725,57525,85226,153
.INTERNATIONAL25,43825,60625,58425,59625,623
.SUPPORT24,25224,36824,54424,68724,652
.PAGE11,06513,93816,33818,39721,186
.BEST6,10412,08313,51716,03218,936
.BUZZ9,76110,18710,32910,43510,559
.CEO2,7203,7382,7572,7322,711
.集团 (corporate group)1,2121,8881,8661,2882,057
.世界 (world)1,4381,4381,4431,4441,446
.CONTACT11111
.WEBcomingcomingcomingcomingcoming
Legacy TLDs:
.COM138,388,746139,127,705139,707,934140,130,725140,641,735
.PRO296,521297,158295,281291,457290,074

In red are listed the number of domain names lost from a month to the other, in blue, when the increase is noticeable.

Monday, July 8, 2019

New gTLD Reports for June/July 2019

At the end of each month, are updated 20 new gTLD reports with a focus on the number of domain names registered in categorized domain name extensions. Are listed in red the volumes of domains which decrease from a month to the other, and in blue when the increase is noticeable.

Down each report, you can select the year of interest and check if users have shown interest...or not.
  1. New gTLDs related to LUXURY (.rich - .yachts - .chanel - etc...);
  2. New gTLDs related to the MUSIC community (.music - .band - .hiphop - etc...);
  3. Multiple Registries : group of Registries operating five (5) and more domain name extensions;
  4. Singular VS Plural versions of a new gTLD : these are domain name extensions which exist in their singular and plural version (ie: .gift and .gifts);
  5. New gTLDs related to CATERING and CULINARY (.restaurant - .kitchen - .bar - etc...);
  6. New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY (.photo - .film - .gallery - etc...);
  7. New gTLDs related to CITIES : these are city names only (.london - .tokyo - etc...);
  8. New gTLDs related to COMPANIES : new domain name extensions that we believe a company should keep its eyes on;
  9. NEW - New gTLDs related to POLITICS (.gop - .vote - .republican - .democrat - etc...);
  10. New gTLDs related to the LAW and LEGAL matters (.legal - .attorney - .lawyer - etc...);
  11. New gTLDs related to FINANCE (.credit - .capital - .finance - etc...);
  12. New gTLDs related to a COLOR (.orange - .pink - .green - etc...);
  13. New gTLDs related to SPORTS (.hockey - .basketball - .ski - etc...);
  14. New gTLDs related to ALCOHOL (.beer - .wine - .vodka - etc...);
  15. New gTLDs related to REAL ESTATE (.realestate - .realtor - .villas - etc...);
  16. FRENCH new gTLD applications : these are applications submitted by French companies only;
  17. New gTLDs related to RELIGION (.catholic - .bible - .church - etc...);
  18. New gTLDs related to CARS (.taxi - .auto - .car - etc...);
  19. New gTLDs related to HEALTH (.health - .doctor - .hospital - etc...);
  20. New gTLDs related to ADULTS (no comment).

Friday, July 5, 2019

Official Agreement signed between .BEST and .FR

The document is available for download in French down this post.

Le .Best conclut un accord de partenariat historique avec le .fr pour favoriser l’adoption des noms de domaine en France !

Paris, le 3 Juillet 2019 – THE BEST, la première et seule entreprise Française à avoir réussi à racheter une Nouvelle Extension Générique Internet : le .Best, est heureux d’annoncer la conclusion d’un accord de partenariat historique en France avec l’Afnic, l’association en charge des noms de domaine en .fr et premier registre internet français.

Ensemble, .Best et .fr encouragent ainsi l’adoption des noms de domaine sur le marché français. C’est une alliance entre 2 entreprises Françaises, qui placent les valeurs éthiques de l’internet et l’excellence au premier plan.

Cet accord permettra notamment d’offrir gratuitement un nom de domaine en .Best à tous les utilisateurs qui enregistreront un nom de domaine en .fr chez tous les bureaux d’enregistrement Français partenaires de cette opération.

“Nous sommes très fiers d’avoir comme premier partenaire l’Afnic, qui s’est engagé depuis sa création dans une démarche éthique très forte qui contribue au quotidien à un internet plus sûr et stable en France. Il s’agit d’un accord historique puisque c’est aussi le premier partenariat entre une nouvelle extension générique internet (le .best) et une extension internet de pays (le .fr)” – affirme Cyril Frémont, le CEO du .Best

“Depuis son acquisition en 2018, le .Best se développe et se présente comme une initiative portée par une jeune entreprise Française. L'Afnic, leader français du secteur des noms de domaine, accueille avec intérêt et enthousiasme l'apparition d'un nouvel acteur français, dont nous espérons qu'il pourra devenir un champion dans le secteur des noms de domaines génériques. Cette promotion visant à permettre la découverte du .Best pour l'achat d'un nom de domaine en .fr illustre cette volonté d'accompagner les acteurs français des noms de domaine.” complète Pierre Bonis, Directeur Général de l’Afnic.

A propos de THE BEST
Fondée en 2018, THE BEST est la première et unique société française à exploiter une nouvelle extension internet générique de premier niveau : le .Best

Cyril Frémont, Président de THE BEST, est un entrepreneur Internet depuis 1996. Il a débuté sa carrière dans la Silicon Valley et participé au succès de plusieurs startups internet : ARIBA, INTERSHOP, … Il a fallu 5 ans à Cyril Frémont pour compléter l'acquisition du .Best avec l’aide d’investisseurs privés, et le soutien de BPI France.

Contact Presse:
presse@go.best
Bernard-Xavier Spokojny +33 (0)6 03 25 28 77
Laurence Caron +33 (0)6 09 24 36 85
@BestTLD
#thebest

Download the agreement (PDF download)

Thursday, July 4, 2019

ICANN Round 2: What You Should Know

This article was first published on CircleID.

There are 2 things to know and 1 thing to do "first".

What you should know
    1. We need a date. Even the ICANN has no clue when the next round will start and if it does, you should know that the first round has to be finished prior for the next one to start. This is what the previous applicant guidebook says. Read it if you feel like entering our strange world. No exact definition of "first round has to be finished prior for the next one starts" so clearly...it is really up to the ICANN to give us a date but according to what I read, some cases are not yet ended and the .AMAZON new gTLD is a good example to give. I read that the ICANN would announce a date in the Marrakesh meeting...great. Note that without an official announcement from the ICANN with a firm date of the next round...nothing happens.
    2. We need the latest applicant guidebook. This one is a long story and a long document to write. Many groups are working on it for the ICANN but...you have to participate to them and "attend webinars" to follow-up with this. Note that once the applicant guidebook has been revealed, it is the same for all and there is no "passe droit" at the ICANN to have your application submitted first before your competitor. I would even suggest not to deal with ICANN insiders (who can also be new gTLD service providers) too much because no one knows if conflict of interests could be revealed, putting the submission of your application in danger. Without the official - and final - applicant guidebook announced and published by the ICANN...nothing happens. ICANN decides.
What you should do "first"
There is one obvious thing to do FIRST: what do you want to do with your domain name extension?
  • If you want to sell domain names becoming a registry, you have to know if there is a market and you should study numbers too: if neither a market nor numbers are there, you will waste your money and fail your project. Think that Premium domain names will save your project? Good luck to you then but it is a risky decision. Note that if your TLD is any good (.DRONE - .SEO - .TRANSLATE - .WHATEVER...)...but not so good in the end, there could be someone (a backend-registry service providers, entrepreneur, etc...) to buy it from you to help you get rid of it...or not. But is that what you want to achieve? There are failed projects and some keep failing still because...demand is not there.
    Before you take the decision to invest in a new gTLD, put some imagination in your business model and don't focus on selling domain names only, there are other things to do with a new gTLD...unless you have the right market.
  • If you want to apply for your .BRAND domain name extension, you should watch what's being done and wonder if it is worth it to do the same financially because operating your .BRAND means that you have access to all domain names in your TLD: ALL OF THEM. Isn't it interesting to be able to operate a generic domain name such as www.yourservice.brand or www.yourproduct.brand? What about www.pizza.brand when you sell pizzas? It is and that is what .BRAND new gTLDs are for. But at what price?
    A good question to have is: how much is it going to cost me to register one single domain name in my extension when any domain name from another public domain name extension would cost you $10 to 20$ per year to renew?
    Is it worth it for my image, or project, to pay a high price per personalized domain name? Many existing .BRANDs never had these questions and just secured their extension at an extremely high price...to do nothing with it (note that securing a .BRAND TLD for no purpose can be a project).
    I personally believe that it is worth it to pay a higher price per domain name per year for a .BRAND but this calculation should be done on the global price per year to maintain your TLD at the backend registry level (and other service providers); and ensure that you understood this pricing: you don't want to find out that it cost you an average of $800 per year (and sometimes much more) for one single domain name registered, do you?
What you should do first is simple and very basic actually: don't repeat failures from the first round of the ICANN new gTLD program. Want to ask the right person on what works and what does not work? Don't hire a new gTLD service provider, talk to the operator of a registry ;-)

Follow-up with new gTLDs
Now you read "what you should know", you'll probably want to know where to go to be informed and I created a place just for this. Also, be sure that such announcements will be made on CircleId by most service providers.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Teaser AMEX conference Cyril Fremont

The .BEST Registry just met with Amex (American Express)



More to come...

Monday, June 24, 2019

Trademark Clearinghouse: improving the service

Starting today, ongoing notifications will be activated for those additional TLDs and you will start receiving notifications as of 25th of June 2019:
  1. .cat
  2. .coop
  3. .jobs
  4. .mobi
  5. .museum
  6. .net
  7. .pro
  8. .tel
  9. .travel
  10. .xxx
Learn more here.

.BRAND new gTLD Reports are updated once a month.

.BRAND new gTLD Reports are updated once a month.
Cick here !