New website domains may be a more relevant option to some consumers, SMEs and brands, but they could also raise brand protection issues for larger, global brands.

In Q2, 2014, four new generic Top Level Internet Domains (gTLDs) will be made available: .press, .space, .website and .host. Industry regulator, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has introduced these new domain names in response to the scarcity of traditional domain names such as .com and .co.uk.

The new gTLDs will enable brands to buy into domain names that better fit their needs. For example; digital-only pages may opt for .website as .com is not wholly relevant if they are not a business, and journalism and internet hosting businesses will be able to buy into .press and .host. A tailored domain name will not only be a better indicator of what the website is representing or functioning as, it will also supplement the businesses’ SEO and branding potential.

The new TLDs will also be significant from a brand protection angle as global corporations may choose to buy into the new web domains as a defensive strategy. Apple may choose to purchase .website, as well as its already established .com site, in an attempt to prevent brand vandals damaging their reputation.

CentralNic plc was appointed by Radix Registry to provide the registry services for these four domain names. Bhavin Turakhia, founder and CEO of Radix says, “Radix decided to award these contracts to CentralNic following our excellent experience partnering with them on the .pw and .in.net domain extensions.”