Every online shop shares a goal: to build a loyal customer base. So how do you help your brand reach the widest possible online audience? Getting a ‘dot-com’ domain might seem like an obvious first step, but hold it right there! A new generation of domains, including .shop, can help your brand stand out online.
It’s time to break free from dot-com domains. Here’s why.
The availability problem
The first dot-com domain was introduced to the world in 1985. Nearly 40 years later, it’s no surprise that so many dot-com domain addresses have already been registered and are not available to you.
If your dream dot-com has already been taken, you have the option of finding out who has registered it and using a broker to make an offer for the domain. But this can be a very expensive and time-consuming process. The good news is that you have great alternatives available to you, because a dot-com address is not a must-have for success.
Why is this? One important reason is the nature of search engines. Most of the time, internet users do not type in an address to visit your website; they search for a product, services or company name, then follow the links. This means that people will not be put off if your brand does not have a dot-com address.
The other positive trend is the rise of new domains, which offer you the chance to create a clear and branded domain for your online shop.
Welcome to the era of targeted domains
Since 2008 there has been an explosion in the number of new domain extensions, and today there are more than 1,500 ‘top-level domains’, ranging from .shop to .work and everything in between. The beauty of these domains is that they speak directly to your target audience and explain the purpose of your online brand or organization. With a single glance at your web address, users can understand the purpose of your site.
You might not have noticed that some of the world’s most popular websites do not have dot-com domains. Just check out the gaming site twitch.tv and the classifieds site craigslist.org
Meet .shop: the world’s best address for e-commerce
If you want to sell to customers online, the .shop domain is perfectly targeted for your needs. ‘Shop’ is a short, simple word that is understood everywhere - including non-English language markets. Choose a .shop domain and you are joining a growing community of entrepreneurs who are thriving in the age of e-commerce. Want to visit some .shop sites? Check out our featured sites for a dose of inspiration.
How does a .shop address impact my search results?
Google, the world’s most popular search engine, has made it clear that new top-level domains (including .shop) are treated the same as dot-com addresses: "Overall, our systems treat new gTLDs like other gTLDs (like .com & .org). Keywords in a TLD do not give any advantage or disadvantage in search."
Using keywords in the domain name might not give you an advantage or disadvantage in search rankings, but if your brand is focused on a particular service or product, including a keyword in the domain will help users understand what you’re about at a glance. A carefully placed keyword can also help attract audiences likely to convert.
If you run an online shop, a .shop domain will make the nature of your business clear to customers and search engines.
Get started with a .shop domain
It’s easy to find your perfect .shop address, just use our search page which looks at availability and pricing across a wide range of global registrar companies.
It’s time to get creative and choose the domain extension that’s right for your business.
