While most business websites still use the .com domain name extension, there are in fact about 300 other extensions to pick from. Options range from .tv to .beer, making it easy to create an innovative domain name that showcases your business in a great light. However, there are some important things you need to know about new domain name extensions if you want your domain name to boost traffic to your website.

The Advantages of New Domain Name Extensions

Greater Variety

Because .com websites have been around for a long time, many of the best names have already been taken. This leaves you with few options. You could add a hyphen to your name but most experts recommend against doing so as many people forget to add the hyphen and are then unable to find your business website. Adding the name of your city can be a good idea especially if you want to boost your local SEO but this strategy could backfire if you eventually decide to open a branch in a different city or state.

New domain name extensions spare you from having to deal with the above scenario. There are so many extensions and unclaimed domain options to pick form that chances are you will have no problem finding exactly what you are looking for.

Branding Opportunities

Another advantage of new domain name extensions is that they can instantly brand your business. For instances, instead of greatbeer.com, your site could be great.beer.

You can even use a variety of extensions for different pages to clearly showcase what each one has to offer. Here is an example for your consideration:

  • Greatrestaurant.wine
  • Greatrestaurant.catering
  • Greatrestaurant.food
  • Greatrestaurant.coffee
  • Greatrestaurant.pizza

Good SEO

Google does not penalize websites for using a new domain name extension. In fact, the search engine giant even offers advice to make it easy for existing websites to transition to a domain name with a new extension without losing its current rank.

The Advantages of Sticking with a .com Website

The primary advantage of sticking with a .com website is that most people are used to using one. The default expectation of many of your customers is that your business website will have a .com ending. You will likely have to spend more money on advertising and branding than you would if you had a .com website.

A new domain name can even backfire if one of your competitors owns the exact same name but with a .com ending. No matter how much advertising you do, many people won't remember your new ending and for this reason may inadvertently wind up buying stuff from your competitor instead of your company. Experts caution business owners to avoid a brand new domain extension if there is a competitor who has the exact same domain name but with a .com ending.

Using a new domain name extension is also not advisable if your business is targeting older customers or customers who aren't tech-savvy. Because many customers aren't accustomed to seeing new domain name extensions on a regular basis, they may get confused if you tell them your website is called great.shoes and they can't find it at greatshoes.com. Learn more about the benefits of a .com domain name extension here.

What About Other Established Domain Name Extensions?

There are a few other established, well known domain extensions. These are:

  • .edu
  • .gov
  • .org
  • .net
  • .biz
  • .info

The first two in this list are not available to the general public but the other ones are. However, despite the fact they are common, they are only used for certain types of businesses or organizations. The .org domain name ending is generally for charitable organizations. The .net ending is commonly used by tech companies but is not a good option for most other businesses. While .biz sounds great, it has a bad reputation as many spammy websites use it. The .info ending, as the name implies, is used for websites that offer information rather than sell goods and/or services.

In Summary

As you can see, new domain name extensions have a lot to offer. They are innovative, can help you create targeted pages and won't negatively affect your standing in Google. At the same time, these new extensions aren't the best option for every single business owner. There are cases where it would be best to stick to a .com ending even if you can't get the exact domain name you originally had in mind.

If you aren't sure which extension is best for your business, consider asking an expert for personalized advice. Brandgy specializes in website creation and marketing and one of our experts would be happy to go over your business model and domain name options to help you pick the domain name and extension (or extensions) that will suit your needs now and in the future.