We are all used to .com .co.uk .org etc, but this is all set to change as a new generation of top level domain names becomes available in the next couple of months. Basically if you have deep enough pockets, you can have just about anything you want, and we will soon be seeing .coke .kpmg along with .london .taxi .plumber and just everything inbetween.
So as a small business what are you going to do?
Basically, nothing
Whatever you do, unless you have buckets of cash, don't go out there trying to hoover up any associated domain names. You may have already been contacted by your domain registrar that relevant domain names have been reserved exclusively for you, as they match your business name or current domain name.Remember this is a sales pitch!!!! Unless you are a plumber, and think bob.plumber will work for you or Franks.taxi is a good marketing move, don't rush out and start buying up names.
There are some great and logical names that will make sense, and these will prove to be a great investment for a lot of people, but think about it first, and make sure it fits in with your brand and image.
The SEO community has been watching with interest as well. It's been a well known fact that a keyword in your URL is a good ranking factor. Now times have changed with exact match domain penalties, and semantic search, but keywords still have a part to play.
But it seems don't get too excited. Anything after the "." won't be seen as a keyword. So Johns-Taxi-Service.co.uk would be much better than Johns.taxi
Also, one important ranking factor is domain age. So don't be too quick in dumping your 10 year old domain name in favour of a new funky one
So interesting times a head, and if anyone has a spare $1million I'd like to register .beer
