The benefits of owning and operating a new dot Niche TLD are many: a shorter and more memorable domain name, complete control over who uses your dot Niche name and how they use it, and new revenue-generating possibilities that support your community’s unique initiatives.

Your new dot Niche TLD will give you the power to create new second-level domain names – for example, “www.majorevent.tennis” or www.JohnJones.med. In these examples, the second level domain is what’s “left of the dot” like “majorevent” and “JohnJones.”

You will be able to set policies to determine who can use your second-level domain names, and whether you charge money to your niche or community members to use second-level domain names and email addresses. Your new dot Niche TLD can create multiple opportunities for your niche – whether that’s a social community, a business, an organization or an association.

Looking ahead, your new dot Niche TLD can become an engine of innovation that will enable your organization to grow and thrive online as well as in the “real world” because old and new community members will be able to interact in new, never-before-possible ways.

Learn more about dot Niche TLDs and what to expect. Simply contact us to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.

One significant decision potential dot Niche applicants need to make is whether to submit their TLD as a "community" initiative.

The major advantage of applying for a “community based” TLD is the ability to potentially trump competing applications in cases where ICANN receives more than one application for the same domain string (for example, competing applications for “.doc”.).

According to the ICANN Applicant Guidebook, community applications strong enough to pass a rigorous Community Priority Evaluation process will not have to compete in potentially costly auctions against non-community applications for the same string. For example, a community-backed initiative for ".horses" could beat a better-financed application for the same TLD applied for as a generic/non-community string -- without having to bid against the non-community applicant at auction -- if it can show the requisite level of community support.

Any applicant can self-designate their application as "community-based". However, to avoid gaming the system, ICANN has created a strict scorecard for evaluating the degree of community backing an application has. To win a Community Priority Evaluation, applicants have to score at least 14 points out of a possible 16, and two of those points rely upon the absence of objections from third parties in the community. In practice, to prevail in a Community Priority Evaluation, the applicant will have to demonstrate strong support from their chosen community.

Community applications are well -suited to TLDs representing well-established, strictly controlled membership organizations. Communities must be "clearly delineated, organized, and pre-existing" and of "considerable size and longevity" to score maximum points. To rank highly, the applied-for string also has to clearly and uniquely identify the community. To use the ".horses" example, a poorly defined community of "people who like horses" may not score as highly as an application from a decades-old international membership-based equestrian association. Equally, the latter applicant would lose points unless it was already commonly known by the name "Horses" and there were no other organizations going by the same name.

The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the entity that decides how you apply for your new domain and monitors how you administer it once you receive permission for it.

But while interpreting ICANN's rules and regulations will be the major part of the battle, you may find that developing a comprehensive understanding of your chosen community, looking at the international dimension, identifying the organizations and user groups that may have an interest in your chosen string, then reaching out to them to build bridges, will also be an important part of your new TLD strategy.

All of this is outlined in the free ICANN Applicant Guidebook. After downloading the guidebook, you will want to pay special attention to section 1.2.3, “Community-Based Designation.” This section contains all the information – including documentation needed – to submit a successful dot Niche application.

You will also want to pay especially close attention to questions 23-44 and “Module 5: Transition to Delegation.” These required detailed and highly specialized technical expertise. And this is where working with an established provider like Afilias can help ensure your application meets these stringent requirements. Afilias has supported more approved new TLD applications than any other provider. Afilias understands how to help you succeed with your application and how to help you best take advantage of your domain -- in accordance with your community’s objectives -- once it’s approved.

Learn more about dot Niche TLDs and what to expect. Simply contact us to schedule a no-obligation, exploratory conversation.