Cybele NegrisEvery few years a new domain extension is released to the market place. This year there is a new domain that is designed for businesses – .CO, which is associated globally with the word “company,” but can also represent corporations and commercial endeavors.
With the similarity to .COM or .CA for that matter, .CO could be easily confused and open to phishing, spamming and fraudulent activity. Imagine receiving an email from yourbank.co (rather than yourbank.com) to update your personal information. There will be a certain percentage of people who will get caught. So for this reason alone, large companies and trademark owners should definitely protect their brands and company names.
Many people have also asked me want the relevance is to smaller businesses. With limited budgets, should a small business owner invest in a .CO if the owner feels their name is less of a target by spammers?
Here are some of the unique benefits of a .CO domain name:
• .CO is universally recognized as an abbreviation for company and can represent a corporation or other commercially focused endeavor
• .CO is meaningful, memorable and easy to remember
• .CO registration is open globally, giving small businesses the chance to get the name they always wanted
Some savvy businesses are purchasing names that combine their profession and geography (such as SeattleDoctor.co or VancouverBuilder.co). This will enhance their position online, making it easier for customers to find them. I personally feel that it is important for all businesses large or small to protect your online brand. The pain of losing your name to another company, especially a competitor, could be highly damaging to a business of any size. If small businesses can’t afford the $275, wait until July 20 when the General Availability stage opens up and the price drastically reduces to less than $30/year.
How to Get a .CO Name
.CO names are currently available from Webnames.ca through a process called .CO Landrush. This is a limited period of time in which people have the opportunity to reserve names before they are generally available on July 20, 2010.
Webnames.ca will be taking .CO Landrush registrations until July 13th.
During .CO Landrush, if you are the only applicant for the name, you are informed around July 20 or shortly thereafter and are awarded the name. If more than one customer reserves the same name, those customers will be entered into an auction and the name awarded to the highest bidder. If you do not win your .CO name at auction, you will receive a refund on all fees, less $10 for processing so there’s very little risk even when applying for very generic names.
Webnames.ca is offering a .CO Landrush price of US$275 which is the lowest in the industry (compare to GoDaddy at $299).
More information about the new .CO extension and the Landrush application process can be found on our .CO Landrush page. Here you can search the .CO WHOIS to find out what domains are available before you call our customer support at 1-866-221-7878 to apply for your names. Good luck!