Back in the day when gTLDs (generic Top-Level Domains) were in vogue, businesses would buy .COMs, .NETs and .ORGs in bulk. The reason to buy them together was that a company would have a different site for their commercial website, a different one for their organizational information, and a different one for internal affairs. Most companies took this approach, but with time as newer businesses emerged, the providers started sensing a need that new businesses will need new domains so that these businesses could show a more relevant, fresh, and consolidated identity of their brand name through their domain names. 

Today, you will see that new businesses have new Top Level Domains like .TECH, .IO or even .ONLINE and many more. This is because the nature of the business is evolving and so are the ways of doing business. For some businesses having a .IOmakes more sense than a .COM or a .ORG. Even though these TLDs are used by different kinds of businesses for different reasons, the bottom line is that there is a preference for such new TLDs by new businesses while making a domain registration.

With this article, we will try to understand why and what are the reasons new businesses are using more nTLDs. 

1. nTLDs resonate more with new businesses

First of all, what is an nTLD? A new Top Level Domain as the name suggests is a domain that is different from a generic top-level domain like .COM or .BIZ etc. The reason these nTLDs came to the fore is that they were created with the objective of going with the needs of new businesses. Many up-and-coming businesses are in the fields and industries that were not even heard of. For instance, a deep-linking startup called Branch uses branch.io as its domain name and is creating a brand for itself. This is because their business is about technology and having a generic .COM does not make sense. 

Just to illustrate this point, there are so many legacy companies worldwide, that have dropped the .COM and gone for a new TLD. US-based finance company Sierra Fiance changed its domain name from sierrafinance.com to sierra.finance because it made sense to its business. Even barclays.com has now moved to home.barclays. So, not only are new businesses going for nTLDs, but even some old businesses are making this shift.  

2. nTLDs give a unique brand appeal

Generic top-level domains can really work against you if used with a domain name that is quirky or even if it’s a business that is very new. For instance, it would make more sense if an IoT company goes with a .TECH domain than a .COM or .NET. We don’t mean to say that gTLDs are boring. But in this context, it makes more sense to have a domain name that allows your business to stand out and brand itself. At the end of the day, the brand name has to not only be unique but memorable and hance have a higher top-of-the-mind recall than your business competitors. This will not only give your business a boost in terms of its name but allows your customers to remember it for good. 

3. nTLDs allow you to describe what your business does

For many new businesses using nTLDs, this has been the secret sauce. Since it takes ages for a new business to brand itself or become popular, they want people to know what their business does in a matter of seconds. For instance, the aforementioned example of sierra.finance tells us that this company is into finance. Or even if you look at examples such as .tech or even .shop, businesses want to convey to their audience what they can essentially do on this website or what they have to offer in the first place. 

If you look at any of the nTDLs, and the businesses using them, most are startups. The clutter and noise around .COM or other gTLDs have also been responsible for these new businesses to move away from the usual gTLDs in a bid to stand out. 

Conclusion

Here is hoping that you have understood why new businesses are preferring nTLDs over other domains. If you do end up registering for a domain name, please go through these tips and understand what mistakes you shouldn’t be doing. In case you have any doubts, please leave your comments in the section below, we will answer them to the best of our ability.