The document discusses the emergence of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and their advantages for SEO and branding compared to traditional .com domains. It includes detailed case studies and examples of brands utilizing new gTLDs, offering insight into conversion rates and marketing performance. Additionally, it outlines the process for transitioning to a new domain, highlighting best practices and potential concerns.

1. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
SEO, Dot Brand, and the
Not Com Revolution

2. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
About Me
• Senior Strategist, Globe Runner
• Brand Ambassador, Majestic.com
• Personal Blog: www.BillHartzer.com
• Practicing Organic/Natural SEO since 1996
• Domain Names and Site Migrations Expert

3. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Overview
• Background: What are New gTLDs?
• Examples of New gTLDs
• Real World Example: GR Research Study
• Launch Process of New gTLDs
• Benefits for Brands to Own their TLD
• Brands Already Committed
• New gTLD Vs. .Brand
• Process for Moving to a New Domain

4. 2015 Digital Summit – Background: What are New gTLDs?
What are New gTLDs?
• TLDs: Top Level Domains
.COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO are all TLDs
• Generic TLDs (gTLDs): .XYZ, .BANK, .CLUB, 800+ more
• ccTLDs: Country Code TLDs
.CO.UK, .CA, .FR, .ES, .IT, .COM.AU, .ME

5. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Total Domain Market as of August 2015

6. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution

7. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution

8. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution

9. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
SEO Factors and Domain Names
• For search, still value in using Keyword Rich domain
• Keyword rich domains must be developed
• Search engines use link data, keywords used in links
• Domain history, reputation are ranking factors

10. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
SEO Factors and Domain Names
• Keywords are how people refer to websites
• Websites use keywords to link to other websites
• A keyword rich domain, with content, will rank
• New gTLDs with keywords in extensions help

11. 2015 Digital Summit – Examples of New gTLDs
Yeezy.SUPPLY by Kanye West

12. 2015 Digital Summit – Examples of New gTLDs
TheHungerGames.MOVIE

13. 2015 Digital Summit – Examples of New gTLDs
Lady Gaga's BornThisWay.FOUNDATION

14. 2015 Digital Summit – Examples of New gTLDs
Coffee.Club

15. 2015 Digital Summit – Examples of New gTLDs
Verified.Domains

16. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Reasons to Move to a Not Com
• Keywords and semantic meaning
• Ability to precisely match key terms to domain name,
for products, services, corporate identity
• No loss of Google and search engine love
• Lack of available reasonable options in .COM
• But, let’s look at a real world example

17. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
New gTLD Versus .COM Study
• Which is better for marketing?
• .COM vs. New gTLD domain name?
• Which is better for ROI?

18. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
Methodology, Requirements
• Use a Controlled Marketing Test
• Real-World Testing, Results
• PPC to Test Ads, Landing Pages, gTLD
• Landing Pages, Conversions the Same
• Test for a Certain Period of Time

19. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
How We Did the Testing
• Google AdWords Ads
• Keywords the same for all ads
• Bids the same ($1.00 per click bid)
• Same Landing Page, Same Content
• Only difference was the domain name used:
www.3CaratDiamonds.com
www.3Carat.Diamonds

20. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
Keyword Examples
diamond price chart
diamond chart
diamond quality chart
diamond carat size chart
types of diamond cuts
diamond facts
3 carat diamond ring
diamond grade
diamond clarity
diamond color
diamond buyer guide
diamond certification

21. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
Ad Examples
Diamond Buying Guide
Download Your Free Carat Size Chart.
& Learn the 4 C’s of Diamond Buying!
3CaratDiamonds.com
Beginner’s Diamond Guide
Download Your Free Carat Size Chart.
& Learn the 4 C’s of Diamond Buying!
3carat.Diamonds

22. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
Landing Page

23. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
Results in 2014
3CaratDiamonds.com vs. 3Carat.Diamonds
• May 2014: Average CPC
3Carat.Diamonds: $.77
3CaratDiamonds.com: $.81
• May 2014: Results
52% Conversion Rate on .COM, 36% on .DIAMONDS
Effective CPM: Costs 2x as much to advertise a .COM
*Effective CPM is the rate spent for 1000 views of an ad

24. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study
Results – Sept. 2015
3CaratDiamonds.com vs. 3Carat.Diamonds
• Results: Average CPC
3Carat.Diamonds: $.77 (vs. $.77 in May 2014)
3CaratDiamonds.com: $.83 (vs. $.81 in May 2014)
• Conclusions:
Sept. 2015: 22% Conversion Rate on .COM, 35% on .DIAMONDS
May 2014: 52% Conversion Rate on .COM, 36% on .DIAMONDS
New gTLD converts BETTER than .COM in 2015
Effective CPM: Still costs 2x as much to advertise a .COM

25. 2015 Digital Summit – New gTLD Vs. .COM
Changes in Conversions Since 2014

26. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Finding New gTLDs
• New TLD Stats - https://ntldstats.com/tld
• Calzone - http://www.calzone.org

27. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Launch Process of New gTLDs
• Agreement Signed
• Delegation
• Start-up Plan
• Sunrise Period
• Limited Registrations (pre-registration)
• General Availability

28. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Benefits for Brands to Own TLD
• Better Branding
No more random terms (like .com) as web addresses
You have your proprietary address that’s 100% under control
• Total Security
You decide who may have an address
You decide what content is allowed in your domain
• Enhanced Customer Experience
Own space to nurture customer relationships
No need to chase after latest social media sites
Access to all the site data to do deep-dive analyses

29. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
How Do You Get Your .Brand?
.Brand TLD Fees
• ICANN Evaluation/Application Fee $185,000
• ICANN gTLD Annual Maintenance Fee $24,000
• ICANN Second Level Domain names registered $0.25 per SLD
• Companies to Assist in .Brand
Afilias, Instra Corporation, Verisign, Others

30. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
How long can you afford to wait?
Have Marketing lead the assessment
• DotBrands about BRANDING, not technology or legal issues
Review your entire portfolio of web addresses
• Create an inventory of all of your sites
• Include corporate, all products and brands, resellers/channels,
partners, promotions, even pages on social media.
• Compare costs of maintaining a consolidated, global Internet
presence (your dotBrand) vs. the status quo.

31. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Know the price of catching up
Start now with:
• Evaluation
• Strategy development
• Budgeting
• Change management planning

32. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
600+ Brands Already Committed
600+ plus brand leaders have applied for their dotBrand
List: http://icannwiki.com/New_gTLD_Brand_Applications
AAA
Accenture
Australian Football League (.AFL)
American International Group (.AIG)
Google (.android, .chrome)
AOL
Apple
Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (.BBB)
Microsoft (.azure)
Bentley Motors Limited (.bentley)
Bloomberg IP Holdings (.bloomberg)
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (.bms)
Canon (.canon)
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (.delta)
Amazon
Federal Express Corporation (.fedex)
Ford Motor Company
Hitachi
IBM
Nissan Motor Co., LTD.
Jaguar Cars Limited (.jaguar)
Toyota
Marriott Worldwide Corporation (.marriott)
Oracle Corporation (.oracle)
Vistaprint Limited (.vista, .vistaprint)
Xerox (.xerox)

33. 2015 Digital Summit – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution
Should You Move to .Brand or New gTLD?
• Cost Assessment (own lots of other
properties/accounts?)
• Compare costs of maintaining a consolidated, global
Internet presence
• .Brand may not be an option (and that's OK)
• So, go after a better New gTLD domain.

34. 2015 Digital Summit – Moving to a New Domain Name
Moving to a New Domain Name
• Don’t take moving to another domain lightly
• Problems can be avoided with proper planning
• Moving to a new gTLD can be done successfully
• Moving may position you better for the future

35. 2015 Digital Summit – Moving to a New Domain Name
Steps for Pre-Move
• Make Backup of Current Website
• Perform due diligence on new domain name
• Crawl website, save list of URLs
• Set up 301 Permanent Redirects (old URL to new URL)
• Set up SSL HTTPs Certificate for new domain name
(TLS/SSL is mandatory for some TLDs)
• Start marketing campaign, help awareness of domain

36. 2015 Digital Summit – Moving to a New Domain Name
Steps for Pre-Planning
• Plan a date and time to move to the new domain
• Detail the process for moving
• Who is responsible for what (in your organization)?

37. 2015 Digital Summit – Moving to a New Domain Name
On Moving Day
• Add 301 Permanent Redirects, Test Redirects
• Crawl Website to check redirects
• Update Social Media, Email Address, Business Cards
• Notify Search Engines of Change of Address
• Submit sitemap of OLD site to search engines

38. 2015 Digital Summit – Moving to a New Domain Name
After Moving Day
• Watch analytics for changes in traffic
• Watch site for any search engine ranking changes
• Get new links to the new domain name

39. 2015 Digital Summit – Moving to a New Domain Name
Checklist for Moving to a New Domain
• Extensive checklist is available (one-pager)

40. 2015 Digital Summit – Concerns on Moving to a New TLD
Concerns on Moving to a New TLD
• Sites have been moving to a new domain for years
• Personally handled over 100+ large site migrations
• No significant issues if done properly
• No significant drops in traffic, search engine rankings
• Issues can arise with duplicate content, bad redirects

41. 2015 Digital Summit – Why Move to a New TLD?
Why Move to a New gTLD?
• New gTLDs enhance SEO
• New gTLDs add aspect to relevant content not
available before
• New gTLDs encourage keyword-rich linking
• Moving to a new, better address can be done safely

42. 2015 Digital Summit – Thank You
Contact Me
Bill Hartzer
Senior Strategist, Globe Runner
Email: Bill@GlobeRunner.com
Mobile: +1 (214) 236-4378
Office:+1 (972) 538-0260
Web: globerunner.com
Blog: billhartzer.com
Twitter: @bhartzer
Facebook: facebook.com/bhartzer