The .godaddy Dot Brand

NOTE: Certain parts of Godaddy's application for the .godaddy TLD (the non-technical sections of interest to TheBrandDomains) are very short and reveals little about the company's strategic thinking for the string.

But given the company's history and reputation for innovative marketing, coupled with its formidable expertise in the domain name system (for example, being the world #1 registrar) it can be anticipated that Godaddy will be at the forefront of dot brand domain promotion and deployment.

Godaddy is the world's largest domain registrar and web hosting provider with more than 55 million domains under management and 12 million customers. The company has nine facilities and over 4,000 employees. Godaddy is also one of the world's major players in sales of aftermarket domain names.

Godaddy has a strong focus on protecting its brand. It's response to ICANN's question 18(a) "Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD" says little other than:

The mission or purpose of the .GODADDY gTLD is strictly for branding protection and internal use.

While the phrase "internal use" seems to suggest that .godaddy domains won't be aimed at the public, the Applicants response to ICANN's question 22 (regarding the protection of certain geographic names) indicates the clear intention to "expand its brand presence and awareness in international markets."

The company intends to promote complete trust in the .godaddy string. This will be achieved by restricting .godaddy domains solely to Godaddy as the single registrant. The goal is for the brand to be "a safe place to transact legitimate Go Daddy business".

Then, the Applicant's plans for outreach and communication about the TLD will focus on the sole, authoritative, restricted registration of all the domain names — and the dividend of total trust. Every .godaddy website will be known to be trustworthy and authentic.

The .godaddy extension will benefit the company and visitors by fulfulling goals such as the following:

1. Go Daddy will be protecting the Go Daddy brand and building trust that users/visitors are dealing with Go Daddy and not an imposter or cybersquatter.

2. The internet users/visitors to a .GODADDY site will have assurance that they are on a true and legitimate Go Daddy site, and that their personal information and financial information will be protected from fraud...

While Godaddy's application states that it is "strictly for branding protection and internal use" it is really quite hard to believe that such a leading domain industry company won't expand the horizons of the .godaddy string — in light of some of the dramatic innovations expected of many of the other brand domain applicants. With a slogan like "Its Go Time" its hard to imagine Godaddy being left at the starting line.

Geographic Dot Brands

Unlike other brand domain applicants, Godaddy does not currently intend to reserve country and territory names from registration within the .godaddy TLD at the outset.

However, the Applicant does state that "in its sole discretion" it may suspend, delete or block registration of a domain if an appropriate government representative or associated GAC member claims infringement of a protected geographic name.

Go Daddy intends to use this gTLD string to expand its brand presence and awareness in international markets. Therefore, there will no restrictions on geographic names at the second (or higher) level.

Possible .godaddy Brand Domains

Domains.godaddy
Website.godaddy
Hosting.godaddy
Auctions.godaddy
Info.godaddy
My.godaddy
Search.godaddy
Ads.godaddy
ItsGoTime.godaddy
Afternic.godaddy
Bob.godaddy
Danica.godaddy

Notes

Brand names mentioned on this site are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective corporations. This site claims no association with or endorsement by any of these corporations and their marks are mentioned only to illustrate opinion presented in the public interest.

All quotations on this page are from the respective companies' official ICANN brand TLD applications unless otherwise stated.

Many possible theoretical dot brands are mentioned (in English). There are also countless possibilities in other languages. This has significant potential value for international navigation.

This site is focused on reporting the strategic impact of the brand domains on internet communication, competition and commerce, and some comment is speculative.

It is not a comprehensive overview of what some of the world's largest corporations have chosen to reveal about their plans for the implementation of their proprietary domain strings.

ICANN is particularly concerned with the technical, financial, security and legal issues associated with the new TLDs. These issues are beyond the scope of this website.

For a comprehensive overview of the brand domains and their impact on the web, refer to ICANN's website and the individual applications (large parts of which are publicly published).

If you have a particular interest in an individual company, the public aspects of their applications are available for download via these ICANN links: You can also search a complete list of applicants there.

ICANN new gTLD applications

ICANN official website

TERMS, CONDITIONS, DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright holder. The right of David Tyrer to be identified as the author of this work is asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Brand Domains site (www.thebranddomains.com) shall not be re-transmitted, repurposed, printed, lent or otherwise circulated in any printed or electronic form without the written permission of the copyright holder, and shall not under any circumstances have these conditions waived for any recipient. The artistic integrity of the work contained herein may not be altered or repurposed in any way, shape or form without the express written permission of the copyright holder. This site contains links to other sites outside our control or ownership. No responsibility is taken for any action or advice you may take from these sites or from any of the information presented by these pages. The Brand Domains bears no relationship with some third party advertisers displayed on this site. Display of those advertisements does not constitute endorsement, recommendation or association with them. Any references to any trademarks or service marks are not our responsibility and not under our control. Information on this site is presented on an "as is" basis in good faith only and as such Click as a Flash makes no warranties regarding the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any of the material provided. We cannot be held liable for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions in the material presented on this site or its links, nor for the consequences of acting on any information that may be presented, which may have changed or be out of date. We cannot be held liable for any financial or any other damages that may occur from accessing, relying upon or using any hypotheses, opinions, investment advice, commercial advice, ideas or concepts presented here. No information presented here should be construed as legal advice. Content of this site is well-intended opinion and hypothetical speculation only and should not be construed as legal or expert advice. No warranty is given regarding the accuracy of this site and any information used is at your sole risk. No liability whatsoever is accepted with the exception of any that may be required under Australian law. Any brand names mentioned on this site are trademarks or registered marks of their respective owners. Any use of these marks on these pages is purely speculative and hypothetical and any discussion of those marks and/or companies is purely opinion expressed in the public interest. Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Copyright in some images resides with istockphoto® and these photos are used under licence. All data, images, text, videos and audio are presented for viewing purposes only. No part of the data, images, text, photos, art, audio, logos, movies or trademarks or any other content may be repurposed, copied, saved, resold or reproduced in any way without written permission. Click as a Flash's registered Australian Business Number is ABN 62 188 088 529. © David Tyrer 2013-14 All Rights Reserved.