Dot Brand
A Dot Brand TLD is a top level domain (TLD) like .com or .org, except that it consists of your own brand or company name to the right of the dot and you have all the space for your domain names.
It's a powerful marketing tool
- DOT Brand creates a single location that unifies your websites, which allows you to precisely mirror your brand architecture, e.g. a house of brands.
- It consists of the most intuitive Internet address, which eases identification for your customers and for search engines, and creates a higher brand experience.
- No more availability problem, since all domains become available to you.
It brings security
- DOT Brand creates a secure online ecosystem free from problems of infringement that typically occur.
- It erases completely consumer confusion.
- You totally control your online presence in respect of agents, distributors and other related entities.
It constitutes a valuable asset
- You acquire the most valuable asset on the Internet for your brand.
It provides a good legal protection
- You have the guarantee to secure your trademark as DOT BRAND before any third parties register it and impedes you from obtaining it.
What a dot brand top-level domain involves
A dot brand is a top-level domain made of your own brand: the name sits to the right of the dot, and every domain under it belongs to you. Nobody else can register a name in it, you set the rules, and every address that ends with your brand is, by construction, yours. Domgate assists companies through the application and then runs the domain with them.
What it changes
- Trust. An address that ends with your brand cannot be imitated by a third party: phishing sites use look-alike names in other extensions, never yours.
- Naming. Products, countries, campaigns and services get short, consistent addresses, decided by you and not by what is still available elsewhere.
- Control. You decide who registers what, for how long, with which DNS and security settings, across the whole extension.
When it makes sense, and when it does not
A dot brand suits companies with a large domain portfolio, a brand used in many countries, and a real exposure to phishing or counterfeiting. For a company with a few dozen domains, the same protection is usually obtained at a fraction of the cost by holding the country code domains of its markets, registering defensive variants, and watching the rest. We say so when it is the case; the two approaches are compared in our global domain strategy service.
How an application goes
New top-level domains are created during application rounds, which are rare and announced well in advance. An application involves:
- Eligibility and string. The brand must be a registered trademark, and the string must not conflict with existing extensions or reserved names.
- Technical operation. A top-level domain needs a registry back end: name servers, a registration system, security. It is usually contracted to a registry service provider rather than built in house.
- Policies. Who may register names, how disputes are handled, how abuse is stopped, how data is protected. These documents are part of the application and are evaluated.
- Evaluation, contract, delegation. After evaluation and the signature of the registry agreement, the extension is delegated in the root zone and can be used.
Count on an application fee in the hundreds of thousands of US dollars, yearly fees for the registry contract and the back end, and the time of a small team during the application. We give you a detailed budget for your case before you decide.
What Domgate does
We prepare the application with you: the check of the string against your trademarks, the choice of the back-end provider, the drafting of the policies, the answers to the evaluation questions. Once the extension is delegated, we manage it alongside your country code domains: creation of the names, DNS, security settings, reports. And if a dot brand is not the right tool for your size, we tell you and propose the portfolio of country code domains that gives you the same protection.
Once it runs
A delegated extension has obligations: technical reports, abuse handling, DNS security, data protection, and the renewal of the registry contract. In exchange it gives addresses such as a product name, a country code or a campaign directly under your brand, all resolved by name servers you control. We handle the reports and the day-to-day operation so that your team only decides which names to create.
Ask us for an assessment: we come back with the feasibility of the string, a budget and a calendar.
