WebConnoisseur

Google was very aggressive in applying for new TLDs. They applied for 102 different extensions at a cost of $18.87 million (their actual spend will be higher as explained later). Some where obvious (like .google and .search) and others were head-scratchers (like .lol and .soy). Below I break down all the different TLDs Google applied for.

Brand TLDs

These are the top-level domains that protect Google’s brand and give Google the ability to allow domain sales or personalization (www.dustin.youtube, for example).

• AND (Android)
• ANDROID
• CHROME
• DCLK (DoubleClick)
• GOOG
• GOOGLE
• GMAIL
• YOUTUBE

Generic TLDs Directly Related To Google’s Business

These are TLDs that are clearly of interest to Google due to current areas that Google operates in.

• グーグル (Google in Japanese)
• ADS (Google Adwords & Ads)
• APP* (Android Apps)
• BLOG* (Blogspot)
• BOOK* (Google Books)
• CAL (Google Calendar)
• CLOUD* (Google Cloud Services or App Engine)
• DRIVE* (Google Drive or Google Self-driving cars)
• DOCS* (Google Docs)
• EARTH* (Google Earth)
• FILM* (YouTube, though this is a stretch)
• GBIZ (Google Business)
• HANGOUT (Google Hangout)
• MAIL* (Gmail)
• MAP* (Google Maps)
• MOV (YouTube .mov files)
• MOVIE* (YouTube)
• MUSIC* (Google Music)
• PAGE (Google Pages or Google+ pages)
• PLUS* (Google Plus)
• SHOP* (Google Shopping)
• TALK (Google Talk)
• TUBE (YouTube)
• SEARCH* (Google Search)
• SITE* (Google Sites)
• STORE (Google shopping or stores)

Generic TLDs Not Related to Current Google Efforts

These are TLDs that Google doesn’t really have a clear business reason to be in. These are interesting to look at as potential markets where Google would like to expand into.

• みんな (”Everyone” in Japanese)
• 谷歌 (”Valley Song” in Japanese)
• ARE
• BABY*
• BOO* (no idea why – Halloween sites?)
• BUY* (perhaps Google checkout or shopping)
• CAR
• CHANNEL
• CORP* (corporation)
• CPA* (certified public accountant or cost-per-aquisition)
• DAD
• DAY
• DDS
• DEV*
• DIY*
• DOG*
• DOT*
• EAT
• ESQ
• EST
• FAMILY*
• FLY
• FOO
• FREE*
• FUN*
• FYI*
• GAME*
• GLE
• GMBH* (German limited liability company)
• GOO* (assume they were thinking another version of Google)
• GUGE (Ancient Kingdom in Western Tibet)
• HERE
• HOME*
• HOW
• INC* (incorporated)
• ING (attempt to grab present tense verbs)
• KID
• LIVE*
• LLC* (limited liability company)
• LLP* (limited liability parntership)
• LOL (laugh out loud)
• LOVE*
• MBA* (Masters in Business Admin)
• MED*
• MEME
• MOM*
• MOTO*
• NEW
• NEXUS
• PET*
• PAGE
• PHD*
• PLAY*
• PROD
• PROF
• RSVP
• SHOW*
• SOY
• SPOT
• SRL
• TEAM
• TECH
• TOUR
• VIP
• WEB
• WOW
• YOU
• ZIP

All the results with an asterix (*) are one’s Google will have to win an auction to own the TLD rights. Interestingly, Google applied for .car and was the only one, but several will be bidding on .cars. Same goes with .kid – the plural version was bidded on by two others.

There are some notable TLDs Google didn’t apply for: .art, .audio, .cam, .cash, .cat, .chat, .city, .cpm, .cpc, .data, .deal, .directions, .discount, .eco, .family, .forum, .forsale, .foundation, .green, .group, .guide, .happy, .hotel, .humor, .help, .laugh, .ltd, .news,, .online, ..photos, .pics, .places, .reviews, .sale, .serp, .spam, .shopping, .shop, .store, .restaurant, .tickets, .travel, .video, .vote, and .wiki, and .wikipedia (just kidding).

Soon many people may be wondering why they are seeing links with http://g.co/ in them are and whether they should be trusted. The short answer is that they are auto-generated by Google for URL shortening purposes, similar to how Twitter started using t.co.

Background on the g.co Domain
If you’ve been following the domain world this past year, you may recognize the .co TLD which actually stands for the country of Columbia, but has been marketed as a .com competitor. A few companies have paid big money to get their hands on very short .co URLs. In particular, Overstock bought o.co for $350k. Twitter bought t.co and Amazon bought a.co, z.co, and k.co. The .co authorities mentioned that one-letter .co domains are worth about $1.5 million now. Hard to say what Google paid for it, but I imagine it was in the $100k range due to the actual registration date (see below).

Though the news of g.co just hit the web, Google actually registered the domain back on April 26th, 2010 according to whois domain records. Strangely, Google only registered it for 2-years… it is set to expire on April 25th, 2012. I’m actually a little surprised Google doesn’t usually register its domain names for longer periods of time: Google.com is set to expire on September 13th – imagine picking up that domain on a domain drop!

Google’s Intended Use of G.CO
No one really knows how Google will use g.co at this point but Google has stated that it will be used just for Google websites, so anyone clicking on them can trust that they will be going to a Google website. I suspect Google might use it to send people to Google-plus and/or Google docs. Google assures us we will find out soon.

g.co vs goo.gl
goo.gl is Google’s public URL shortening service, similar to bit.ly and t.co. All three services intend to offer some level of protection against malware & affiliate scams, provide proper 301 redirects for SEO, and offer some level of reporting. However, g.co intends to be Google-only links, so all reporting will probably be just for Google’s eyes & I’d expect they will handle the redirects properly.

Are g.co Links Safe?
Considering Google intends them to be links to only Google properties, they should be very safe. However, if Google does end up using the links for Google+ or service where users are allowed to create their own content, then the link may not be completely safe (though I expect as with t.co and goo.gl links, Google will be monitoring them for abuse). I’ll update this post as more information becomes available.

The Search Engine Journal was kind enough to interview me about various SEO topics, including: evolution of SEO, using UGC to drive SEO, Domainers vs. SEOs, and making the transition from in-house SEO to out-house SEO (working out of my house as an SEO consultant).

I didn’t realize it until now, but this is my 2nd interview with the Search Engine Journal–the first was over 3 years ago. If you dig reading about me 1/10th as much as I do, then I suggest you check out both interviews:

Dustin Woodard 2010 SEJ Interview
by Todd Mintz
Dustin Woodard 2007 SEJ Interview
by Jessica Bowman

Besides learning more about me, I think you’ll find some helpful SEO tips inside both interviews.

Just over a month ago, I was shocked when I was force-fed a twitter screen takeover while looking at my domain names registered at GoDaddy. Immediately, I did some news searches to see if GoDaddy had purchased Twitter because it seemed very out of place. There were no such announcements. In fact, there was very little news about this development.

Every time I’m in my account tweaking my domains, I can’t help but notice the twitter promotion overload. I can’t help but wonder why GoDaddy would take such a keen interest in helping to fuel more twitter accounts. From a service perspective, it is pretty lame because it is already incredibly easy to check name availability and sign up for twitter. I could think of a hundred other features GoDaddy should build and promote instead. If it were a two-way arrangement, where Twitter promotes domain registration for Twitter user names, then I could see the benefit.

So why do you suppose GoDaddy is pimping Twitter so much? Is GoDaddy going to buy Twitter? Is Twitter paying GoDaddy for this treatment? Is GoDaddy’s product development team overly caught up with Twitter & group-think led them to believe this add on would separate them from other registrars? I have no idea, but it will be interesting to watch this over time.

Here are more screenshots showing how much GoDaddy is pimping out Twitter within their domain dashboards:

Online reputation management is increasingly important as more and more friends, family and employers search your name. Even if you are always on your best behavior online or you have a fairly unique name, as the population swells and more people become creators of content on the web, there’s a great chance that people will mistake others activity online as your own!

Controlling or managing search rank for your own name is fairly easy for an SEO (search engine optimizer), but what can the average person do? Below I outline a number of free, quick, easy and effective ways to populate the first page of results for your name. I highly recommend people start creating content for their name now as it will be much more difficult after waiting for someone else with your name to muddy the search results to spur you to action.

1) Create a Blog
Even if you build just a one-page site using your name on a free blog network, you can quickly use your blog to create pages about yourself and link to other pages you are going to create on this list. Use your name in the blog name.
Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes
Free Options: Blogger (blogspot), Wordpress, LiveJournal

2) Create a Wiki
Several wiki platforms have done a great job of creating publishing tools that are even easier to use than most blog technology. Though wikis are best suited for group collaboration, the will also work well helping you link to your blog and other pages. Use your name in the wiki name.
Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes
Free Options: Wetpaint*, Wikia

3) Register your domain
If you are lucky enough to have [insertyourname].com (or .net, .org, .info) available, snatch them up. The $8 a year fee is well worth it even if you don’t actively build a site using it because, at the very least, you are preventing your competition (other people with your name, or people who don’t like you) from ranking high for your name. Even better, use your domain for the site or wiki you are going to create.
Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes
Cheap Options: GoDaddy, Yahoo,1&1

4) LinkedIn
Set up a LinkedIn profile and make it publicly available. Add background info like education, employment history, awards or certification (or anything else you are proud of). Add links to your other sites/pages.
Estimated time to complete: 5-10 minutes

5) Jobster
Some people are a little shocked when they find out their Jobster profile shows up in search. Not you, because you want it to! Create a jobster account, allow it to be publicly available, fill out a little employment info, answer a couple questions, but write it keeping in mind that your current employer could come across it.
Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes

6) Myspace
Myspace pages tend to show up in search as well. Though Myspace has probably ruined more people’s reputations than helped, you will create a clean Myspace page for your name and, if you feel the urge, put the racy stuff on a different profile.
Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes

7) Flickr
Flickr accounts and images have a great chance of showing up in the engines, especially for image searches. Creat an account, upload a few photos you like and label them with your name.
Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes

8) Comment on Popular Post
Sometimes I see a commenter’s name show up in search. Find a popular blogger site or newspaper site that allows comments, and find a post that you feel comfortable commenting on. Use your real name for the name field. Try this on a couple sites.
Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes

9) Employer Site
If your employer features profiles on their website, ask them to add one for you. If not, talk them into it or author a post on their blog (if they have one).
Estimated time to complete: 5-30 minutes, depending on your company

10) Join a Forum
Do a search for a forum that you might want to participate on. For example, if you are into guitar, you should search for “guitar forum.” If it looks like a place where it would be easy for you to make five or six posts, then sign up and use your name for your profile name. Make your five posts and fill out your profile page with information about you and use your name at least once in the profile description.
Estimated time to complete: 15 minutes

*Disclosure: I work for Wetpaint, but honestly believe their wiki solution is the best option

In the future, Facebook might also be an option. They recently allowed profiles set to public to be crawled, but they are showing logged-out status of your profile, which is basically your name and picture right now. Eventually, I believe, Facebook will open it up to show your full public profile (probably in ‘08).

Keep in mind, Google usually only shows two results for any one site. That’s why I have you contributing on multiple sites. A couple more tips:

• If you ever receive a great interview or bio online, link to it from your sites.
• For online activity that you don’t want to be associated with your name, use a nickname or “handle” that is completely different from your real name.
• If you have stiffer competition for your name, you may need to spend more time building out and linking to the various options I list above.

I love seeing people using the Internet to change entire industries. Radiohead is geared up to do so by releasing their latest album, In Rainbow, as a download for as little or as much as the fan wants to pay. They are taking a gamble that people won’t download it for free, or they figure those people will find a way to get it for free anyway.

I love the idea and hope the best for Radiohead as this will make a big impact in the music industry, but was a little disappointed after I visited the site. From a search engine and usability standpoint, Radiohead made some major mistakes that might come back to haunt them. Let me list out some of the mistakes and explain the possible implications.

Radiohead In Rainbow Site mistakes:

• 302 redirected their existing site homepage (radiohead.com) to new site: www.inrainbows.com, but…
• www.inrainbows.com 302 redirects to www.inrainbows.com/Store/Quickindex.html
• The more logical site domain, inrainbow.com (no “s”, which matches the album title) wasn’t registered, purchased or used. Instead a domain parker will receive lots of traffic.
• Title tag for In Rainbow site mainpage is “Radiohead”
• Site mainpage only has images with no search engine readable text
• 2nd page only has images no search engine readable text and same title tag
• 3rd page only has images no search engine readable text and same title tag
• Home links go to the 3rd page
• Shopping cart very awkward & buggy (keeps losing track of my order)
• Grammar mistakes confusing
• Amounts only shown in British Pounds
• Question mark help icon doesn’t provide any help or explanation
• There is actually a 1 GBP minimum, that’s $2.04 more than free
• There is actually a 99 GBP limit. Want to be an extreme fan and buy it for $1,000? Too bad.

Radiohead In Rainbow Site Mistake Implications:

• With the 302 mistakes, not only are they begging for a search spammer to hijack their site traffic, but they are linking to a page that they will probably change URLs over time.
• With all the search engine & readability mistakes, they will essentially allow standard retailers and online stores to steal away their direct payment opportunities by allowing them to rank higher for their own album and even site.
• The usability issues will also turn people back to iTunes or other dealers.
• Their main site may suffer rank decreases and traffic losses for a long time.
• The download for free concept won’t be given an honest shot, which may deter other artists like Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, REM, Metallica and other likely candidates from trying a similar experiment.

Regardless of the mistakes I list, this will be an effort worth watching for those in the music industry, movie industry or any other industry where self-distribution online could be a big opportunity.

As more and more people start using Macs, I forsee an increasing # of people accidentally typing in things incorrectly due to the keyboard differences. To track this, I’m going to use Facebppl as a source of data on commonly misstyped terms. Facebppl is the keyboard shifted over one letter for the right hand equivelant of Facebook. I noticed the .com domain is already registered which is a sign that this may be a somewhat common mistake.

Besides facebppl, a couple other common, but strange ones might be: g,ao; or gpp;e or fppf;w or even uajpp.

I appreciate your patience in reading this weird post. I’ll report back on the stats later.

For those attending the DomainRoundTable conference in Seattle, be sure introduce yourself (throw your name in the comments and I’ll keep an eye out for you). I’ll be speaking in the SEO sessions. I’m excited to attend because I think domainers & SEOs could gain & learn a lot from each other.

The combination of a domainer’s assets with the skills of an SEO could be very lucrative for both parties. Why settle for $1,000 of ad revenue a month in direct type-in traffic, when you could build an SEO-friendly content site that will eventually pull in $1,000,000 a month?

Jay has been listing many of the very interesting domains that will be auctioned off on the domaintools blog.