It’s lunchtime, and I’m anxious to try out a new local eatery. In a matter of seconds, I’ve got the restaurant’s website open and their menu up. It’s an action that is old-hat. In fact, most consumers have come to expect that if they enter the name of a business and throw .com behind it, they’ll find the company’s homepage.

But this could all change by the New Year.

A recent article by Advertising Age reported that as soon as January 2012 corporations would be able to purchase a new type of domain called generic Top Level Domains or gTLD. (Currently, there are 22 gTLDs including .com, .org and .net). These gTLDs are industry-specific and could change the way everyone uses the Web. For example, Amazon could purchase the gTLD .books and Ford could buy .trucks. This could wind up being more confusing than Zuckerberg adding verbs to Facebook.

You might be thinking, “That sounds great; let’s do it!” Not so fast. Before you go researching your new domain name, consider the following:

  •  The corporation has to meet certain criteria in order for this domain change to occur. For example, the new dot-com has to relate to the product or service the company offers. For example, Ford would not be able to justify purchasing the gTLD .fly, but Southwest could.
  • The potential buyer also needs to pay the $185,000 application fee as well as its ability to pay for the upkeep and management of the gTLD for years to come.

Making a compelling case as to why a corporation should possess ownership of a particular gTLD won’t be difficult for the Fortune 500 companies. However, it will be for small businesses. With domains tailored to their industry or product, Fortune 500 corporations will be able to build an exclusive online niche. If a company can’t afford to make an expensive investment in a new domain name now, odds are they never will (the application process will close in April 2012, and the likelihood of purchasing the domain from another buyer after that is low).

This will also cause problems for consumers who are active on the Web but slow to change. New domain names can and will be confusing. Remembering which company has which address will be challenging. Forget .books and think .discountbooks, .bigbooks, .novels and .youngadultnovels.  The possibilities are endless!

So what does that mean for the rest of us?

We play the waiting game. After looking at all of their options, the larger corporations may not go for it. It’s a big risk to take. It’s also a trend that might not catch-on until later, and with only one opportunity to purchase the exclusive domain name it might be worth the cost. For now, smaller companies can focus on growing their online presence by taking steps to increase their search engine optimization. Staying on-brand and targeting the right market can also go a long way for companies trying to build their client base.

Keep following M/C/C’s blog for more updates. We’ll keep you in the loop, and you’ll be the first to know if we change our domain. We’re thinking www.mccom.bestagencyever.