This article explains domains, why there are so many domain extensions, what they mean for Australian businesses online and the benefits of the .au direct domain.
Australia’s country code domain .au direct launches early 2022. Known as a country code top-level domain, or a ccTLD, there are many reasons why Australian businesses should consider obtaining their .au country code domain name.
1. What is a country code top-level domain?
To start, let’s understand that domain names in the Domain Name System (DNS) are read from right to left. A fully qualified domain name (FQDN) is a domain name that specifies its exact location in the tree hierarchy of the Domain Name System (DNS).
We, as businesses or as consumers, need to know where to start from to find the explicit location of a host using a domain name.
A ccTLD shows that your website is directed towards a geographic region or country. For instance, .fr is for France, .uk is for the United Kingdom, .ca is for Canada and .us is for the United States. And now the newest one will be .au which is for Australia.
Although it has always been overshadowed by the generic top-level domain (gTLD - .com, .net, .gov), a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) provides a more targeted, as well as a more local, market for your website in search engine results.
The .au ccTLD is part of Australia’s critical infrastructure. The .au Domain Administration Ltd (.auDA - pronounced ow-da) has been endorsed by the Commonwealth Government to ensure it is a safe, accessible and trusted Australian public asset for all internet users. auDA also represents Australia’s interests internationally and has an agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN.org) – the international body covering ccTLDs.
In fact, Australia’s policy, management and oversight of our .au domain space is being used as a benchmark around the world.
2. Why get the .au domain name?
This question has several answers to the advantages a ccTLD (.au) holds compared to a gTLD. (.com). these include:
(a) Clarity creates customer trust and loyalty
Unlike some of the relatively unregulated vanity and top level domain spaces (we’ll get into more detail about those below), auDA maintain a secure, resilient and stable Domain Name System (DNS) by developing and implementing domain name policy; licensing registry operators and accrediting and licensing registrars; implementing consumer safeguards and facilitating dispute resolution; representing Australia’s domain name interests internationally; technical management of the .au zone file; and ongoing innovation and improvement.
“To be eligible to hold any of the .au domains (.com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .asn.au, .id.au) , you need to prove that you have the right to do so”
To be eligible to hold any of the .au domains (.com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .asn.au, .id.au) , you need to prove that you have the right to do so. For example, to licence a .com.au you must have a State issued Business Number (BN), Australian Company Number (ACN) or Australian Business Number (ABN).
If you see a business using .org.au you can be pretty confident that they are a bonafide charity and/or a non-profit organisation in Australia. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for deciding Not for Profits (NFPs) eligibility for charity tax concessions and other Commonwealth exemptions and the The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is the national regulator of charities. If you don’t have the right paperwork then you won’t be able to register a .org.au.
The .au domain space is overseen and regulated for the benefit of all Australians and to champion an open, free, secure and global internet; like the famous line in the TV sitcom Seinfeld, if you don't meet the eligibility criteria then “No .au for you”.
This generates consumer trust in the .au domain space as well as for the brands who are eligable to register and use it.
To compete globally and to open up the .au domain space to more Australians, the new .au direct has a less stringent eligibility criteria. If you meet any of the previously mentioned requirements, you are eligible to apply for a .au domain.
However, if you are an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident visa holder you can register a .au direct domain. It’s a way less complicated domain name and can reduce the barrier to entry for small businesses, mumpreneurs, sole traders and freelancers, any of those who haven’t grown their business to the next stage of registering a company or applying for an ABN.
Full details of .au licensing eligibility is on the auDA website.
auDA’s ethical governance and oversight of the .au domain makes it highly credible and trustworthy, which in turn gives visitors to your website confidence to purchase online and to open your emails.
Supporting local business, purchasing in Australian dollars, and even displaying a recognisable address reduces the perceived risk of shopping online compared with overseas companies that have no location information or legitimate contact details of the site operator or owner.
There is credibility and accountability in the .au space - nobody wants to be phished, scammed or worse!
(b) Improve local SEO and get found online easier
Search engines like ccTLDs, and will give you a higher organic SEO value for country-based search results. That’s why when you search for something using Google Chrome or Apple Safari, it will ask you to turn on “location services”.
Thanks to automatic geotargeting, your local .au domain will be organically high in search engine results the closer a person is to your business location. So, next time you search “flower shop near me” you won’t get flower shop results in Singapore.
A person we trained recently stated that they always add the words “in Australia” to the end of their search query in Google, all of the domains using .au will get listed first — .au domains get a higher preference in Australian and local search results.
“There is credibility and accountability in the .au space - nobody wants to be phished, scammed or worse!”
(c) ccTLD (.au) has more availability
As at January 2022, .com holds 54% of global website domains (source: statista.com), but popularity comes with limited availability, unreasonably expensive and more disputes with other holders. Opting for a ccTLD like .au gives you more naming options and helps you to secure your preferred domain name for your website.
(d) Get creative with the new .au direct domain
Have you heard of Domain Hack? It’s a creative way for businesses or companies to build a strong brand for themselves. For instance, mov.ie uses the Ireland ccTLD, check.in uses India’s ccTLD and createyourown.website uses the vanity domain .website
While it can look cool, some of those clever domain names fall into the premium domains and domain name warehousing category. You may need to pay a lot more for them and using a country domain other than your own can downgrade your domain authority and location based search ranking.
The new .au direct domain is very cost effective, it’s short and descriptive.
According to the latest data from ICANN.org, there are more than 1,400+ domain extensions globally.
They are often used for ‘vanity’ purposes or to target a specific market. With an appropriate domain name being right near the top of your SEO checklist, if you own a specific domain extension, it can highly improve improve your organic search engine rank.
Some examples include:
.MELBOURNE (businesses connected to Melbourne)
.AFL (has been used by AFL for it’s junior and youth football programs e.g. Play.afl)
.DESIGN (graphic designers and architects, e.g.- i4.design)
.CO (originally Columbia but associated globally with the words “company”, “corporation” and “commerce”)
.TECH (technology sector)
.TV (television sector)
.MOBI (sites that are compatible with mobile devices)
.DOMAINS (Online is Easy own gippsland.domains)
and many, many more!
The problem is that many of the TLD and vanity domains are unregulated, unrestricted and/or expensive (some down right extortive) and many don't require any location requirements or business certification in order to register.
In 2018 .com was the leading top-level domain for selling counterfeit goods worldwide.
The Network Readiness Index (NRI) is one of the leading global indices on the application and impact of information and communication technology (ICT) in economies around the world. Australia ranks 13th out of the 130 economies included in the NRI 2021 Report (download the report PDF).
Australia's main strength relates to Governance. The report found Australia ranks first for technology access, and we perform well on trust, regulation and inclusion -- there's a few reasons for that, our domain namespace management is certainly a large contributing factor.
Protecting your business brand is important. Even if you prefer a vanity or a generic top-level domain as your main brand URL, you can still secure your .au domain and redirect it — at under $15 a year, it’s an inexpensive way to protect your brand.
So, what is the verdict on the .au direct domain?
We don’t know if the .au direct domain will take off or not? However, given the report of Australia's Global NRI position, the distrust of the Wild West cowboy like management of many popular domain spaces that leave them vulnerable to fraud and crime, the increased local search traffic opportunities .au offers, and we think it’s a no brainer -- we’ve secured our .au direct domain names and are helping our clients secure theirs.
Register your own Domain Name →
