.earth

a new top-level domain

Applicant

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Interlink used an innovative approach to become the authority for the proposed .earth top-level domain. After allowing users the opportunity to submit potential ideas for top-level domain names, the company then opened a voting process whereby the most popular name was chosen. Interlink will then apply to ICANN with the winning name and, if accepted, the company will award the top entry a prize of $10,000. According to Interlink's website, it hopes to engage in revenue sharing for a period of up to 10 years with the winning individual.

Mission

One important factor that will likely determine the success of a new top-level domain is the marketability of the name itself. To make a lasting impression on consumers that might purchase a domain name with one of the upcoming extensions, new TLDs need to possess a few important characteristics. For instance, one essential quality a name should enjoy is an appropriate length. Names that are too long are more likely to be misspelled leading to missed visits; an appropriate length would enable site visitors to easily remember and enter the domain name as well as the extension. Another feature is the likelihood that a name will be remembered. For obvious reasons, users need to easily navigate back to sites they find interesting. Additional benefits result when a site's content and the top-level domain name are related creating synergy between what is included on a site and the site's name.

Advantages

Fortunately for Interlink, a company campaigning for one of the new group of TLDs, all these determining factors are included in their proposal for the .earth domain. The name is easily remembered, easily spelled, and probably most important, highly marketable. A few possibilities for future use include utilizing the namespace as a launching site for environmental concerns. This field alone allows opportunities to use the extension to brand sites that work with green initiatives or a number of other projects related to our planet. But because the word "earth" invokes both a specific image of where we live as well as a general feeling encompassing human, animal and environmental concerns, the name is especially marketable.