The top-level domain (TLD) “.Alibaba” does not exist according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the entity that administers and coordinates domain names internationally. ICANN provides the updated database for all available and existent TLDs worldwide.
While there are a variety of TLDs available today due to the growth and development of the internet, including generics (.com, .net, .org), countries (.us, .uk, .jp), and even brand-specific (.bmw, .google, .canon), there is no “.Alibaba” TLD at the moment. As per “The Information Standard of Top-Level Domains” of ICANN, the .Alibaba TLD lacks representation.
Alibaba, the multinational conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet, and technology, uses the TLD “.com” for its primary website. It signifies that “.com” remains a preferred TLD, especially for business and commercial entities, due to its widespread recognition and ease of user recall.
Established in 1999, Alibaba Group has expanded into multiple verticals, maintaining websites for various purposes, each with different domain names but all using the “.com” TLD, such as www.alibaba.com (B2B sales), www.aliexpress.com (B2C sales), www.alibabagroup.com (corporate site), etc. It shows the preference of Alibaba Group for the traditionally accepted and globally recognized “.com” TLD over a brand-specific TLD.
Brand-specific TLDs are a recent introduction, considered in the ICANN’s new gTLD Program. As stated in an ICANN report: “The New gTLD Program is an initiative coordinated by ICANN that is enabling the largest expansion of the domain name system.” Some brands have taken advantage of this to use their name as their TLD, a move that could arguably provide some marketing and branding benefits.
Nevertheless, it’s a significant step to register a brand-specific TLD. It requires a substantial financial investment, technical proficiency for management and maintenance, and it also has various legal and policy implications. That could explain why the Alibaba Group, in spite of its size and influence, has chosen not to register “.Alibaba” as a TLD and instead, stuck with the more popular and familiar “.com.”
Sources:
ICANN – www.icann.org
ICANN New gTLD Program – www.icann.org/resources/pages/new-gtlds-2012-02-25-en
Alibaba Group – www.alibabagroup.com
Alibaba – www.alibaba.com
Aliexpress – www.aliexpress.com
Alibaba Group corporate site – www.alibabagroup.com/en/global/home
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) TLD Registry: www.iana.org/domains/root/db
