The top-level domain (TLD) ‘.CONSULTING’ is a generic TLD established in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet by public interest registry, that is specifically optimised for consultants and consulting companies. TLDs are part of a domain name, which is an easy-to-remember address that can be typed into a web browser to reach a website. The ‘.CONSULTING’ TLD is classified as a Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD).
In technical terms, a domain name points towards a specific IP address. For the ‘.CONSULTING’ TLD, that would be an IP address hosted by a consulting company. For instance, a consulting business named ‘ABC Consulting’ could have a domain name ‘www.abc.consulting’. This would point internet users directly to the company’s IP address and ultimately its website using the DNS system.
For a better understanding, the TLD part of the domain name comes after the dot – .com, .org, .net, etc. These are standard TPDs, alongside country code TLDs such as .uk, .fr, .us, etc. The ‘.CONSULTING’ TLD belongs to a newer category of TLDs known as gTLDs, introduced to cater to specific industries, communities, brands, etc. These TLDs are granted by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) through a bidding process.
The ‘.CONSULTING’ TLD was first proposed in ICANN’s New gTLD Program, and the rights to operate ‘.CONSULTING’ as a TLD were awarded to United TLD Holdco Ltd., part of the Donuts Inc. company, which specialises in domain name registration and web services.
Therefore, a TLD like ‘.CONSULTING’ allows businesses and individuals to create a domain name that more accurately represents their line of work, thus improving their online branding and making their websites more recognizable and accessible to potential customers.
It is essential to note that while ‘.CONSULTING’ TLD is open to anyone without restriction, it’s specifically optimized for consultants and consulting businesses. Thus, certain services like search engine optimization (SEO), specific keyword search, and advertisement are better integrated and utilized with this TLD.
The sources used for this answer include “ICANN’s New gTLD Program”, the official Donuts Inc. website and various technical resources on the DNS system and IP address routing.
ICANN: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/
Donuts Inc.: https://donuts.domains/
Techopedia: Domain Name Systems: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24207/domain-name-system-dns
Microsoft: About IP Addressing: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-2000-server/dd379487(v=technet.10)
