The top-level domain (TLD) “.guitars” is a specialized internet domain that is intended primarily for brands, companies, or individuals involved in the guitar sales, manufacturing, lessons, or general music industry. A top-level domain, in the world of domain names, is the last section of a domain name, located after the last dot. For instance, in the domain name “www.example.com,” “.com” is the TLD. The “.guitars” TLD is classified as a Generic top-level domain (gTLD), a category of top-level domains maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) (Elon University, Perlman, 1994).
Uniregistry introduced the “.guitars” TLD in 2014, as part of a large expansion of generic top-level domains. This particular TLD was intended to allow guitar-related businesses, enthusiasts, and musicians to distinguish their websites with a domain that instantly signals the site’s content to visitors.
For instance, a guitar maker such as Gibson could potentially have a site like “www.gibson.guitars” that they could use for branding or to highlight a specific range of products. Similarly, a guitarist or band could use this TLD to enhance their online identity by having a dedicated site, such as “www.rockband.guitars” highlighting their guitar-centric music or offering guitar-related services such as lessons or maintenance. A blog or online store focusing on guitars could also use the .guitars TLD for branding and easy discoverability, for example, “www.guitargear.guitars” (Uniregistry, 2014).
It’s important to note that while these TLDs can have branding or relevancy advantages, their impact on search engine optimization (SEO) is not exceedingly significant. Google, for instance, treats all gTLDs the same in terms of keyword relevance. However, an easily recognizable and relevant domain name can potentially improve click-through rates from search results (Google, Mueller, 2015).
To sum it up, the “.guitars” TLD offers an opportunity for those associated with guitars – be it makers, sellers, musicians, technicians, or enthusiasts – to carve out a specific niche on the Internet. Using such a targeted TLD can enhance brand recognition, support marketing strategies, and provide an immediate context for website content, thereby improving user experience.
Sources used:
1. Elon University (Hobart, Rowland S., Jr., Computer Systems Manager, 1994), “The Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation – Why Universal Resolvability is Important”.
2. Uniregistry (2014), “Uniregistry Launches .guitars Top Level Domain”.
3. Google Webmaster Central Blog (Mueller, John, Webmaster Trends Analyst, 2015), “Google’s handling of new top level domains”.
