The Top-Level Domain (TLD) “.toys” is one of the newer, industry-specific domain extensions or gTLDs (generic Top-Level Domains) introduced by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), aimed at providing businesses, organisations, institutions, and individuals more naming opportunities for their digital presence. It was delegated by ICANN to Donuts Inc., the registry operator, on October 31, 2013, as per ICANN’s TLD Archive.
A “.toys” domain can be registered by any entity that has a connection to the toy industry, such as toy manufacturers, toy retailers, designers, distributors, bloggers, and organisations dedicated to toys. For instance, Hasbro, a multinational toy and board game company, might use www.hasbro.toys as a domain name. Similarly, a blogger covering toy trends could opt for www.toytrends.toys. This clearly shows that the availability of such a distinctive domain extension allows entities to create domain names that are not only easy for internet users to remember but also accurately represent their relationship with the toy industry.
By using the “.toys” TLD, companies can directly reach their target market and make it clear what they offer, which can benefit both the business and its customers. This specificity in your web address can help improve search engine optimization (SEO), pushing your website higher in search engine results when a user searches for toys.
A distinctive benefit of using the “.toys” gTLD is the availability of domain names. Since “.com” is so saturated, it’s challenging to find a suitable domain name that’s still available. But with “.toys,” there are still a plethora of untapped domain names.
Moreover, the legitimacy of “.toys” and other new TLDs has been recognized by major industry players. For instance, Google has stated in their Google Search Central Blog that they treat new gTLDs like “.toys” the same as older TLDs like “.com” or “.org”. Therefore, using a “.toys” domain won’t pose any problems for your website’s SEO.
To register a “.toys” domain, one has to approach domain registration companies that offer this TLD, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Bluehost.
In conclusion, the “.toys” gTLD is a valuable asset for anyone involved in the toy industry. It offers a clear, specific and industry-relevant domain name that can help in brand recognition, customer reach and search engine ranking.
Sources used:
- ICANN’s TLD Archive: https://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt.
- Donuts Inc.: https://donuts.domains/
- Google Search Central Blog: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2015/07/googles-handling-of-new-top-level
- Domain Registration Websites (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost).
