William Hill is not a top-level domain (TLD). A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of a domain name. Common TLDs include .com, .net, .gov, .org and .edu. Country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) are also available, such as .uk for the United Kingdom, .fr for France, .in for India and so on. These commonly used TLDs are regulated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Rigorous guidelines need to be met before a TLD is officially recognized and approved by this authority (source: IANA).
The purpose of TLDs is to categorize domains on the internet so they can easily be found. Hence, in the context of internet architecture, William Hill would not qualify as a TLD since it is the name of a specific company (source: PCMag). However, William Hill could appear as a second-level domain under a top-level domain, like in the case of ‘williamhill.com’, where ‘.com’ is the TLD and ‘williamhill’ is the second-level domain.
Let’s take, for example, the .gov TLD. This is a sponsored, restricted TLD that can only be used by official government organizations in the United States (source: Wikipedia). On the other hand, .com is a generic, ubiquitous TLD adopted by numerous businesses, just like ‘williamhill.com’ (source: Verisign). This is a good illustration of how corporations adopt TLDs to identify their online presence.
New generic, branded TLDs have also sprung up since ICANN (the organization that manages the DNS root) opened the application process in 2012. These include brand names such as .google, .bmw, and .sony (source: ICANN). If William Hill wanted to, they could theoretically apply for .williamhill as a branded TLD, but this has not happened thus far.
Looking into the actual William Hill online presence, they operate under a number of TLDs: ‘williamhill.com’ (their primary website), ‘williamhill.co.uk’ and ‘williamhill.it’ (targeting UK & Italy respectively). There is also ‘williamhill.plc.uk’, where ‘plc’ functions as a third-level domain further categorizing the website as related to the public limited company aspect.
In conclusion, William Hill is not a top-level domain (TLD). Rather, it is typically implemented as a second-level domain under various TLDs such as .com and .co.uk. The understanding & effective use of TLDs is integral for businesses, like William Hill, looking to establish a strong internet presence since it affects SEO, branding, and consumer trust.
