Dominion Marine Media launches new .yachts domain

NORFOLK, Va. – A new .yachts domain was officially announced at the opening of this week’s Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show. Dominion Marine Media (DMM), a division of Dominion Enterprises, is the driving force behind the new domain. Also announced were plans for a similar .boats domain to be activated in the coming months.

The introduction of the .yachts generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) enables businesses and individuals to secure an online identity that demonstrates exactly what they are about in the marine sphere. Use of the .yachts gTLD will only be available to verified entities that provide products, services and information to the yachting industry, meaning consumers will be able to trust the verified operators of .yachts websites for relevant content on these sites.

Brands and businesses in the sector can visit http://nic.yachts/ to register their interest in a .yachts domain or sign up for the .yachts Founders’ Program to benefit from special rates and early availability.

Ian Atkins, president of DMM, commented: “We are proud to be part of the largest ever expansion of the Domain Name System. We will see major changes in the Internet and opportunities for online innovation in the marine and other industries. Vying for domain name space has become increasingly difficult at a cost-effective level for businesses. DMM is leading the way in addressing this with the launch of .yachts – and soon .boats – to offer more explicitly descriptive and brandable domains to marine brands and businesses.”

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for gTLDs, concluded there were not enough domains available, therefore stifling innovation and reducing competition. In the next few years, domain endings will grow from 22 generic terms such as .com and .gov to in excess of 1,300.  This will make the Internet safer and more efficient and will streamline users’ online experience. While DMM will play an integral role in this development, it will not be directly responsible for setting pricing. That will be controlled by individual registries to be approved in due course.