End Users Taking Advantage of ccTLDs
March 23, 2009
After reading Rick Latona’s new blog post ( Things I’ve learned from ccTLDs.com ) yesterday detailing a few of the threads discussing .AR domains, .DE domains, .FR domains, and .IN domains, I became self aware of the fact that some companies have already started building their brands using ccTLDs to reach a global market.
Case in point, Reckitt Benckiser. This English company own AirWick, the well known air freshener product that is constantly advertised all over the world. As I was watching one of my favorite TV Shows on BBC America, I noticed they were targeting American households by using AirWick.us. So I did a little digging, and to my amazement, they were using all major ccTLDs to build their AirWick brand.
If you visit AirWick.com you’ll see they have created an entire network of websites dedicated to each country using that country’s ccTLD. I counted a total of 24 different websites, each using their independent ccTLD! When I talk about a company’s internet strategy, is mostly to bash their inadequate knowledge about the importance of domain names or optimization. But upon finding this company I was sincerely amazed at how they were able to target their consumers by taking advantage of that extension.
Most of us have seen the “$3,000 a day domainer” video which talks solely about the power of a ccTLD. But it wasn’t until now that I see the massive potential of a domain name being targeted exclusively to a country’s population. I have yet to find a niche I am comfortable with, being fluent in spanish and having a minimal understanding of French, German, and Italian, I think the only aspect I’m missing is studying the local markets and finding local connections to minimize the dangers of registering generic domains in foreign countries.
I urge you to visit Rick Latona’s ccTLDs.com forum and read the extensive wealth of information available for free. I know I’ll be there!