Most websites online end in .com, although there are also many common endings, such as .edu and .org. Amazon just made big news by securing the legal right to use the .amazon domain ending.

The Decision and Debate

The fight for Amazon to use the .amazon domain has been a seven-year battle, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (abbreviated ICANN) making the final decision. ICANN is a non-profit that assists with managing the domain system and IP addresses. Earlier this month, ICANN finally reached a decision, ruling that Amazon can continue its efforts to call the .amazon domain its own.

Other companies that have tried to make similar claims to domains had much easier times doing so. The main issue with Amazon’s desire to take the .amazon domain was from South American countries. Brazil, Peru, and other countries in the region feel that the domain name should belong to the countries in the Amazon region. They argued that the domain should be used to promote the interests as well as the rights of the people of the Amazon region.

ICANN decided that the group of South American countries and the e-commerce giant had enough time to come to an agreement. Without any “public policy reason” to stop Amazon from laying claim to the .amazon domain, ICANN decided to let Amazon continue the processing of its application.

What It Means

At the most basic level, Amazon will now be able to create its own generic top-level domains (known as gTLDs), including fashion.amazon or books.amazon. Despite the win for Amazon, experts are still unsure how much of an advantage this will give to the e-commerce giant.

Some feel that Amazon’s advantages will be limited to branding but should not have a huge impact since Amazon.com is already such a big name. To these experts, the idea of a branded gTLD just does not make logical marketing sense in today’s internet. The mindset of people browsing online would have to change, shifting away from an idea of visit a brand.com to a product.brand. Others, however, feel that if used correctly, the .amazon domain could help streamline the URLs to make the website easier to use.

It also remains to be seen how this will impact sellers on Amazon Marketplace. Some may find themselves with reduced prominence while others might face obstacles they had not previously thought about. Time will also tell whether other rivals follow suit and whether this eventually changes how we shop and browse online.

Source:

https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon-secures-its-own-amazon-domain/555425/

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