One of the first things that people will notice when visiting your website or reading your marketing materials is your domain name, so naturally you’ll want something eye-catching and easy to remember. In addition, your domain can help power your website by attracting the right audience via terms and domain extensions. For example, universities use .edu, government agencies use .gov, and not-for-profits use .org to help place them in the right “groups” for internet searchers. With the new release of .health as an extension, physicians, hospitals, device companies and any others in the healthcare space can now help make it easier for users to find their information with this simple extension.
Why are domains important?
With over 1 billion websites on the internet today, each site has to be categorized and optimized so that internet users can quickly and easily find what they are looking for. Domain names help categorize sites by breaking them out by gTLD, or generic top-level domain, which is the suffix on the end. So, a site could be .com, .edu, .org, .gov, or .info, along with many other variations, and can help a user determine what the contents of the site will have. Domain names help optimize sites as they can contain key terms related to what people search for, helping group them into a specific category and provide unique content associated to the site. By having a well thought out domain name, a business allows users to easily find and remember their site, increasing both new and returning users.
Why should I use .health?
Just like .edu helps users to know they are on an education site, .health aims to help users know they are on a reputable healthcare site. While you should keep your current domain, as it has built up domain authority, having a .health domain will allow for a new avenue of marketing. You are able to link blogs to your .health site, place it on physical marketing materials, or use it in scholarly articles. In addition, the .health registrants are required to follow terms set by a board of administrators to ensure that those using .health are completely credible sources of information.
How do I purchase a .health domain?
Through November 30th, 2017, healthcare companies may apply for the domain through the dotHealth LLC. website. If approved, they will receive a token that will allow the holder to register the domain at the registrar partner of their choice. However, there are very specific registrars with which dotHealth is currently working. On December 5th, 2017 this will open up to the general public, meaning companies and individuals may be able to purchase domains that could be relevant to your business.
For more information about purchasing a .health domain, contact us today. We’ll help make sure you get a relevant domain to help take your site to the next level!
Sources:
https://get.health/about
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/new-health-domain-aims-to-be-go-to-source-credible-health-information
