In March 2022, AuDA announced the release of .au domain, a shorter version of the country specific domain extension for Australia .com.au, It was a big news for the Australian domain name system and created quite a buzz. Almost a year after, how have businesses adopted it, does it have any effect on SEO ranking or simply put do you really need it, lets discuss..
Pre 2022, the most obvious choice for Australian businesses for getting their names was the .com.au extension. There were of course the usual .net.au or the global .com domains but by far .com.au ruled the rooster as far as business adoption was concerned. But with the introduction of .au , businesses now have a the chance to shorten their domain and present their business website in a different way online. For the first 6 months of its release, .au domain were secured for the parent owners of their respective .com.au domains. e.g if you owned abc.com.au you had the reserved right to register abc.au , but with that period now over, it open to all registration.
Should I register a the .au Domain ?
The short answer to it is yes, despite it being available for less than $50, you would not want someone else to eventually register .au domain, .com.au of which belongs to you. Imagine having to deal with a website of the same name in .au extension as yours. Additional domain gives you one more way to promote your website, you can always redirect traffic using a domain redirection feature on your domain manager. The pros of owning this extension of your domain far outweighs the small cost of its registration. Yes go for it !
How to Register a .au Domain ?
.au Domains are to be registered exactly like any other domains. You can log into your existing domain account and proceed with the domain registration by searching for its availability. The eligibility criterion for .au domain exactly the same as .com.au domain, meaning it has to be held by an Australian entity with an ABN number.
.au Domains are available for registration on all major registrars including tppwholesale, crazydomains, ventraip etc..check with your domain registrar for more details on cost.
Benefits of having .au Domain ?
- its less crowded now, you could get a domain more closely matching your business name
- you save your brand from cyber squatters by securing a potentially lucrative extension for your domain
- .au is shorter than .com.au, its more desirable to many including your customers
- .au could be the standard domain for Australian businesses as is the trend global with country specific domain just have the extension, like .in for india, .cn for china and son on. see the list
Check the availability of your .au domain today and get it registered. If you need any help or domain suggestion, Contact our Domain Team for all your needs!
