Masters of a New Domain

Small businesses and entrepreneurs who are racking their brains thinking up funky ways to spell their company names to create a website now have an alternative to going the .com route by choosing to sign up to the new .CO Internet domain.

No, that’s not a typo. The register has long been used abroad in more than 20 countries to designate a commercial, or professional site. “When we asked 600 people what .co means to them, they all responded with ‘company,’” says Lori Anne Wardi, director of marketing of .CO Internet S.A.S. “The concept already resonates with consumers. And, of course, the international recognition helps tremendously.”

The crowded .com field led Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet S.A.S., to create the new register. “Many small businesses and entrepreneurs who try to register with their company’s name online often find that it’s unavailable either because they’ve been snapped up by a larger corporation or by investors looking to sell the address for a profit,” says Calle.

To combat the URL grab and keep valuable names available to their core targets, Calle rolled out the launch in three parts.

The Sunrise phase opened up April 23 and ended June 10. It allowed for trademark holders to apply for matching domain names to their .com counterpart. “Although we’re targeting smaller businesses and entrepreneurs, we don’t want giant companies like Cisco or Yahoo to feel that they don’t have a home on the .CO Internet,” says Wardi.

The second phase, dubbed the ‘landrush’ period started June 21 and will end July 10^. During this time, anyone can apply for a domain name. In case multiple companies seek to register with the same name, the application will be resolved at an auction with the URL going to the highest bidder.

July 10 marks the general availability stage, opening up the register on a first-come, first-serve basis.

So what sets .CO apart? “We didn’t set out to become a mirror to .com,” says Wardi. “We wanted to give people who may not have deep pockets to have the opportunity to brand themselves online and add value to their companies. Our sweet spot is that entrepreneur, that stay-at-home mom who’s launching her business while she’s taking care of the kids.”

To that end, pricing models are competitive. While it costs $29 to register a .com with Go Daddy, in .CO’s prelaunch phase URLs went for $23-$35. Prices are slightly higher in the second and third phases due to increased competition.

“Prices are lower ahead of the launch because we want to encourage early adopters,” Wardi said. Neither Wardi nor Calle would disclose how many companies have registered with their initiative. But they’re not worried about becoming profitable. Backed both by private equity and joint-venture, they hope to be in the black by next year. “We’re hoping entrepreneurs will use this register to create their own opportunities and find a way to reshape the Internet world,” says Wardi.

Whether .CO catches on or not remains to be seen, as does the added value the company plans to bring to the already crowded online community. “No one could have predicted how the Internet revolutionized life,” says Calle. “To have a brand extension that’s valuable to your business is essential and we hope people quickly adopt to the new option we’re offering.”