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Capterra Glossary
A custom domain name suffix, also known as a custom top-level domain (TLD) name, refers to the last few characters of an organizationʻs domain name (such as “.com” or “.org”) that a company has customized for branding purposes.
Corporations that wish to purchase custom TLDs must submit an application to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The custom TLD application fee costs about $185,000, which is only partially refunded if an organizationʻs application is rejected.
Businesses often purchase a custom TLD that reflects their company name to increase brand visibility and help customers avoid spoofing websites (pages that pose as a valid company website to steal customer information). Examples of a custom TLD include “.Microsoft” or “.Apple”.
Although purchasing a custom TLD can help small and midsize businesses increase their brand visibility, it can be too expensive to be worthwhile for most SMBs.