AU What's Going On - The Brand New Australian Domain

AU domains will soon be available, that is, without the .com in front of it. For example, my domain irez.com.au has now also been registered as irez.au

To be clear, this is a whole new domain extension, known as a top-level domain and it wont be replacing the .com.au

What's the difference between a top level (TLD) and 2nd level domain (2LD)?

To make it extremely brief and simplified, a TLD is any single domain extension such as .com, .net, or .org. A 2LD, or second-level domain, is an extension of that such as .com.au, .co.uk, or .gov.au

These were born initially as a way to internationalise the popularity of the TLD's as a way to distinguish the country of origin.

As the internet grew in popularity, size and technicality in general they became less relevant.

Get ready for the AU TLD

After many years of proposals and speculation, Australia will finally be getting it's own top-level domain that drops the .com and simply runs with .au

The .au part of any Australian domain name has always helped distinguish us from the rest of the world. The only difference now is we no longer have to rely on the .com part of it.

Will my .com.au stop working?

Absolutely not! It will continue to work as normal.

Do I have to get the .au domain?

It is not a requirement to purchase the .au version of your .com.au

Keep in mind however, that like any domain, should someone else register it, they can become the rightful owner blocking you from ever being able to register or use it in the future.

Is there any benefit to the AU domain?

From an SEO perspective, there is very little benefit if any.

Shorter domains, however, are always a benefit from the human reading and writing element.

• Far more likely to have more of your URL in a search result
• Easier to type into the address bar, especially on mobile
• Makes marketing easier when there's less letters on your business cards, advertising and other marketing materials.
• Easier to share

What's next for AU domain names?

Currently you can only pre-register your existing .com/net/org.au domain name as an AU for a brief period of time and then it will ultimately be opened up for all.

If you'd like to lock in your AU domain you can simply log in to your account at irez.domains and you will see a popup giving you options for your eligible domains.

Alternatively, fill out the form below and I will pre-register them on your behalf.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.