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.au Domain Names

.au domain names

Updated Friday, April 1st 2022.

.au domain names launched towards the tail end of March on the 24th and are now available for registration.

This is huge news in the web industry, as we haven’t had a new extension since the 1990s.

.au direct domains were announced in April 2016…. They only took six years!

Many website owners will already have a .com.au or .net.au domain name. The new extension is a simpler and shorter version, it’s just .AU (also called .au direct domains).

Please read the below information on .au direct domain names to understand what action you may need to take.

au-domain-name-types

What will a .au website domain do for my business?

If you already have a .com.au domain name, registering and securing the .AU version is good business practice.

There are literally hundreds of domain extensions available such as: .info, .biz, .io etc. Many people haven’t even heard of half of these domain extensions.

To be honest, most of them don’t even matter as they are international and registering all variants would provide no benefit except for a heft renewal bill each year.

.Au domain names are different, as they are specific to Australia, and registration is only open to ABN/ACN holders.

Harold misstyping domain-name

What are the benefits of a .AU direct domain name?

Internet users are notorious for mistyping things online.

If you have a website that generates leads, I don’t have to explain how many customers will mistype their name, phone number or email.

Predictably, once .AU becomes somewhat of a standard online, potential customers may type in your domain name with .au instead of .com.au, and if you don’t have that variant secured you could loose business.

Misspelling a domain name is also referred to as Typosquatting, although Typosquatting is when a scammer registers a misspelled version of your domain name.

Organizations can limit the impact of typosquatting by registering important and obvious typo-domains and redirecting these domains to their website. – Upguard.com

How do I register an Australian .au domain name?

First, you need to meet AUDA’s eligibility criteria, (Auda is the Australian governing body for .au domain names).

If you currently own the .com.au version of a domain name, you are eligible for a”Priority Status” registration.

IMPORTANT: The Priority Status is only valid for six months. You have until September 2022 to secure your .au domain variant.

You can register your .au direct domain with your preferred domain provider.

For clients who we manage their domain names, feel free to contact us or call me directly on 0423 807 424, and I can organise registration for you.

au domain name registration already taken

Can someone else register my .AU direct domain name?

After September 2022 .au direct domain names are open to registration to anyone with an ABN number.

While Australia is one of the only countries that require a business number such as an ABN to prove they are a local business. This doesn’t stop foreign scammers from using random ABN’s to register our local .au domains.

If a competitor registers your domain name, you can get it back if your brand name is trademarked. However, it’s a long and tedious legal process that many incur legal feed.

Most domain names registrations are less than AUD $50 and some as low as $15.

For the sake of a few dollars, just register the variant and have peace of mind knowing its secured.

Google favours .au domain names

Are there any Google benefits from registering a .AU direct domain name?

Locally in Australia, Google does tend to favour all .au domain names over international variants. If you already utilise .com.au or .net.au then registering .au isn’t going to directly increase your rankings.

Google can see which ABN a domain name is registered to, and securing all versions demonstrates your business’s professionalism.

If you ask me, registering all versions can help build authority. It shows no matter what domain extension customers type in, and you are making it easier for those customers to find your website.

 

Want Me To Register & Setup Your Domain Name?

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