Business owners urged to register now for .au domains

GoDaddy is urging eligible Australian entrepreneurs and small businesses to protect brand and digital identities by registering for a .au domain. The launch of .au is the biggest innovation in Australian domains for 20 years, and comes as internet traffic and online competition reach record highs.

According to GoDaddy’s ‘Entrepreneurial Pulse’ research, over one in four (27%) entrepreneurs and small business owners cited competition, second only to the global pandemic, as their biggest challenge for 2022. In an Australian market that proudly and passionately ‘supports local’, having a local .au domain can be a crucial competitive advantage when standing out to the millions of consumers who engage with local businesses online.

From 24 March, Australian entrepreneurs with an existing .com.au domain name (eg, godaddy.com.au) can apply for priority status to register its exact domain name match with a .au extension (godaddy.au). Eligible users have six months to complete the process before the .au domain name extension becomes available for the general population to purchase from 20 September. Domain customers can register a .au domain if the corresponding .com.au, .net.au or .org.au is not already taken.

In addition to appealing to the millions of Australians who support local businesses, a .au domain is shorter and therefore easier for consumers to remember, and can also help to boost a business’s search engine ranking.

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