Industry-Specific New gTLDs

## Why Industry TLDs Were Created One of the most compelling theoretical arguments for the new gTLD program was that industry-specific extensions could create trusted, verified namespaces for professional communities. A .bank domain extension would carry implicit financial regulation compliance. A .pharmacy would signal licensed dispensing. A .doctor would indicate credentialed medical practice. The internet would gain a layer of professional verification embedded in domain addresses. This vision has been partially realized — in a handful of extensions. More commonly, professional communities have been resistant to changing established naming conventions. Understanding which industry new gTLDs succeeded, which failed, and why, guides practical decisions for buyers considering these extensions. ## Highly Restricted and Verified Industry TLDs **Financial Services — .bank, .insurance** .bank is operated by fTLD Registry Systems, a non-profit consortium founded by banking trade associations. Registration requires applicants to demonstrate they are regulated financial institutions — banks, credit unions, savings associations, bank holding companies. The verification process includes regulatory status confirmation, security policy review, and ongoing compliance requirements including two-factor authentication for registrant accounts. The result: .bank has genuine trust infrastructure. Consumer awareness campaigns by banking associations ("Look for .bank") have built recognition that .bank addresses belong to real financial institutions. Phishing attacks using .bank domains are effectively blocked. Several thousand financial institutions have registered .bank names. It represents the new gTLD program's most successful implementation of the "verified namespace" concept. .insurance follows a similar model — restricted to licensed insurers with regulatory verification. **Healthcare — .pharmacy** Operated by National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), .pharmacy restricts registration to NABP-verified pharmacy operations. Unverified pharmacies cannot register .pharmacy domains. This extension addresses a real problem: illegitimate online pharmacies selling counterfeit medications. **Technology — .dev, .app, .cloud** Not restricted by profession but restricted by technical requirement (mandatory HTTPS). These extensions attract technology companies through affinity rather than credential verification. ## Open Industry TLDs with Market Fit **Legal — .law, .lawyer, .attorney, .legal** Multiple registries launched competing legal profession extensions. None imposed credential verification requirements. The expectation was that legal professionals would self-select based on professional affinity. Adoption has been modest. Established law firms have built brand equity in .com and see no compelling reason to change. Small practices occasionally register .law or .attorney names for descriptive clarity, but penetration is far below what the program's advocates predicted. **Medical/Health — .doctor, .health, .med** Similar dynamics to legal. No credential verification, limited professional adoption. The exception is specific medical brands using .health as a descriptive extension for wellness businesses — a use case that does not require any medical credentials. **Real Estate — .realty, .realtor** .realtor is operated by the National Association of Realtors and restricted to REALTOR members — a genuine professional credential. Adoption among NAR members is growing. .realty is open but has achieved modest adoption. **Food and Beverage — .restaurant, .bar, .cafe, .wine** These extensions see steady adoption from hospitality businesses but no large-scale uptake. Their main value is descriptive clarity: "localname.restaurant" is immediately legible. At standard pricing they offer reasonable value for food service businesses. ## Technology-Adjacent Industry TLDs **E-Commerce — .shop, .store, .market** The most successful category. See Top 20 Most Popular New gTLDs for detailed registration figures. .shop and .store have achieved genuine mass-market adoption among online retailers. **Media and Entertainment — .media, .news, .live, .show, .film** Steady mid-tier performers. News organizations, entertainment brands, and streaming services use these selectively. None has achieved the breakthrough of .shop or .app. **Sports — .sport, .golf, .fitness, .yoga, .tennis** Niche adoption. Sports-specific businesses use these for descriptive clarity. Registration bases remain small but stable. ## Should Your Business Use an Industry TLD? The decision matrix depends on your industry and goals: **Strong case for industry TLD**: - Your industry has a restricted, verified extension (.bank, .pharmacy, .realtor) and you meet the requirements — the verification is a trust signal worth having - Your .com equivalent is unavailable or prohibitively expensive - Your brand name plus the TLD creates immediate clarity for your target audience - You are a new brand without established .com equity to protect **Weak case for industry TLD**: - Your established brand already has strong .com recognition - The extension is unverified and provides no actual trust differentiation - Your industry has not adopted the extension broadly (no network effect) - Your customers will need to be educated about the extension (raises switching cost) Use TLD Comparison Tool to compare pricing and availability for industry-specific extensions relevant to your sector.