Thanks to the launch of .london domain names, you now have another chance to grab a piece of online gold.

Setting your business up on a .London domain has distinct advantages. Most importantly, it connects your business with London, and shows online consumers not just what you do, but where you do it.  It's also search-friendly. It allows search engines to find your site, and boosts your local search rankings so that you can reach more local consumers. A 2014 Local Search Study conducted by Neustar reported that 347 Billion local searches were conducted in the US on PCs alone, with over half of these local searches ending in a purchase. 

.London endings will initially be offered during the ‘London Priority Period', which ends on July 31st.  During this period, applications from local businesses and individuals are prioritised, giving Londoners the best chance to secure a great website name.  On the 9th of September applications will reopen and all will be welcome to apply. From then on, names will be awarded on a first come - first serve basis, so it is vital for local businesses to apply before July 31.

With over 110 million .com, and over 10 million .co.uk names already taken, the governing bodies of the Internet made the decision to introduce new extensions to the market in 2011.  Since then, endings such as .xyz, .wiki, and .bar have been introduced as high availability alternatives to the traditional domains. 

A small group of major worldwide cities were lucky enough to be awarded their own website ending. This summer, London is joining the likes of Berlin (.berlin) and New York City (.nyc) in introducing their city names as a new opportunity to local businesses. The advantages are catching on; at the time of writing, the .berlin name registrations had risen to 140,000. 

London's booming economy is poised to seriously benefit from the new .London website ending.  With it Local businesses will now be specifically searchable to those are looking to do business in one of the world's largest economies. 

However, time is quickly running out for local businesses hoping to capitalise on the .London opportunity. After the 31st of July, they will have to compete with the rest of the world if they want to get their preferred .London name.  We urge all interested businesses to log on to www.buydomains.london and apply for a name today.