Mining the Internet With Domain Names

Domain names are a major asset for navigating the Internet. The top-level domain (TLD) .gov when combined with search terms retrieves only government information, effectively “hiding” millions of less important or perhaps irrelevant Web sites. In the commercial sphere, a 2nd level domain, combined with an established TLD, such as in gold.org, is very effective in helping users locate relevant information. International country code TLDs (ccTLD), often tightly controlled, limit retrieval if so preferred, the country code for Germany, dot DE, is an example. High interest is pushing Web organizers to build out the Internet with less generic TLDs. The TLD dot arts is a domain name considered in the next expansion.