A study by IDG Research has revealed that internet users do not trust new general top level domains (gTLDs).
The new gTLDs, such as .london, .ninja and .rocks, were introduced by ICANN around a year and a half ago as a response to a shortage in the number of traditional top level domains such as .com being available.
The research found that 52% of respondents from the US and UK do not trust these new domains. Only a tiny minority, 2%, said they felt “extremely comfortable” in visiting websites with such domains.
A separate study by Cloudmark found that this distrust was based on a fear that these new domains were spammy and belonged to disreputable companies.
The only type of new domain that seems to foster trust are brand specific domains. These are where a brand name is used as top level domain. It is used most successfully by well-known and trusted brands, such as financial institutions.Â
