Recent reports from several of New York City's biggest names—from Mayor Michael Bloomberg (News - Alert) on through Chief Digital Officer Rachel Haot—indicates that the city landed approval for its own top-level Web domain. Soon, websites will soon be routing visitors to locations with a .nyc suffix, and with this new announcement comes significant opportunity for retailers and other businesses in terms of promotion and marketing, as well as in branding efforts.

The agreement in question is said to be one of the few currently in existence that allows a city to have a geographic top-level domain, issued by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN). New York has been eager to land such a domain name since 2009, as evidenced by a State of the City speech given that same year by City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. 


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With the suffix, according to Mayor Bloomberg, businesses will be able to be immediately identified with and recognized as part of New York City, still one of the largest and most prosperous cities on Earth. That's a pretty big marketing push, one that Quinn is expecting to bring in “millions of dollars of revenue for the city.”

Those interested in getting a .nyc domain will find some hurdles in the way, though nothing too difficult by the look of it. First, businesses will have to have a physical presence in New York City, either by way of a street address or a similar “bona fide presence,” which is said to mean the performance of regular, lawful activities within the city, maintaining an office in the city, or operating a storefront or the like within same. Registration for a .nyc domain is set to start in late 2013, though the fees accompanying such a domain have not yet been established.

Though the exact value of a .nyc domain is somewhat unclear, it's likely to at least offer some help in terms of marketing efforts. Indeed, businesses able to identify clearly as New York City enterprises are likely to derive some help, especially from those planning trips to the city for some reason, and needing certain goods and services during the stay. For example, a restaurant with a .nyc suffix would be able to clearly identify as being found in New York City, and thus able to offer a meal to those within the city. Being able to make that connection may offer better chances at making sales.

While it will take some time until the exact value of the .nyc domain is fully realized, it's a safe bet that plenty of New York City businesses with Web presences will have a distinct interest in being recognized by location. Soon, much more Web traffic might be heading for New York than ever before, in a manner of speaking.