Let's Be Adult About This

.xxx Domains are here, what should we do...

If you are in the adult entertainment business, or your site is related to adult endeavors, then buying a .XXX domain is a no-brainer, but what if your business offers more “traditional” goods and services, should you consider buying your .XXX domain address?

That seems like a fair question.  A simple answer would be: Yes, to protect our brand and reputation, right!?  Just like you might buy the .COM, .NET, .INFO or other equivalent of your primary domain -- it would ensure that your customers get to your site no matter what they type and you just redirect all of the alternate domains to your primary website.

But is buying your .xxx domain really necessary?  Probably not!  Unless you are a huge, popular brand, or have a domain name that already sounds "naughty-ish,"  it's not likely that someone will go through the process of applying for your name with .xxx and pay the heavy $$$ related to register and use it.

Other things to keep in mind:

• .xxx Domains are Aimed at Adult Businesses - The basis of offering .xxx domains is specifically for "adult" content and "18+" business websites. Because the domain extension alone will associate your site as an "adult" site), do you really want a business or individual not wishing to associate themselves with the adult industry use a .xxx domain.
• Why Would Someone Want Your Domain When Naughty Words Are Better? - The Adult industry websites are incredibly competitive.   They fight hard for keyword domination to take top positions in search engines, they often choose randy domain names that reflect the nature of their businesses to further attract web searchers to select their websites. To use non-adult keywords in a domain name would make it harder for them to compete, and be less appealing to the average searcher.
• Google Is Watching - Just think about this for a second, how often do you see "adult" sites show up in Google when you are searching for tips, recipes, stores, information, or a business?  . The major search engines try hard to keep X-rated results out of G-Rated searches. And, all search engines have a complaint process if inappropriate material is showing in searches they should not be showing up in (and there are "adult" filters, as well.)
• .XXX Domains Are Not Cheap - Another practice commonly used in the adult industry is to buy up multiple domains and try to get as many sites showing in searches as possible. With .com domains offered as little as $7.00 each, it is cheap to simply create dozens of new domains to offer the same material in a new presentation; .xxx domains are a lot more expensive.

The people most at risk here are celebrities and global brands like Disney and Coca-Cola.  Thousands of celebrities have already had their names permanently banned from the new .XXX domain, while global brands are weighing in on just how many .XXX names they need to trademark.

Do you have any thoughts? Are you worried about the new .XXX domain registration of your website