.best

Overview

• .best is a brand gTLD from ICANN's New gTLD Program.
• The registry and manager is BestTLD Pty Ltd.
• The TLD was proposed as a brand namespace to clearly identify Best's products, services and online presence.

History

• The .best application succeeded in ICANN's New gTLD Program and the string was delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 27 February 2014.
• BestTLD Pty Ltd received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN on 19 December 2013.
• In June 2018 PeopleBrowsr received ICANN approval to sell its BestTLD Pty Ltd subsidiary to The Best SAS (a Paris-based company led by Cyril Fremont).

Usage and Audience

• Intended as a brand TLD, .best was described by the applicant as a space to register names exclusively by Best and to convey legitimacy and authority from the direct relationship between the registry and the content on .best sites.
• The registry has distribution agreements with GoDaddy and over 50 other domain registrars.
• Operational launch phases included a Sunrise period and plans for Landrush and General Availability; the Landrush phase was later cancelled due to low engagement and the registry moved to General Availability shortly after Sunrise.

Registration Rules

• Sunrise period: originally announced to begin 17 April 2014 and run for 30 days, ending 19 May 2014.
• The planned Landrush phase (to follow Sunrise) was cancelled; the registry proceeded to General Availability two days after the Sunrise period ended.
• The registry stated an intent to be both operator and the sole registrant of .best, with names registered to represent the Best brand.
• A Registry Agreement with ICANN governs operator responsibilities.

SEO and Brand Impact

• The applicant positioned .best as a way to immediately distinguish legitimacy and authority for Best-branded content and products.
• As a brand TLD, .best is intended to centralize the company's online presence and improve brand visibility and discoverability.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Delegation to the DNS Root Zone on 27 February 2014 marked the TLD's readiness for operation.
• The registry's operational decision to cancel the Landrush phase and move directly to General Availability due to low engagement was a notable launch change.
• Corporate change: PeopleBrowsr obtained approval in 2018 to sell BestTLD Pty Ltd to The Best SAS.
• The registry maintains distribution agreements with major registrars including GoDaddy and 50+ others.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       BEST

organisation: BestTLD Pty Ltd
address:      Level 6
address:      1 Chifley Square
address:      Sydney NSW 2000
address:      Australia

contact:      administrative
name:         CEO
organisation: The Best SAS
address:      295 Rue Du Professeur Paul Milliez
address:      Champigny Sur Marne 94500
address:      France
phone:        +1.310.6518061
e-mail:       contact@the.best

contact:      technical
name:         CTO
organisation: CentralNic
address:      Saddlers House, 4th Floor
address:      44 Gutter Lane
address:      London EC2V 6BR
address:      United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone:        +44 20 33 88 0600
fax-no:       +44 20 33 88 0601
e-mail:       tld.ops@centralnic.com

nserver:      A.NIC.BEST 194.169.218.109 2001:67c:13cc:0:0:0:1:109
nserver:      B.NIC.BEST 185.24.64.109 2a04:2b00:13cc:0:0:0:1:109
nserver:      C.NIC.BEST 212.18.248.109 2a04:2b00:13ee:0:0:0:0:109
nserver:      D.NIC.BEST 212.18.249.109 2a04:2b00:13ff:0:0:0:0:109
ds-rdata:     41279 8 2 d0c266b147e9fa7122215ccca36b23d43407bd2f03b2e3b6e917d350b31aa5fd
ds-rdata:     13966 8 2 1b34271dc3cac4d1faa279893902bd3330eab9675dab6dba03fd163437e7d12a

whois:        whois.nic.best

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://www.go.best

created:      2014-02-20
changed:      2023-10-05
source:       IANA