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    • .guru

    Generic top-level domainsIDNDNSSEC

    Overview

    .guru is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) intended to convey expertise and specialist knowledge. Delegated in 2013, it is used by individuals, professionals and small businesses to brand advice, consulting and expert services. The TLD supports IDNs and DNSSEC.

    History

    • Delegation and launch
      • .guru was delegated to the DNS root on 6 November 2013.
      • It was one of the first seven gTLDs launched by Donuts in late 2013.
      • Donuts (Pioneer Cypress, LLC) was the original applicant/registry operator; the Wikipedia entry lists Identity Digital as the current owner/operator.
    • Contract and availability
      • Donuts received a signed Registry Agreement with ICANN on 27 August 2013.
      • Sunrise period for trademark holders ran from 26 November 2013 to 24 January 2014.
      • Donuts did not run a landrush period for .guru; the TLD moved directly from sunrise to general availability (GA) on 29 January 2014.
    • Early adoption and later trends
      • Early uptake was strong: tens of thousands of registrations shortly after launch (e.g., ~35,000 in the first three weeks; ~55,000 by May 2014).
      • Over time the new gTLD market underperformed initial expectations; .guru established a niche position rather than mainstream dominance.
      • As of February 2022 there were 60,360 registered .guru domains.

    Usage and Audience

    • Typical users
      • Individuals, consultants, subject-matter experts, small businesses and niche service providers positioning themselves as "gurus" or authorities in a field.
    • Geographic and market notes
      • .guru is noted as popular among many users in India.
    • Market statistics (selected)
      • Registered domains (Feb 2022): 60,360.
      • Active websites: approximately 56,000.
      • Registrar market share: GoDaddy ~47.4%, NameCheap ~11.3%.
      • Estimated annual registration revenue: US$1.5–2 million.
      • Spam/abuse: The Spamhaus Project reported ~3.9% of .guru domains engaging in spamming (Sept 2023), compared to lower rates on some legacy TLDs and higher rates on others.
    • Competitors
      • Directly comparable gTLDs include .expert and .ninja, which also target expert/skill positioning.

    Registration Rules

    • Access model and policies
      • .guru was offered as an open gTLD; general registration is available to the public (no restrictive eligibility documented in the sources).
      • A formal sunrise period was implemented for trademark holders prior to general availability.
      • Donuts indicated it would not use pre-registration verification and planned to control abuse through defined user and rights protections.
    • Technical support
      • The TLD supports Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and DNSSEC.

    SEO and Brand Impact

    • Positioning and perception
      • .guru is positioned as a specialist/expertise brand — useful for sites that want to emphasize authority or advisory services.
      • Early first-mover adoption among new gTLDs gave .guru a measurable share of the new-TLD market, but overall the new-gTLD expansion proved more niche than many predicted.
    • Trust and risk factors
      • The measured abuse/spam rate for .guru is higher than some legacy TLDs (e.g., .com and .org) but lower than certain highly-abused TLDs; brand owners should weigh potential perception and abuse statistics when choosing the extension.

    Notable Cases or Examples

    • (No specific high-profile domain examples or legal cases were provided in the source material.)

    Operator

    Binky Moon, LLC

    Whois

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

domain:       GURU

organisation: Binky Moon, LLC
address:      c/o Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         Vice President, Engineering
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.425.298.2200
fax-no:       +1.425.671.0020
e-mail:       tldadmin@identity.digital

contact:      technical
name:         Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.425.298.2200
fax-no:       +1.425.671.0020
e-mail:       tldtech@identity.digital

nserver:      V0N0.NIC.GURU 2a01:8840:1e:0:0:0:0:36 65.22.28.36
nserver:      V0N1.NIC.GURU 2a01:8840:1f:0:0:0:0:36 65.22.29.36
nserver:      V0N2.NIC.GURU 2a01:8840:20:0:0:0:0:36 65.22.30.36
nserver:      V0N3.NIC.GURU 161.232.14.36 2a01:8840:f8:0:0:0:0:36
nserver:      V2N0.NIC.GURU 2a01:8840:21:0:0:0:0:36 65.22.31.36
nserver:      V2N1.NIC.GURU 161.232.15.36 2a01:8840:f9:0:0:0:0:36
ds-rdata:     35665 8 2 3cc5e1cd14a0f2ded6856c1ec88785a7b9b36d6381263dabfa1ac1646848ce82

whois:        whois.nic.guru

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://www.identity.digital/

created:      2013-10-31
changed:      2023-09-12
source:       IANA

    Registrars