The World Wide Web has changed the way we do business. Only 20 years ago, few could have envisioned this technology would have such an impact on the way businesses communicate with each other, their customers, their investors, and their vendors. Most organizations now have a Web site and if they don’t, they are considering some sort of web presence in the future.

The Web has also effected the way organizations brand themselves. The web’s ubiquity and ability to break down geographical boundaries, makes it more important for organizations to distinguish themselves online. One of the most effective ways to stand out from the crowd is through your web address, or url. A url should uphold the tenants of effective branding—it should strive to be relevant, memorable, tangible, timeless, and important. Though an organization’s name would appear to be the most obvious choice, there are other conventions for choosing a url—attaching a geographic area (bostoncarpetcleaning.com) and using a descriptor (carpet-cleaner.com) are just a couple options.

Recently the options of choosing a url have increased to allow numerals. Organizations now have millions more opportunities to secure an effective url by including number and letter combinations. Adding a numeral into a url is another way to extend your brand and stand out from your competition.

In the coming year, organizations will have the ability to purchase a unique suffix. Instead of having .com, .org, or .edu; companies can have .anything. Though this is coming at a hefty cost—$185,000 plus a yearly maintenance fee of $75,000—companies willing to pay the price will have the opportunity to set themselves apart and own a unique suffix. These changes will continue the evolution of the Web, will set a new precedent for the way organizations market themselves online, and will affect the way enterprises brand themselves in the future.