Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
- What is the meaning of .4U.com? What is .4U.com in a web address?
- .4U.com vs. .com, what’s the difference? .4U.com vs. .NET, .4U.com vs. .ORG.
- What is the most valuable domain extension (TLD)?
- I have a .com domain, why should I get a .4U.com domain vs. any other domain name extension (TLD)?
- Does .4U.com rank on search engines the same way as .com?
- Can I switch my current domain to .4U.com?
- Who is the registrar for .4U.com?
Registrars & Resellers
- What is the difference between a .4U.com Reseller and .4U.com Accredited Registrar?
- How can I become a .4U.com Accredited Registrar?
- How do I become a .4U.com Reseller?
- Why does the .4U.com Registry require Accredited Registrar candidates to submit an RFP and Marketing Plan?
- What kinds of things should I consider when deciding which .4U.com Accredited Registrar partner to work with?
- How should .4U.com domains be marketed to the general public?
What does .4U.com mean (suffix)? What is the meaning of .4U.com? What is .4U.com in a web address?
Every website lives within a domain space such as .com, .net, .biz and others. Introduced to satisfy the need for short and memorable web addresses, .4U.com is a new domain extension that offers additional .com names and a global option for branding your online presence.
.4U is already meaningful and recognizable in multiple languages and cultures.
- It’s the acronym for “for you”. For most people1, the two letters – 4U – are recognized as meaning it’s personalized service provided by your company and/or corporation across the globe. Look around or “Google” and you’ll see that someone is already using the characters 4U in that context.
.4U.com vs. .com, what’s the difference? .4U.com vs. .NET, .4U.com vs. .ORG.
The .com domain is the legacy domain extension with more than 200 million registrations. Stick with .com if you can find the right .com name “for you”. .4U.com on the other hand is more personal, fresh, social, and… it’s available! With an increasing number of people web browsing on mobile devices, the need for short and memorable web addresses has never been so important. In essence, if you want something innovative and cutting edge, go to find your .4U.com.
Domain extensions like .info, .mobi, .org and .tv enjoy specific niche markets, which is great if that is what you need for your online branding. .4U.com is different in that it brings a personal meaning and, it is not niche specific.
.4U.com is registered just like all the other domain extensions. You can get it from https://www.encirca.com/4u/ for one year or multiple years in advance. As long as you renew your .4U.com web address, it’s yours to keep.
Premium .4U.com domain names are available to purchase.
What is the most valuable domain extension (TLD)?
Obviously, the .com is the number one domain extension, which is why it’s so common and why it’s often already registered.
Of course, at the end of the day, what you want is an extension that ends with .com. By getting a .4U.com extension, you personalize your domain and at the same time get the ranking benefits to SEO in terms of authority.
That said, the number one option for a new domain is another .com name with .4U.com
I have a .com domain, why should I get a .4U.com domain vs. any other domain name extension (TLD)?
Owning the classic .com was the right thing to do. Two reasons:
- People are more familiar with .com domains than with any other extension. Other TLD’s are not as memorable as a .com TLD.
- The .com TLD is used by ~57% of all websites, data says. Can they all be wrong?
Now, you want to expand your business, or you have new product lines for which you seek domain names, and you find that the perfect .com is taken. Now, you may be able to get that name at the 4U.com registry.
When you start using goofy top level domains, you start running into issues. So much of the Internet-using population is used to the traditional .com that anything strange is going to throw them for a loop.
With .4U.com you get the benefit of making your web site more personal and you can link it to your established .com domain without creating any confusion.
Does .4U.com rank on search engines the same way as .com?
Yes, it sure does! Google has specifically labeled .4U.com as a generic domain extension (“gccTLD” to be exact) and that means your site is given equal treatment in their search result pages assuming you have quality content.
Check out our section about .4U.com and SEO for more information.
Can I switch my current domain to .4U.com?
It’s fairly simple and your search engine rankings will not be affected. Just make sure to implement 301 redirects appropriately. Check out the section on how to find your .4U.com.
With a .4U.com your website will become part of the top tier level domains. The high tier domains are the most valuable for use in marketing, search, and website optimization.
Domains ending in .com are recognizable, they’re common, and they have benefits to SEO in terms of authority.
Who is the registrar for .4U.com?
Encirca.com is the registrar/reseller for .4U.com domain names.
https://www.encirca.com/4u/
Why .4u.com?
The .com TLD represents more than half of all globally registered domain names, and is by far the most sought-after real estate on the web. Simply put, in the world of real estate, location equals value. The better the location the greater the value. However, most of the simple names and keywords in the .com domain have already been registered.
While the critical need for .com domain names is accelerating, the number of desirable names continues to shrink. Now, there is another option: 4U.com.
All domains are in the form of “example.4u.com”. 4U.com domain names work just like regular .com domain names and can be used for websites and email.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a unique word or phrase in a particular format that allows people to find information on the Internet. The Domain Name System (DNS) maps domain names to servers where the content resides, based on each server’s Internet Protocol (IP) address (for example, 192.0.2.53 or 2001:503:A83:0:0:2:30). Instead of searching for information by IP address, a domain name allows people to search for Web sites and send email using familiar, easy to remember names.
What is a registrant?
Registrants are people or organizations that would like to register and use a domain name.
What is a registrar?
Registrars provide domain name registration services directly to registrants such as helping them find, register, renew, and delete domain names. They send the information to the registry for entry into the centralized registry database, WHOIS. Accredited Registrars of .4U.com Internet are those registrars that have executed an Administrator-Registry Agreement (ARA) with .4U.com Internet or are a reseller of an accredited registrar.
What is an Internet domain name registry?
For the Internet to function and to prevent duplication of web addresses there has to be one authoritative place to register a domain name. Each TLD has an authoritative registry, which manages a centralized database. The registry inputs the information about domain names in TLD zone files to enable communication over the Internet for applications like credit card processing, bank transactions as well as Web browsing and email. A registry provides direct service to registrars who provide direct service to domain name registrants.
Who can register .4U.com domains?
You can! .4U.com has liberal registration policies following international best practices. Anyone in the world can register and transfer .4U.com domains — with no burdensome documentation requirements. Any registrant in the world can create their opportunity and have more choice in branding online by securing short, memorable and global .4U.com domain names.
What is an affiliate program? How does it work?
An affiliate program is a profit sharing program where the affiliate refers traffic to another merchant’s website in exchange for referral commissions. When a visitor to your site (the Customer) clicks on the affiliate link to our site and completes a purchase through one of our retailers, you get a commission!
How much commission do I make?
Affiliates get paid a percentage of the Average Wholesale Fee that .4U.com earns from its network of Retailers. We earn a different fee from each retailer, each month, based on negotiated marketing agreements, volume discounts, promotions, etc. The standard commission rate to affiliates is 40%.
How much time does a visitor have to make a purchase after clicking on my affiliate link?
A visitor has 30 days to complete their purchase for you to receive a commission from the program. If the visitor clicks on another affiliate or tracking link during this time, the commission will be awarded to the new referrer.
What about product returns?
If the purchase of a .4U.com domain name is refunded, either by a customer return or credit card dispute/fraud, your account will be debited for any commission earned on that transaction.
Do I need to have any technical skills?
Affiliates must be able to copy and paste HTML or JavaScript code and place it accurately within the code of their Web page(s).
What is the difference between a .4U.com Reseller and .4U.com Accredited Registrar?
A .4U.com Reseller holds a contract with a .4U.com Accredited Registrar partner. A .4U.com Accredited Registrar holds a contract directly with .4U.com Internet. Many resellers choose to sell .4U.com domains (or other domain name products) through an Accredited Registrar due to implementation, contractual, insurance or financial requirements, among others. Although many resellers are not accredited directly with the registry, they are legitimate businesses to register domain names due to their contract with their Accredited Registrar partner.
How can I become a .4U.com Accredited Registrar?
In an effort to increase strategic and regional partnerships and to strengthen the .4U.com brand, the .4U.com Registry has expanded its Accredited Registrar base.
Due to limitations imposed by governing policy, and an effort to ensure .4U.com remains a premium name space, the .4U.com Registry launched a measured approach to Registrar Accreditation. As of July 2013, the re-opening of the Accreditation Process includes the submission of an RFP as well as standard contractual and technical requirements. More information regarding the Accreditation Process may be found on our website at .4U.com Registrar Accreditation or by contacting Accreditation@4U.com.
Becoming a .4U.com Accredited Registrar is not the only way to offer the .4U.com domain to your customers and clients. A simpler and easy to set-up alternative is to become a reseller of one of the .4U.com Accredited Registrars. Please see Become a Reseller for more information on becoming a reseller.
How do I become a .4U.com Reseller?
You can become a .4U.com Reseller by partnering with a .4U.com Accredited Registrar. Each .4U.com Accredited Registrar has its own policies for working with resellers. We encourage you to reach out to the listed Accredited Registrars to discuss and negotiate the best fit to suit the needs of your business and your customers. A list of the .4U.com Accredited Registrars that offer reseller services may be found at here.
.4U.com Resellers are still required to maintain the marketing standards of the .4U.com brand. All resellers have the ability to access marketing materials and collateral by contacting Partners@4U.com.
Why does the .4U.com Registry require Accredited Registrar candidates to submit an RFP and Marketing Plan?
The Request for Proposal (RFP) process has been designed to identify the best strategic partnerships to help strengthen the .4U.com marketing position both in regional markets as well as different business verticals. The RFP is intended to provide a transparent and reliable mechanism for accreditation, beyond the standard ICANN contractual and technical requirements.
What kinds of things should I consider when deciding which .4U.com Accredited Registrar partner to work with?
Each .4U.com Accredited Registrar has different features and benefits for working with resellers, and you will want to familiarize yourself with their respective product and service offerings. You will also want to reach out to these partners to negotiate the terms that make the most sense for you and your business.
It is important to consider that not every Accredited Registrar is participating in all aspects of .4U.com domain name sales. For example, only some of the Accredited Registrar partners are supporting third level sales of .4U.comm.4U.com, .net.4U.com and .nom.4U.com on a global basis, in addition to second level .4U.com sales. There are also factors such as Internationalized Domain Name sales to consider. Please be sure that the partner you pick to work with will be supporting the needs of .4U.com domain name sales that are most important to your business and customers.
How should .4U.com domains be marketed to the general public?
Based on newly liberalized policies, established in consultation with the local Internet community, the new second level .4U.com domain space should be marketed as an “open-ccTLD” or “quasi- gtld”, and is made available to registrants around the world to signal a globally relevant business, commercial and/or other interest or presence. .4U.com in the second level offers a truly global, recognizable and credible domain name for individuals and organizations to build their businesses and brands.
Third level domains will continue to be marketed to signal a locally relevant business, commercial and/or other interest or presence. The trusted and recognized third level .4U.com domains will now enjoy newly liberalized registration requirements; broad, global distribution; far lower pricing; and a host of product and service enhancements.