Google Buys TLD “.App” For $25 Million In Record-Breaking ICANN Auction

Google outbid companies like Amazon.com for exclusive rights to the top level domain.

Amy Gesenhues on February 27, 2015 at 9:36 am

This week’s ICANN auction resulted in the largest amount ever paid for a TLD when Google purchased .app for a record-breaking $25 million.

According to a DomainNameWire.com report, twelve companies were bidding for the domain name during ICANN’s auction on Wednesday, with Google eventually out-bidding other applicants, including Amazon.com, Minds + Machines and Radix.

The .app domain name is a natural fit with the Google Play Store now that Google is an official domain registrar. The company opened its domain services to all users last month, after launching its invite-only domain service in June of last year.

Sounding a bit slap-happy about the winning bid, a Google spokesperson told Business Insider, “”We’ve been excited and curious about the potential for new TLDs for .soy long. We are very .app-y with .how, at a .minna-mum, they have the potential to .foo-ward internet innovation.”

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.