Rev up premium domain model in September — .Co to

More .co domains will be sold at a premium through the domain name registrar channel.

Neustar, the firm that operates the .Co domain name, is drastically expanding its premium domain name program starting September 1.

.Co launched premium domain name sales through the registrar channel back in August 2015 on a very limited basis. Three years later, it is going all in on the model. An expanded tiered pricing program will go into effect September 1, and tens of thousands of domains will be added to premium tiers for domains available directly from domain registrars.

The premium domain model has become popular with fresh top level domain names. As of a couple of years ago, fresh TLD seller donuts was generating $9 million in annual revenue from premium domains, representing 15% of sales. Another fresh TLD firm, Radix, made 10% of its revenue last year just from the renewal of premium domains.

While firms like Donuts and Radix typically charge the premium fee each year, premium .co domain names renew at standard prices.