Dive Brief:

• Google has purchased the .app domain, the most expensive in history.
• The search giant purchased the domain for $25 million from ICANN, the organization that controls the world's domain names—beating out Amazon, Minds+Machines, and Radix.
• The domain .app will join Google's other domain purchases of .soy, .how, and .minna. It also plans to purchase .dad, .eat. here, and .new. 

Dive Insight: 

Google isn't alone in snatching up domain name purchases—Amazon has acquired .buy and .spot. Although Google didn't specify its intentions for the .app buy, it's clear that it could help the search giant in growing its mobile app business. It's too early in the game to know how important the alternate web domains will be specifically to marketing, but given how fast trends emerge online these days, the new domains should at least be on a marketer's radar. Google is likely just staking its claim for the inevitable.