Rachel Sterling: Marketing the Invisible Internet

In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Rachel Sterling, CMO of Identity Digital, the world's largest domain registry operating nearly 300 top-level domains. Rachel comes to this role with deep roots in Big Tech — including a long tenure at Google and a stint at YouTube managing GDPR compliance — but now occupies a deliberately invisible corner of the internet: the infrastructure layer that makes online identity possible. What makes this conversation so compelling is how Rachel translates the abstract (domain registries, ICANN, agentic search) into a concrete, evolving marketing playbook. In an era where AI is flooding content discovery channels and eroding the click-based performance model marketers have relied on for a decade, Rachel is building a new framework — one centered on multi-audience content architecture, domain relevancy as an AI discoverability signal, and the embedded commerce opportunity now unfolding inside vibe-coding platforms and website builders.Topics Discussed:Why domains are becoming the trust anchor for online identity in an AI-saturated worldHow the .IO and .AI country code story reveals the gap between perceived and actual internet infrastructureWhat the ICANN "Next Round" (opened April 30th) means for the domain registry businessThe B2B2C content architecture Identity Digital uses to reach registrars, channel partners, and end users simultaneouslyLessons For B2B Tech Marketers:Rethink what your domain signals in the age of AI search. Rachel's core thesis is that when generative AI surfaces a blurb about your company in search results, the user may never actually visit your site. That means your domain now has to do a heavier branding lift than ever before. Choosing a top-level domain that extracts relevancy from both sides of the dot — the name and the extension — improves discoverability in agentic search results, not just in traditional SEO. For B2B companies, this is a positioning decision hiding in plain sight.Build content architecture for multiple distinct audiences, not one monolithic funnel. Identity Digital doesn't sell directly to end users — they sell to registrars, who sell to customers. Rachel's content strategy reflects that explicitly: one content layer for channel partners like Squarespace, GoDaddy, and Namecheap to activate their TLDs; a second layer for the registrars themselves as B2B partners; a third for direct customer merchandising through Name.com. Most B2B marketers treat their content as a single funnel. Rachel structures it as three separate, audience-specific programs running in parallel.Find your embedded distribution channel before competitors do. Rachel identified a behavioral shift that most domain registries missed: customers no longer search for "how do I buy a domain?" — they search for "how do I build a website?" and expect a domain to be available inside that workflow. Identity Digital's response is an API at name.com that lets vibe-coding platforms and website builders offer domain purchases natively, removing the DNS friction that historically killed conversions. The analogy to embedded fintech is exact — and the window to own this channel is now.//Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.ioThe Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co//Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire — Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM