VeriSign has just put out its quarterly report on the web domain industry stating that there are now just about 183 million domain names in existence. This represents a 3% increase from last quarter and a 12% increase from last year. But perhaps most interesting is the slight turnaround that has taken place in the all-important .com/.net section of the industry.
The fourth quarter of the year is traditionally a slow one for .com and .net registrations, but the whole of 2008 was particularly slow, at least partially due to the “current macro-economic environment,” according to the report. But Q1 2009 saw those numbers turn around:
New .com and .net registrations were added at an average of approximately 2.4 million per month in the first quarter of 2009 for a total of 7.3 million new registrations in the quarter. This 17 percent increase from the previous quarter also marked the first positive growth rate in new registrations since the first quarter of 2008.
Also interesting is that domain renewals turned around for the first time in a few years. Beginning in Q1 2007, .com and .net renewal rates began declining from a Q4 2006 peak of 77%. That decline continued through Q4 2008, when the renewal number reached a low of 70%. But Q1 2009 brought the first uptick in the number (71%) in over 2 years.
So after a small depression, things appear to be looking up for .com domains once again. But that growth looks fairly minimal when compared to ccTLD (Country Code Top Level Domains). Those are the domains that end in things like .cn (China) and .de (Germany), representing countries. While .com is still far and away the biggest domain, .cn and .de have both surpassed .net for the number 2 and 3 spots on the list, respectively.
You can find a lot more data in the full PDF report here.
There are still sooo many cool .coms out there. Get creative. Mix 2 random words together.
No need to get all .info/.ws on us.
I think .cn domain boom came because few month back Name.com started selling them for as little as $0.25 for few days which made many people go crazy(mainly spammers). :/
http://www.smartbloggerz.com
GoDrops.com is a great service that finds recently expired domain names that are available for purchase (not sniping domains) I’ve used it to buy a couple gems
A couple months ago I saw MentalHealthDept.com drop – that would’ve made a FUN email address to have =)
I’ve always used JustDropped.com. It costs a few bucks for couple hundred searches, but it’s helped me find great domains and works nicely.
Seriously if you are going to spam please take the time to do it properly… first off embed the link beneath your name… and secondly don’t kiss ass so openly… 3rdly don’t spam some ugly, grosse looking site.. it is like bragging you did the fat girl at the bar.. we all have done it.. but most of us don’t brag about it.. that site is trippy.. and really how good can a site be that doesn’t bother to have a firefox favicon…
You only get one chance at a first impression and your buggy site just ruined it for me. You can’t make a bigger mistake than pushing something before its good IMO.
I think people are taking a chance and starting online businesses due to the simple fact that although the situation with the economy is bad, consumers still need to make purchases. And it’s a lot easier [and cheaper] to make those purchases from the comfort of your own home. Consumers would definitely be able to save time and money, especially when it comes to filling up at the gas tank.
The most intereting factoid was the 17% jump in 1Q registrations for .com and .net, which are more likely to be connected to businesses than domain parking schemes. Here’s more: http://bit.ly/5WJ5x
ccTLDs are where it’s at right now. Renewals are up because domain tasting was eliminated just a few months ago. Also Verisign raised the price of the dot com up another dollar for the second consecutive year. If they continue this pace you will be paying at least $9.00 per registration. Verisign is not regulated by anyone and can change their pricing at any moment.
Meanwhile the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet will hold a congressional hearing tomorrow about the future of ICANN and the U.S. government’s involvement.
Not all that surprising.
Shutting down of yahoo geocities is also a great factor here.
I think part of the reason for the increase is because so many people are now domaining as part of their online business.
damn those domain squatters.
I say tax them to death, raise domain registration fees by 10000%. It’s horrible what those people do to small startups who try to find a domain name for their site. just horrible
On a similar topic, does anybody have any advice on how to approach making an offer to buy a domain from someone that’s holding a domain, but not using it? There are a few that have sat dormant for awhile that I’m interested in buying …. but not sure about the best way to approach the current owner.
Just talk to the guy?
Dave check out this article with some suggestions/tips : http://xr.com/domainbuying
remember, if the name is any good, the person has likely received dozens of offers/inquiries already. They likely will ignore a repeat performance. If you are serious make your offer standout. Also, if the name is “parked” it likely is “doing something” . . . Parked pages make money.
Good luck
I wonder what *Locator.com has to say about this.
between the rising registrations in a recession to the default .com tab on the iphone, combined with a pressure on all digital media to get its act together….i would say things are looking better every single day.
RegisterLocator.com – cybersleuths
What he would say is what he would always say:
“blah blah blah. I know everything. hear me opine about that which I know nothing. listen to me make an asshole out of myself”
and then he would come up with a really clever:
shitelocator.com — what they call me in Great Britain
I think this is relevant information; however, I think the current aftermarket trends are even more interesting. It seems like end users are really starting to grasp the value of a GOOD domain as opposed to one that my be available for registration. Basically, people are seeing that spending $500 on a good domain is a whole lot better then spending the same on 50. Best part is you only have to renew one domain.
Thanks TechCrunch for covering the domain industry regularly. It’s an important part of the internet infrastructure and certainly deserves coverage on the major tech blogs.
I’m working in the domain registrar business since 2002 now and despite the promising figures in Verisign’s report there are some fundamental problems in our industry. First of all, the lack of innovation from both registries and registrars. Most of their offerings are targeted at the secondary market, domainers and brand owners instead of the actual internet user. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an important part of the domain eco-system but in my opinion they simply tend to forget the end user. Secondly, the dodgy practices of some registrars like selling lists of deleted domains or front-running which has caused mistrust and confusion amongst many users in the past few years. I don’t know how many people I’ve seen on Twitter asking for a registrar they can trust. And last but not least the horrible user experience that most sites related to the domain industry offer. It seems like they all missed how the web has evolved in the last couple of years while domain tasting and parking filled their pockets.
But there is also hope. The recently launched .TEL extension and services like http://chi.mp, http://hover.com or our http://iwantmyname.com show that there are at least some companies who think about how you can connect Web 2.0 technologies with domain names. Keep up the good work guys!
Timo, I couldn’t agree more
The whole domain industry seems to have lost sight of the purpose of the domain space – to provide tools for businesses and consumers to buy/sell/promote services and useful trade. Not to make as much money as possible out of privileged access to domain information.
Some registrars in the industry really are adding to the domain pollution with vast numbers of parked and advertised domains some of which they own themselves. Extraordinary.
The industry needs to take a longer term stewardship approach to the domain space.
Is it a good thing if the number of registered .com’s are increasing, if they are just ad sites?
Unfortunately putting domains back in the pool doesn’t make sales growth look good and takes income away from the registrars and registries. Not surprising then that they’re not rushing to do it.
I agree with Domain Systems. Alot of people are finally getting on the web because of costs of owning a reg B&M. And also people are getting back into the whole drop ship thing. People are more willing to try something new.
I myself recently let go, cash out on some stocks and brought me a website. Its doing okay esp. since I dont know Jack Shiit about blogging.
PR 2 / Alexa 2.8m ( 1 mos.)
Hopefully my website can continue to push forward and go strong because I have alot of plans for it.
Oh and I cashed out not to just buy a domain but to fund my philanthropy on my website.
Nice article about the increase of registrations of domain names, but what’s the reason behind it?
Who are these people registering?
- Companies that are registering additional domain names?
- New companies that had no domain name previously?
- People who want to start a company?
- Personal domain names?
i use growthbubble.com
Many big internet services closed down (including Yahoo 360 and Geocites) leads to this fact, imo!
I think many of us who already blog, have ecommerce sites, etc are registering multiple domain names for the same business such as .org, .biz, .TV, etc. We are also constantly starting new spinoffs and blogs. I have six domain names and three websites alone. Many people have much, much
more.
Judging from my experience in our state, domain registration is “UP” because NASTY business competitors are trying to steal business identities by registering ever possible variation of a competitors name so they can steal business and pretend to be either in that city or be that person. I think it has gone to far, and someone needs to put a stop to it! I am not a tech person, but a business person and I can assure you that in the floral industry it has become a ridiculous fiasco! It is not only harming our industry in general, but cause frustration and confusion to the consumer! Of course, I have no solution since I am not a tech person, but someone, should certainly pay attention to the problem. I’m sure it is not just the floral industry having issues, but business in general that use the internet for advertising.
I use http://car2be.com