
The second of the two big global domain name registration reports, the quarterly CENTRstats Global TLD Report for Q4 2022, came out recently with its usual focus on its member European ccTLDs and how domain names across the continent are used. The other major report from Verisign, which I wrote on earlier this week, focusses on total domain registrations around the world. With 52 full and 8 associate members, CENTR’s members are responsible for over 70% of all registered country code top-level domain names worldwide, and 57% of the European domain name market, ccTLDs and gTLDs combined. .com, which accounts for 45.6% of all domain names registered globally, accounts for only a third (32%) in Europe while other gTLDs account for the remaining 11%.
Domain registration trends across Europe, the report finds, have seen high renewal rates maintained, however as the COVID pandemic growth bump that saw more businesses going online, or existing ones launching new products and services, and registering domain names to go with them, has largely subsided. Overall growth rates have now slowed to a 10-year low and a median growth of 1.4%. Despite the slowdown, ccTLDs are for the most part preserving their internal market shares with median rates of 53% based on local registrations and 42% when based on popular website traffic (Google). The CENTR report finds there are an average of 15 domain names registered for every 100 people across Europe.
The average registrar fee for domain names has, as with most other things in life, has increased. In the case of ccTLDs, the registrar fee has increased by 5% to an average of €10.40. As the report notes, it’s not likely to impact businesses, even small businesses, but may impact domain investors. The average registry fee has also increased, on average from €6.00 to €6.30, also a 5% increase.
Usage of domain names tends to be much higher among ccTLDs. Close to half (46%) of all European ccTLD domain names are linked to a developed website while for .com, this figure is much lower (17%). For under-developed domains, that is, those with no web content or are parked, under European ccTLDs this figure is recorded at 54%. This contrasts to 69% in .com and 84% in new gTLDs. The CENTR report highlights five new gTLDs – .church, .studio, .media, .academy and .agency – as performing well relative to all gTLDs with relatively high rates of developed web content whilst maintaining stable renewal rates and growth.
Security is also increasing among European ccTLDs. The CENTR report finds the rate of sites using https has increased by 4% over 2022, from 66% to 70%. Rates of domains with an MX record (an indication of email usage) remained stable at 83%, as did the rate of redirects at 27%.
For more on the European domain name market with a focus on CENTR members ccTLDs, download the CENTRstats Global TLD Report Edition 4/2022 here [pdf] or for an interactive version, click here.