Registry sees sharp domain registration growth (again).
.Com and .net registry VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) estimates there are 162 million domain names registered across all TLDs as of the end of Q1 2008. In the company’s latest Domain Name Industry Brief (pdf), the company says new registrations increased 17% compared to the previous quarter, although the overall base of domains grew only 6%.
Other interesting news:
-.Net is no longer the third most popular domain name. .Cn (China) edged it out, perhaps due to its dirt cheap pricing. .Com and .De remained number one and two respectively.
-A number of ccTLDs grew by double digits this quarter, including .pl. VeriSign attributes Poland’s jump to additional services the registry launched that encourage investment in domain names and help with the aftermarket. Indeed, the .pl registry had a booth at TRAFFIC Orlando, which shows they are serious about domain investors. Other ccTLDs grew due to relaxed registration requirements (.es Spain, .fr France) and growing internet use (.ru Russia)
-VeriSign estimated 8%-10% of all domains currently registered were registered for domain parking purposes.
Not sure which registrars are being run by Verisign. My guess is that they are a relatively small percentage of this increase in domain registrations. Then again, Mom and Pop probably use whichever registrar comes up first in search engine results.
VeriSign doesn’t run any registrars. They run the .com and .net registries. They essentially “wholesale” .com/.net domain names to registrars.