Donuts’ domain name registration base keeps growing.
Donuts sent out a newsletter today that announced it is up to 775,000 domain name registrations.
The mega-registry has released 111 top level domain names in general availability, so that’s an average of roughly 7,000 registrations per TLD.
Frankly, this shows that the “portfolio” registry business is quite good. Scoff all you want at its TLDs with fewer than 5,000 registrations, but this is already a nice little business.
111 released. Let’s say donuts ends up releasing another 111 into GA (which might be a bit high). Double the current number and you get 1.55 million domains. Assume the low end of their wholesale pricing on all domains, around $15 per year. That’s $23.25 million in annual revenue.
Remember that .Co sold for over $100 million with just over 1.55 million domains. An exit like that probably wouldn’t create a return for shareholders, so the company needs to do much better than 1.55 million registrations.
Also note that the numbers above ignore Domain Protected Marks, sunrise, landrush, premium pricing, etc.
Donuts is banking on growing demand over time. Whether that’s from a slow trickle of registrations or a second wind, it’s likely that its numbers will continue to move upward as these TLDs are on market.
Of course, the elephant in the room is what renewal rates are over the next couple years.
adam says
But if you divide the total estimated domains (222) by 23 million then you only get around $100,000/yr per TLD. Many of those TLDs cost 20-30x that number.
Andrew Allemann says
The majority cost them just the regular fee of around $185k. Plus they have overhead and such, but keep in mind they’re recovering a lot of that through premium domains, eap, etc.
They also get paid off on some domains they lose.
Your point is valid, though, and I doubt Donuts will consider itself a success if it only has 1.55 million domains registered a couple years from now.
Their domains haven’t been out long. A lot of them are still growing by dozens or hundreds a day with no signs of slowing down. As more people become aware of new TLDs I expect them to blow past the 1.55 million number.
Unless renewal rates suck.
couponpages says
“Of course, the elephant in the room is what renewal rates are over the next couple years.”
That’s an understatement. For .xyz, it’s like a herd of elephants.
With Network Solutions ridiculous .xyz opt-out concept, they pushed countless domains on people who didn’t even ask for them.
In exactly a year, a huge percentage of those domains will not get renewed, unless they somehow brainwash them that they need them to protect their identity. Brainless.
I’ve always hated the way registrars duped people into thinking they needed alternate registrations to “Protect their online identity”. This is the first time they pro-actively did it.
With every .com registration, they continue to scam people into getting same exact name as .net, .info, .cc, .ws, etc… for what?… To prevent somebody from building using the same name as you? Why should anyone care? In the end, the volume registrations under those other extensions was an inflated pile of duplicated names that went nowhere.
In fact, I make it a point NOT to buy alternate versions of my .Coms as .net or something else, specifically HOPING somebody bought them… and succeeds at making it big. That only increased my chances of people finding my .Com version.
What I don’t understand is the approval of new TLDs that are so similar that it’s almost as if they created them specifically to make you buy both, to cover yourself against typos.
Case in point, there are applications for:
.Accountant and .Accountants
.Realtor, .Realty and .RealEstate
.Shop and .Shopping
.Tech and .Technology
.Photo, .Photography, .Pic, and .Pictures
.Coupon and .Coupons
.Property and .Properties
.Law, .Lawyer, .Esq, and .Legal
etc….
It’s pointless to have singular and plural versions of the same word, and for abbreviated and alternate versions in the same genre. They are simply trying to dupe people into buying all of the variations.
What we will end up with is a massive number of domains that are simply aliases of other domains.
Joseph Peterson says
@couponpages,
Some TLDs do seem to multiply problems / risks / costs for the registrant more than they add real benefits.
couponpages says
I agree.
Among other things, if somebody builds a commercial site using one of the newer TLDs, they will likely need to pay more to promote it to the general public, who have never heard of these new TLDs.
Plus there are so many overlapping new TLDs it creates an environment where somebody who invests in building a real site on .coupon but doesn’t grab .coupons risks wasting money on offline advertising that only sends customers to their competition, or to the .com version.
I’ve been banking on that when .coupon and .coupons come out. While it may be desirable for somebody to buy baby.coupons for example, it will just drive traffic to babycoupons.com.
I’m also concerned by the way the Registries & Registrars now create a list of “Premium” priced names, effectively removing the original first come first served model.
Registrars like GoDaddy not only charge a premium to “move ahead of the line”, they charge a premium of over $12,000 to give you a “chance” to get it as soon as it comes out. Even worse, their fee for priority registration is not refunded if you don’t get it, just the portion that paid for the registration itself.
I promised myself I wouldn’t pay any of these extra priority registration fees, and just do hand registrations, but I ended up paying several thousand total for a handful, simply because I wanted some.
I hate that I caved in, chances are those domains will never have any value.
Joseph Peterson says
One issue that bothers me when it comes to related pairs or groups of new TLDs is that they are launched in a staggered fashion. With no ownership or priority applicant rights subsisting between the individual extensions, this pattern of releases exposes owners to greater risk.
If a person pays a premium to register some string in .NOVELTY today, then the registry subsequently releasing .NOVELTIES can (and probably will) raise its prices for the matching domain.
We’re not talking peanuts either. Early access might cost $12,000. And renewal fees for individual domains are frequently adjusted upward by the registries to $7,000 per year Paying up once broadcasts signals to others that you’re too deeply invested not to pay up again.
couponpages says
It boggles the mind that they even have pairs like that in the first place.
It’s bad enough that they have synonyms like .Lawyer and .Attorney, but singular and plural versions are a complete joke.
When two or more variations of a TLD were proposed, the ICANN should’ve awarded just one. Part of the decision process should’ve also been to decide which variation was best…. singular, plural, abbreviated, etc.
Joseph Peterson says
100% agree. That situation with the new TLD program ought never to have been permitted.
What’s done is done, though.
Now, how to survive in a domain landscape where such land mines are the reality?
couponpages says
I think the only strategy is to either be all-in… and buy some (at non-premium prices) that have the best chance of at least be worth what you pay for them in a couple of years… or completely ignore most of them hedge your investments by looking for .coms that will directly compete with the popular new TLDs.
For example, if you buy “boatingreviews.com”, instead of “boating.reviews”, you have a potential gain whether .reviews catches on or not. If .reviews catches on, boatingreviews.com will increase… if .reviews never gains traction, boatingreviews.com becomes the clear choice for somebody doing boating reviews.
Joseph Peterson says
@couponpages,
I doubt there’s a single, one-size-fits-all answer.
Your assessment does make sense for many cases. It would partly depend on the cost and status of BoatingReviews.com (to use your example). And matters could also be affected by who controls the similar nTLD domains.
There are also widely divergent strategies depending on who the domain investor or end user is.
In some cases, buying the nTLD may make sense. In other cases, buying the .COM is clearly better. In other cases, a person needs to bank on getting both or else ignore the pair. And frequently I tell clients to avoid domains — regardless of TLD — that share a keyword with one of the new extensions.
couponpages says
Agreed. There is definitely no one-size-fits-all answer, which is why I gave two different strategies. In hindsight, my paragraph breaks didn’t make it clear.
For those who think the nTLDs are a good investment, I suggested going all-in, and stockpile them while good cheap hand registrations are plentiful.
For those who think nTLDs are not going to succeed, I suggested not only ignoring the nTLDs, but buying .coms that directly compete with the new ones.
I’ve done a bit of both. I grabbed a handful of nTLDs that I thought I may flip in a few years, some that I may develop and some that could get a quick flip.
While I didn’t buy any .coms that directly compete with the nTLDs head on, such as “BoatingReviews.com”, I still think it’s an easy investment that has the potential to increase in value. I’m mainly holding on to my older ones.
I’m curious why you wouldn’t want a .com that shares a keyword with the new extensions.
For example… if you owned “BoatingReviews.Com”, then didn’t buy “Boating.Reviews”… would that be a bad thing? If so, what are the risks?
Here’s the three scenarios:
1. You buy “BoatingReviews.Com”… NOT “Boating.Reviews”
If the .Reviews site advertises heavily and becomes a mega hit… Your BoatingReviews.Com will likely get lots of traffic for free, and the .Reviews company will likely make you and offer to buy it.
if the .Reviews site fails… You still win.
2. You buy “Boating.Reviews” …. Not “BoatingReviews.Com”
If you advertise heavily and it becomes a hit… You will likely also help whomever owns the .Com… I’m sure he won’t thank you, but you both are kinda happy. Personally, If my .Reviews version was a hit, I’d end up buying the .Com guy out.
If the .Reviews site fails… the .Com guy will likely be flat… neither helped or hurt by you, unless you paid a lot to advertise… then he’ll gain some traffic.
3. You buy “BoatingReviews.Com” AND “Boating.Reviews”
If you own both, you may win… you may lose, but if you had both, which would you actively advertise? Most likely the .Com.
Joseph Peterson says
@couponpages,
In circumstances where I advise clients to avoid keyword overlaps with new extensions, my rationale generally involves (1) brand uniqueness, (2) acquisitions efficiency, (3) lowered cost / risk / maintenance olbigations.
The case of .REVIEWS may not be the best illustration, since “reviews” is a word actually searched for. Instead, think of, let’s say, all the cheap newer websites that may be built on .NINJAs or .GURUs or .EXPERTs or .VENTURESs or .HOLDINGSs or .MEDIAs or .ENTERPRISESs or what have you.
In my opinion, the new TLD rollout tends to cheapen such terms by increasing supply and — to the extent that anyone develops such domains — by associating the keywords with websites having shallower roots.
My clients are better served if their brand identity stands apart.
Also, the headache of scooping up matching .COMs and nTLDs is best avoided where it adds nothing of real value. Sometimes, it’s genuinely worth pursuing multiple domains for the sake of one brand. But if it isn’t, then don’t.
Directly competing websites with similar brand names may shift traffic one way or another, as you describe. And it can help on person — also as you describe. But it can also embroil a domain owner in UDRPs or other legal issues. And if one person benefits, the other guy may lose traffic, overpay in advertising costs, or face a complicated and expensive domain acquisition.
“Reviews” is a desirable keyword. Certain end users may not want to avoid a term like that. But no startup NEEDS to brand itself as a .GURU or a .VENTURES. Carving out a more unique brand identity is often better in every way.
So that’s what I mean when I advise some clients to avoid keywords that overlap with new keyword TLDs.
There are other reasons as well that I won’t get into. I could probably keep going for 50 pages without stopping. So I’ll stop.
couponpages says
It brings us back to the original idea that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to domains.
I think the need to have brand uniqueness can only come from truly unique words or combinations, regardless of which TLD you are considering.
As such, I would still buy the .com versions of all the example nTLDs you mentioned because they are still today’s gold standard. So, I wouldn’t hesitate in a second to have FishingGuru.com and not bother or worry about somebody getting Fishing.Guru… and I definitely wouldn’t fear a UDRP fight from whomever ends up registering Fishing Guru as a Trademark, as long as there wasn’t already a Fishing Guru Trademark holder.
With Trademarks, first use in trade trumps filing date, so as long you get fishingguru.com before anyone registers fishing.guru… you win.
Other than the GoDaddy automation snafu, I’ve faced 3 or 4 Trademark issues over my domains, and I’ve won all of them without paying a cent. In fact, one of the biggest Trademark law firms in the country Greenberg Traurig once FedExed a 10 day order for me to not only surrender CouponsOnline.Com to their client who had a Trademark, the company that filed the complaint had apparently registered that specific domain in anticipation for a startup and forgot to renew it… and I grabbed it…. yet I spent exactly $1 to successfully defend myself, and keep the domaiin. The cost of postage.
Jason says
I totally agree with you both. I’ve purchased a few new Gltds to keep for a few years to see what may happen?
.COM will most definitely be sort after as always when other extensions are purchased.
Great reading guys.
Cheers,
Jase NZ