By registration volume? No. But that’s not the only measure.
We often see the expression “.com is king” which usually refers to the situation in the United States. Sometimes I also see this term used inside China. But is .com really No. 1 in China?
Well, it depends on how you interpret the expression. If you look at the number of domain registrations in China, then definitely .com is not No. 1. The following table lists the .cn and .com domain registrations in the last 15 years, according to China Statistical Report on Internet Development.
Year | .cn | .com |
---|---|---|
2005 | 1,096,924 | 1,202,497 |
2006 | 1,803,393 | 1,939,343 |
2007 | 9,002,000 | 2,436,000 |
2008 | 13,572,326 | 2,739,130 |
2009 | 13,459,133 | 2,783,652 |
2010 | 4,349,524 | 3,713,244 |
2011 | 3,644,147 | 3,528,511 |
2012 | 7,507,759 | 4,834,690 |
2013 | 10,829,480 | 6,311,480 |
2014 | 11,089,231 | 7,949,939 |
2015 | 16,363,594 | 10,997,941 |
2016 | 20,601,491 | 14,345,243 |
2017 | 20,845,513 | 11,307,915 |
2018 | 21,243,478 | 12,783,290 |
2019 | 22,426,900 | 14,924,706 |
By registration volume, .com was No. 1 only in 2005 and 2006. After that, .cn has always been No. 1 . Currently, .cn is 1.5 times of .com. So, .com is not king by registration volume.
However, if you look at extensions preferred by corporate China, the situation is the opposite. For example, over 80% of corporate domains of the Top 100 internet companies in China use .com.
Year | .cn | .com |
---|---|---|
2018 | 13% | 86% |
2019 | 14% | 84% |
Corporate demand is where you get the highest prices for domains. For example, Mi.com was sold to Xiaomi for $3.6 million in 2014 and 360.com to Qihoo 360 for $17 million in 2015. In other words, .com is No. 1 by price.
It’s safe to say that bigger companies in China prefer .com and .com domains command a higher price.
Wes Watson says
i know this .cn will never be king in the USA and thats all that matters!
Kassey Lee says
Agreed. No other country extension has succeeded in the U.S.
Michael Anthony Castello says
English is the language of commerce and .com is the brand of the internet. Perception in business should be neutral. Businesses want unfettered and unencumbered commerce. .com has, by far, the greatest global reach.
Kassey Lee says
I coined it “EnglishDotCom” domain strategy few years ago.
Henry says
Of course, .com was not expected to be number one for too long given that they came late to the party and had to spend higher prices to acquire top names. While the corporate China can afford to do so, the every day Chinese cannot afford to buy .com at those higher prices to achieve that much of a volume to be meaningful. Besides, you have to factor in the patriotic side of that equation for the average Chinese when it comes to.cn versus .com.
Hence, being number one depends on your perspective, individuals versus corporate. Corporate Chinese sees more value in the .com and are willing to spend the money for it.
.Com will always reign in America where it all began.
Kassey Lee says
.com was launched in 1985 and .cn in 1990.
Kika says
take 1 line of law -> no more ICP given to .com domains, that will be enough to plummet .com china market
Kassey Lee says
Good insight. Or, just limit ICP to sites using .cn only. That would change the whole domain landscape. Currently, there is NOT a hint at all about any change to ICP requirement so don’t panic.