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.Com rankings: Google tops 3 million .com domains

by — Domain Registrars 0 Comments

Google hits a milestone.

Image of man running up column chart with words "Top 10 Registrars"

ICANN has published the latest official data from Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) about the .com namespace. This registrar-by-registrar report covers November 2019.

Google’s domain name registrar hit the 3 million .com domain milestone. It continues to add over 100,000 domains a month with few outbound transfers, so this number will continue to climb.

As has been the case in recent months, there was a lot of shakeup on the monthly leaderboard. I believe this is due to promotions that Verisign offers that are, in turn, sometimes passed on to registrar consumers.

Website builder Wix managed to make the top 10 list this month. Not because its registrations increased, but because the bar to be in the top 10 dropped. Dynadot and Web.com, which had a surge in registrations the prior month, reverted and Wix took their spot.

When the report for March 2020 comes out, expect a surge at Dynadot. It’s offering $5.99 domains this month with a coupon.

Here’s how registrars did in terms of new .com registrations:

1. GoDaddy.com* (NYSE: GDDY) 946,270 (867,828 in October)
2. Tucows** (NASDAQ:TCX) 182,250 (189,005)
3. Alibaba (HiChina) 163,419 (121,623)
4. Namecheap Inc. 163,141 (170,249)
5. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) 136,518 (146,747)
6. Endurance+ (NASDAQ: EIGI) 127,219 (130,428)
7. GMO 86,969
8. Xin Net 72,991 (128,049)
9. NameSilo 69,171 (76,139)
10. Wix (NASDAQ: WIX) 62,712

Here’s the leaderboard of the top registrars in terms of total .com registrations as of the end of November 2019.

1. GoDaddy* 51,629,563 (51,365,334 in October)
2. Tucows** 12,910,915 (12,969,022)
3. Web.com++ 7,096,388 (7,101,250)
4. Endurance+ 6,817,113 (6,863,214)
5. Alibaba 6,013,715 (6,032,936)
6. United Internet^ 5,526,648 (5,547,495)
7. Namecheap 5,182,418 (5,125,801)
8. Xin Net Technology Corporation 4,433,678 (4,508,653)
9. Google 3,032,888 (2,939,902)
10. GMO 2,253,907 (2,209,814)

Many domain companies have multiple accreditations and I’ve tried to capture the largest ones. See the notes below.

* Includes GoDaddy, Wild West Domains and 123 Reg
** Includes Tucows, Enom, Ascio and EPAG
+ Includes PDR, Domain.com, FastDomain and Bigrock. There are other Endurance registrars, but these are the biggest.
++ Includes Network Solutions, Register.com, and Crazy Domains
^ Includes 1&1, PSI, Cronon, United-Domains, Arsys and world4you

Google’s new search results pages: love it or hate it?

by — Services 17 Comments

Desktop results still show the domain name but mobile results don’t.

Google recently changed its desktop search results to look more like its mobile search results. This includes showing the site’s favicon, second level and top level domain, title, and snippet.

It also bolds the ‘ad’ tag before ads.

I’ll be honest, it’s giving me a headache. The favicons are distracting, and I wonder if it actually makes it harder for people to distinguish organic listings from ads because now all listings have a graphic in front of them.

After the change, Google search liaison Danny Sullivan noted the importance of domain names in search result listings:

But, as you can see from my response, Google still leaves domain names off of mobile search results. So it seems that Google thinks they are important, unless you’re on a mobile device where you’re even more likely to be duped. (Google does show domain names on ads on mobile search.)

If nothing else, Google has certainly elevated the importance of having a good favicon!

.Com Winners & Losers: Dynadot surges

by — Domain Registrars 3 Comments

Dynadot returned to the top 10; Chinese registrar Chengdu West plummets.

Image of man running up column chart with words "Top 10 Registrars"

ICANN has published the latest official data from Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) about the .com namespace. This registrar-by-registrar report covers July 2019.

There was a shakeup in the top ten registrars for monthly .com volume. Chengdu West fell out of the top 10. Dynadot surged back in to spot #6. NameSilo dropped a lot but still remained in top 10.

Here’s how registrars did in terms of new .com registrations:

1. GoDaddy.com* (NYSE: GDDY) 854,643 (844,698 in June)
2. Xin Net Technology Corporation 321,742 (254,177)
3. Tucows** (NASDAQ:TCX) 194,581 (188,913)
4. NameCheap Inc. 161,790 (148,553)
5. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) 134,583 (118,274)
6. Dynadot 131,601 (n/a)
7. Endurance+ (NASDAQ: EIGI) 129,559 (117,245)
8. Alibaba (HiChina) 126,586 (158,341)
9. NameSilo (CSE:URL) 89,027 (149,951)
10. GMO 66,323 (n/a)

Here’s the leaderboard of the top registrars in terms of total .com registrations as of the end of July 2019.

1. GoDaddy* 51,022,025 (51,012,237 in June)
2. Tucows** 13,192,663 (13,265,609)
3. Endurance+ 6,896,718 (6,928,107)
4. Web.com++ 6,599,516 (6,638,229)
5. Alibaba 6,232,572 (6,250,554)
6. United Internet^ 5,550,220 (5,558,557)
7. Namecheap 4,915,798 (4,855,101)
8. Xin Net Technology Corporation 4,469,021 (4,201,902)
9. Google 2,662,532 (2,580,499)
10. GMO 2,104,444 (2,081,293)

Many domain companies have multiple accreditations and I’ve tried to capture the largest ones. See the notes below.

* Includes GoDaddy, Wild West Domains and 123 Reg
** Includes Tucows, Enom, Ascio and EPAG
+ Includes PDR, Domain.com, FastDomain and Bigrock. There are other Endurance registrars, but these are the biggest.
++ Includes Network Solutions and Register.com
^ Includes 1&1, PSI, Cronon, United-Domains, Arsys and world4you

Google opens up .New: Spotify, eBay and OpenTable on board

by — Services 10 Comments

Type in a domain name to create a new Spotify playlist, sell something on eBay or open a new GitHub repository.

Image with ".new" typed on green background

Google is opening up its .new top level domain name to third parties that wish to use the domain for “action generation.”

The company started using the domain as a shortcut about a year ago. For example, if you type doc.new in your browser, it will create a new Google Doc.

Now, third parties will be able to register .new domains as long as they use them to start an action or workflow.

Some of the companies already on board include:

  • Playlist.new: Create a new playlist to add songs on Spotify.
  • Story.new: Write on Medium.
  • Sell.new: Help people get exactly what they want through eBay.
  • Reservation.new: Enter reservation.new to make an OpenTable reservation at the best restaurants near you.
  • Webex.new: For an easy, fast, and secure way to start your personal meeting room from any browser, try this shortcut from Cisco Webex.
  • Repo.new: Open new GitHub repositories and gists.

The company is running the ICANN-mandated sunrise for trademark holders through January 14. Sunrise registrations do not need to activate an action or workflow.

Companies can start applying for .new domains on December 2. They must create an action or workflow within 100 days of receiving the domain to remain in compliance.

This is one of the more innovative things a company has done with a new top level domain. It also gives emphasis to typing in domains, showing how it’s the most direct way to visit websites.

The problem, as I see it, is that it’s backwards. My wife tells me she loves the docs shortcut, but frequently types new.doc instead of doc.new.

 

 

.Com Winners & Losers: A strong month for NameSilo

by — Domain Registrars 0 Comments

NameSilo has strong month. Here’s how other registrars fared.

Image of man running up column chart with words "Top 10 Registrars"

ICANN has published the latest official data from Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) about the .com namespace. This registrar-by-registrar report covers June 2019.

NameSilo surged this month, landing at #5 on the monthly list. It’s also nipping at the heels of GMO for #10 on the total .com DUMs chart.

This month I began including Ascio and EPAG in Tucows’ numbers. Previously, I only included Tucows and Enom.

Here’s how registrars did in terms of new .com registrations:

1. GoDaddy.com* (NYSE: GDDY) 844698 (936,916 in May)
2. Xin Net Technology Corporation 254,177 (244,299)
3. Tucows** (NASDAQ:TCX) 188,913 (see note)
4. Alibaba (HiChina) 158,341 (127,090)
5. NameSilo (CSE:URL) 149,951 (86,680)
6. NameCheap Inc. 148,553 (154,281)
7. Chengdu West 128,004 (157,668)
8. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) 118,274 (119,903)
9. Endurance+ (NASDAQ: EIGI) 117,245 (127,762)
10. United Internet 61,939 (n/a)

Here’s the leaderboard of the top registrars in terms of total .com registrations as of the end of June 2019.

1. GoDaddy* 51,012,237 (51,026,467 in May)
2. Tucows** 13,265,609  (see note)
3. Endurance+ 6,928,107 (6,981,256)
4. Web.com++ 6,638,229 (6,677,492)
5. Alibaba 6,250,554 (6,308,304)
6. United Internet^ 5,558,557 (5,575,836 )
7. Namecheap 4,855,101 (4,799,244)
8. Xin Net Technology Corporation 4,201,902 (3,982,474)
9. Google 2,580,499 (2,506,924)
10. GMO 2,081,293 (2,062,451)

Many domain companies have multiple accreditations and I’ve tried to capture the largest ones. See the notes below.

* Includes GoDaddy, Wild West Domains and 123 Reg
** Includes Tucows, Enom, Ascio and EPAG
+ Includes PDR, Domain.com, FastDomain and Bigrock. There are other Endurance registrars, but these are the biggest.
++ Includes Network Solutions and Register.com
^ Includes 1&1, PSI, Cronon, United-Domains, Arsys and world4you

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