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.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

Google’s .app “junk drop” hasn’t been too bad

by — Uncategorized 9 Comments

The namespace still has 380,000 domains.

Image depicting a drop in registered .app domains on the one year anniversary of .app

.App registrations fell on the one year anniversary, but the namespace still has about 380,000 domains. Image from nTLDstats.

Google’s .app domain name entered general availability on May 8, 2018. It immediately took off with 100,000 domains registered almost immediately and 180,000 domains under management within a couple of days.

These early registrations came up for renewal in May this year. The first anniversary of a domain launch is often called “the junk drop”. People who got a bit too excited at launch drop their marginal domains.

In the case of .app, it took a while to see the impact of this. It takes up to 80 days for .app domains to work through the deletion process: up to 45 days of autorenew grace, then a 30 day redemption grace period followed by 5 days of pending delete.

The .app namespace continued to grow up until July 13, according to nTLDStats. Then the early domains started to drop and the zone shrunk, but it hasn’t been too bad.

nTLDstats shows that the namespace peaked at 446,730 domains on July 12. It is now 381,195. (There are fewer domains in the zone file, but nTLD stats estimates domains that don’t have nameservers.)

Based on these data, the namespace has lost over 65,000 domains. New domains have been registered during this period that offset some of the losses.

Ben McIlwain of Google Registry told Domain Name Wire:

We are happy with .app’s strong renewal rates. This validates our belief that customers are interested in new TLDs, and in the case of .app especially as meaningful, functional and more secure gateways to the internet. We look forward to seeing more developers building on .app.

Dynadot jumps into top 10

by — Domain Registrars 2 Comments

Dynadot jumps into the top ten registrars for new .com registrations.

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 April 2019.

An anomaly this month is Dynadot, which jumped into the top ten for monthly .com registrations. This pushed NameSilo out of the top ten. I think this has to do with pricing; while NameSilo’s .com sale ended at the end of Q1, Dynadot has continued with discounted pricing. It’s charging $6.99 right now for new .com registrations.

While this means NameSilo is absent from the monthly board this month, it should soon appear on the top ten overall. It has crossed two million .com domains under management but this isn’t reflected in the ICANN numbers, which only go through April.

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

1. GoDaddy.com* 970,751 (NYSE: GDDY) (1,045,199 in March)
2. Xin Net Technology Corporation 324,617 (294,415)
3. Tucows** (NASDAQ:TCX) 191,620 (206,170)
4. NameCheap Inc. 152,606 (160,737)
5. Alibaba (HiChina) 130,946 (126,659)
6. Endurance+ (NASDAQ: EIGI) 125,059 (138,627)
7. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) 119,976 (135,927)
8. Dynadot 104,837
9. Web.com++  88,873 (83,600)
10. Chengdu West 82,351

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

1. GoDaddy* 50,940,640 (50,831,723 in March)
2. Tucows**  12,484,323 (12,552,098)
3. Endurance+ 7,026,808 (7,065,847)
4. Web.com++ 6,713,881 (6,717,360)
5. Alibaba 6,288,135 (6,226,249)
6. United Internet^ 5,609,664 (5,630,889)
7. Namecheap 4,745,085 (4,694,598)
8. Xin Net Technology Corporation 3,814,331 (3,500,398)
9. Google 2,434,742 (2,361,414)
10. GMO 2,026,751 (2,007,437)

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 and Enom
+ 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