Nominet UK, the not-for-profit organisation responsible for .uk Internet infrastructure,published its annual Domain name industry report, revealing strong growth in .uk registrations, increased consumer preference for .uk sites over .com sites, and for the first time, the extent to which websites are used in UK advertising.
The key findings include:
Overall market for global domain names continues to grow, with a 6% increase
.uk domain name registrations have grown by 11.5%, with new annual registrations expected to hit two million for the first time
March 2010 was the busiest month for new .uk registrations since the .com boom
80% of consumers in the UK prefer to use a .uk website over a .com website – up 3% on 2009
.uk replaces China's .cn as the world’s second largest country code Top Level Domain registry after .de
.uk register forecasted to reach nine million domain name registrations by the end of 2010
65% of UK print and television advertising now includes domain names
The report found that the overall market for global domain names continues to grow, with a 6% increase on 2009's figure. Almost 200 million domain names were registered worldwide at the end of August 2010.
Specifically, Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) have experienced growth of 9%, driven by strong growth in .com and .info. However growth in country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) has fallen to 1.4%, in part due to regulatory changes that have affected registrations in the Chinese .cn domain space.
The report also found that growth in .uk domain registrations remains strong despite uncertainty about the economy, with new registrations increasing by 11.5% over the last year.
March 2010 in particular saw over 200,000 new registrations alone, the highest monthly figure since the dotcom boom. Forecasts indicate that the total volume of new registrations in 2010 will reach 2 million by the end of the year – the highest ever annual figure.
The register itself is also growing, with over 8.7 million .uk sites registered at the end of August 2010 and more than nine million expected by the end of the year.
The growth in .uk registrations coincides with the highest ever levels of consumer preference for .uk websites over .com alternatives. The report reveals that 80% of British consumers would prefer to visit a .uk address rather than a .com.
For the first time, the Domain name industry report has also examined the role of domain names in advertising. Overall, 65% of print and television adverts were found to contain a website address, with a greater proportion of print adverts (83%) featuring URLs than television adverts (61%). More than half of adverts (55%) used a .uk address rather than a .com or other alternatives, reflecting the high consumer preference for .uk sites noted above. Adverts within publications with a global audience and those promoting business-to-business goods or services showed higher percentages of .com addresses, while UK specific titles and consumer goods were more likely to feature a .uk address.
Commenting on the report, Phil Kingsland, Director of Marketing and Communications at Nominet, said: "Given the renewed caution around the global economy, it’s great to see the domain name industry continuing to show strong growth. Registrations in the .uk domain space have been particularly good this year, with some of the highest levels of new registrations that we’ve seen since the dotcom boom, despite the current focus on austerity. It demonstrates that in a recession, people are turning to the Internet to help set up new ventures and pave the way for future growth."
The report's findings on consumer preference and advertising can also give the business community greater insight into how they should market themselves and their products online. "British consumers have demonstrated a clear preference for .uk over .com, in practically all online tasks," continues Kingsland.
"Businesses will want to tune into what consumers expect when they are interacting with them online, and how important an appropriate domain name can be."
A full copy of the Nominet Domain name industry report 2010 can be downloaded here .