More than 450,000 new .nl registrations in the first half of 2023
Cancellations and transfers also up, giving net growth of 20,000 domain names
The .nl domain performed well in the first half of 2023. A significant upturn in new registrations was the main driver behind net growth of roughly 20,000 domain names. However, cancellations were up as well, perhaps in response to rising inflation. Notably, a high proportion of the new registrations were linked to property sales. The key trends are summarised below, while a comprehensive statistical breakdown can be found on stats.sidnlabs.nl
Positive development in new registrations
The growth seen so far in 2023 is mainly down to an upturn in the number of new registrations. Registrations were more than 8 per cent higher than during the same period of 2022, with May and June particularly busy. Those are usually quite slow months for registrations because of all the public holidays, with a lot of people choosing to go away. Many new domain names are registered in response to promotional campaigns and cut-price offers, meaning that inflation probably doesn't affect them very much.
Cancellations also up
The big upturn in new registrations yielded a more modest level of net growth, mainly because cancellations were higher as well. Compared with the same period last year, 10 per cent more .nl domain names were cancelled. Notably, the cancellation rate – the annualised percentage of all the domain names in the zone that are cancelled – rose for the first time since 2020. In the first half of 2022, the rate was 13 per cent, but in the same period of 2023 it reached 14 per cent. That corresponds to about 60,000 extra cancellations over the course of a year. The rate is now back to nearly where it was before the coronavirus pandemic, namely 14.5 per cent. The rise may be an inflation-related correction, as higher registration prices prompt registrants with multiple domain names to look more critically at their portfolios.
More registrants switch service providers
Support for that interpretation can be found in the big rise in the number of domain names transferred from one service provider to another. The annualised percentage of domain names transferred between registrars nearly doubled, from 3.4 to 6.1 per cent. Our own research has shown that registrants are often prompted to shop around for a new service provider if the cost of renewing their hosting contract is significantly higher than the year before. Although we know that many service providers in the industry have increased their prices over the last year in response to inflation, we aren't able to determine the weighted average rise per domain name.
Real estate and coaching fuel registrations
So, what was behind the upturn in new registrations? A while ago, we started publishing information on stats.sidnlabs.nl about keywords used in domain names. On the international stage, keywords relating to artificial intelligence dominate, but in the Netherlands it's more down-to-earth keywords that stand out. For example, hundreds of domain names are registered every month for use by people selling houses and other real estate. Amongst the domain names registered by start-up businesses, the word 'coaching' is particularly common, followed by 'studio' and 'design'. So it seems that the creative professions are responsible for a significant proportion of registrations.
Any questions?
Want to know more about how the .nl .nl domain is developing? Our .nl Marketing Manager Michiel Henneke is happy to help. Drop him a line at michiel.henneke@sidn.nl.
