.nl domain remained stable in 2023
Strong growth in new registrations offsets cancellations
.nl ended 2023 with 6.3 million domain names: almost the same number as at the close of 2022. The domain name count peaked at 6.35 million in the middle of the year, before an autumn surge in cancellations, coupled with active intervention against malicious registrations, undid the early gains. The late dip wasn't unexpected: many businesses saw a downturn in market growth as inevitable after the rapid expansion of the pandemic years. It was mainly because of the high level of new registration activity that the cancellations didn't result in the contraction of .nl.
Figure 1: The development of the .nl domain in the period December 2022 - December 2023.
Wet summer helps drive new registrations
In terms of new registrations, 2023 was a very good year for .nl. At 915,000, the number of new registrations was 10 per cent higher than in 2022 (828,000). A key factor in the growth was the disappointing summer weather. Good weather is often associated with a downturn in new registrations, because people spend less time indoors at their computers. However, summer 2023 was abnormally wet, so the weather had the opposite effect. In August, for example, new registrations were 34 per cent up on the same month of 2022. What's more, in contrast to the normal pattern, more domain names were registered in the summer than in the winter.
Inflation pushes up cancellations
Although the rate of registrations accelerated, so did the rate of cancellations. The number of domain names cancelled was 16 per cent up, and sufficient to offset new registrations. Cancellation activity peaked in the latter part of the year. In Q4, the number was 27 per cent higher than a year earlier. To some extent, the cancellations were an anticipated consequence of our own policies: in line with our desire for a safe and trustworthy .nl domain, we repeatedly intervened against bulk registrations that contravened our terms and conditions. Irregular registrations were cancelled, adding to the volume of domain names removed from the zone in the second half of the year. However, our anti-abuse interventions weren't the main driver of cancellations. A survey of SIDN Panel members revealed that recent price rises have prompted registrants to look critically at their domain name and website portfolios, driving cancellations, particularly of unused domain names.
More provider-switching as well
Price increases were probably also behind an increase in the number of registrants that switched registrars or hosting service providers in 2023. Our research indicates that the most common response to a price hike is for registrants to review their options. The number of domain names transferred from one registrar to another was 330,000 last year, 34 per cent up on 2022.
Market share remains unchanged
The developments seen in the .nl domain were reflected right across the European market: almost all large domains remained stable or registered marginal net growth of less than 1.5 per cent. There was consequently very little change in .nl's market share or position relative to other domains. The domain name industry is likely to experience another year of stability in 2024. However, the EU's second Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) is expected to have a significant impact when it comes into force in October. By applying strict new requirements to the domain name and hosting industry, NIS2 could have considerable impact on the European market.
Want to know what keywords were used most often in new domain names registered last year? Read our article 'The year 2023 in .nl domain names'.
