Domain name extension brand preferences remain stable

Entrepreneurs register the most domain names

Despite the gloom surrounding the business climate in the Netherlands, SMEs remain the driving force behind business domain name registrations. Of the entrepreneurs who responded to our survey, 92 per cent registered 1 or more domain names in the last 12 months, compared with 76 per cent of the respondents in direct employment. The disparity between entrepreneurs and others was greatest amongst respondents who reported registering more than 5 domain names a year.

Entrepreneurs still registering names for business use

Entrepreneurs also differed significantly from other panel members in terms of their inclination to register domain names and their reasons for doing so. As well as having more registration plans, entrepreneurs are responsible for most of the domain names registered for new and existing businesses, or for business partners. Other respondents, including employed professionals, are less likely to have registration plans. And, if they do, those plans are more likely to involve domain names for private purposes, such as creating personal mailboxes.

Many respondents who prefer .com actually register country-code domain names

Another striking finding of the survey is the difference between respondents’ preferred domain name extensions and the extensions they actually choose when registering. We asked respondents what their first-choice extensions were, and what they had chosen the last time they registered a domain name. The pattern revealed by their replies is illustrated below.

The striking disparity with the ‘Other’ extensions is almost entirely due to entrepreneurs registering domain names with the country-code extensions for other EU states. It’s common for entrepreneurs to register domain names under .be (Belgium) or .de (Germany), but almost none of the entrepreneurs in our survey group said they were planning or considering such registrations.

Half of respondents won’t change their choice of extension

A small majority (51 per cent) of respondents stick to their first-choice domain name extension. If their preferred domain name isn’t available under that extension, they’ll think of another name. The reason is the scope: .nl is preferred for domain names with a domestic scope, and .com for those with an international scope. Conversely, in the situation described, 31 per cent of registrants would consider using another extension. Interestingly, people whose first choice is .com are more likely to consider using .nl instead than the other way around. The explanation is mainly to do with language: many people whose first-choice extension is .nl want to register Dutch-language domain names, for which .com is seen as unsuitable. By contrast, few people think it’s odd to have an English-language domain name under .nl. The other alternative mentioned most often by respondents was .shop.

A minority are put off .com by geopolitics

Preferring .com for domain names with an international scope isn’t new. The possible effect of the geopolitical climate on the extension’s image is therefore worth investigating. We accordingly asked respondents who preferred .com whether the extension had any drawbacks. In response, 10 per cent spontaneously mentioned geopolitics:

“Trump can do what he likes with it. .com is and always will be American digital property. All the assets remain outside the EU’s control, and a country like the Netherlands certainly has no say in the policies.” (SIDN Panel respondent)

It’s debateable, however, whether such misgivings have any effect on the actual registration of .com domain names. Many respondents said that they didn’t like using a non-European extension, but none mentioned planning to register a .eu domain for an international purpose.