Why registrants don't renew their domain names?
.nl domain name renewal patterns
Until recently, the priority on the Dutch domain name market was generating new registrations. However, as growth has declined these past few years, registrars have increasingly been turning their attention to customer retention: getting registrants to hang on to their domain names and not let their registrations lapse. In that context, the end of the initial one-year registration period is a critical time. The cost of registering a domain name is often heavily discounted for the first year, while renewal typically means paying the full price for the second and subsequent years. So everything depends on whether the registrant sees the domain name as important enough to warrant the cost of renewing the contract for another year.
Renewals are important for .nl As renewals have become increasingly important for the use and long-term growth of .nl, we’ve been focusing more research attention on the subject. Both by studying .nl data in house, and by working with other European registries, we’ve been observing renewal patterns and seeking to identify ways of using our observations to promote the active use of .nl domain names. Needless to say, registrars and resellers are absolutely vital in that context. In the period ahead, we’re therefore planning to regularly share what we’ve learnt about encouraging customers to put their domains to active use and not drift away.
Using the renewal rate
This article looks at the renewal rate for the .nl zone. That’s the percentage of .nl domain names that are renewed for at least one more year when their annual registration period ends. The figure only takes account of annual registrations and doesn’t include domain names that are reinstated from quarantine. So the renewal rate isn’t the same as the total number of registrations minus the number of cancellations, expressed as a percentage. The renewal rate for .nl can serve as a useful benchmark for assessing the rate of .nl renewals in your own portfolio. You may also find it helpful to compare the renewal rates for the various extensions in your portfolio. Interested in doing more with your renewal rate data? We can help! See the end of the article for details.
Renewal rate for .nl
The following graph shows the renewal rate for .nl domain names over the first 5 years. The black line is a benchmark: the average renewal rate for all the large European ccTLDs. The data was gathered this year, so it relates to domain names registered between 2020 and 2025. The average registration lifespan for the domain names is 3.18 years. Graph 1: annual renewal rate for .nl domain names, compared with the European benchmark (source: SIDN/CENTR.org)
Strikingly, .nl domain names have a much higher first-year renewal rate than the European average. The explanation isn’t entirely clear, but certain European peers have a very high first-year turnover rate, and the domains in question pull the average down. Where first-year renewals are concerned, considerable differences exist between countries. Nevertheless, it’s clear when there’s most to be gained: at the end of the first year. The question is, how do the domain names that get renewed differ from those that don’t?
Renewal rate and active use
The most straightforward way to measure active use is scanning for content linked to domain names. Unfortunately, however, that approach has an important flaw: the use of a domain name for mail can’t easily be observed from outside. MX records can provide pointers, but not conclusive evidence. When we delve into the stats on cancellations over the last year, we see that, unsurprisingly, domain names with little or no linked content are over-represented. That observation is in line with a 2024 CENTR Study into the relationship between usage and renewals. That study found that the renewal rate for domain names without content was 70.3 per cent, compared with 90.3 per cent for domain names with ‘‘high content’ (i.e. more than the few kilobytes needed for a parking or ‘under construction’ page). (i.e. more than the few kilobytes needed for a parking or ‘under construction’ page). Graph 2: proportion of cancellations and proportion of the zone accounted for by domain names with various content levels (source: SIDN).
Active use in the year prior to cancellation
Notably, the content linked to many cancelled domain names was taken down in the four months before the registration ended. In other words, the disappearance of content more than 8 months into the registration period is a strong indicator of impending cancellation. Conversely, new domain names typically acquire web content in the first month after registration. Consequently, the active usage rate 12 months before cancellation peaks at 21 per cent.
Graph 3: Percentage of actively use domain names (name with web content) in the months prior to cancellation (1 = month of cancellation).
Why customers don’t renew
Of course, statistics tell us nothing about registrants’ motives. SIDN therefore asked NielsenIQ to ask its panel members a number of questions about their domain name cancellation plans.
Graph 4: factors that play an important role in decision-making about domain name renewals (more than one answer possible; n=180).
Registrants unaware of alternatives to cancellation
It’s striking how many panel members cited service quality as a reason for cancellation. From the supporting information, it’s clear that many registrants don’t realise that, instead of cancelling their domain names, they could transfer them to another hosting firm. Often, they don’t know about the possibility of switching to a cheaper hosting plan either, or that they could consider selling their domain names. In other words, lots of registrants cancel because they’re not aware of the alternatives.
Quarantine period is a retention opportunity
Promoting choice awareness can significantly reduce cancellations. Of all the .nl domain names that are cancelled, about 5 per cent are reinstated from quarantine. ‘Please come back’ incentives and campaigns that highlight alternative ways of using domain names can increase that percentage and thus extend .nl domain name lifespans.
More useful information to follow
In the months ahead, we plan to share information about renewals on a regular basis. We’ll also be keeping previously published data up to date. Watch the website and our registrar newsletters for announcements. Meanwhile, our data team is hard at work creating a new platform for sharing key stats with registrars in report form. We'll keep you informed about progress!
How can SIDN help?
As this article illustrates, there are various things that registrars like you can do to discourage the cancellation of .nl domain names. For example, you can keep your customers informed about retaining their domain names. And you can promote creative thinking about ways of putting existing domains to better use. For inspiration and examples, check out our toolkits. We also offer practical and financial support: see the co-funded marketing info on our website or drop a line to support@sidn.nl.
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