Decline in number of dot.ie domain names

The amount of enterprises signing up for a new dot.ie web address dropped by almost 4% — on an annualised basis — in the first half of this year.

According to the IE Domain Registry — the body which manages registration for Irish internet addresses — 16,687 new dot.ie domain names were registered in the six months to the end of June, down by 3.8% on the same period last year. However, the net growth in the registry’s database was 28.3% higher over the same period, owing to the slowed rate of non-renewals (mostly seen via company insolvencies, or domain names being taken for one-off events), which fell from 12,644 to 10,662.

“This emerging trend, if sustained, is welcomed by the registry as volume growth is a key strategic priority,” the company said.

The not-for-profit organisation’s annual report for 2013, also issued yesterday, showed a near 6% rise in operating profit (this money is generally re-invested in various promotional drives) last year, to €299,177.

Total dot.ie domains, at year end, amounted to 187,269 — marking a net increase of nearly 3%. The non-renewal rate remained stable at just under 15%. Actual new domain registrations were down by 4% last year, while registration fee income totalled €2.6m.

Registry chief David Curtin said the organisation will continue to monitor the effect of the growing number of generic domains flooding the market (dot.ie has a 48% share of the Irish domain name market, well ahead of the dot.com and dot.eu spaces) and keep promoting online as a revenue source for SMEs.

“There is real opportunity for SMEs to grasp the potential of the internet. Consumers are online — and willing to ‘shop local’ — so SMEs need to have a local dot.ie website to grow their business online,” he said.