According to ntldstats.com, the number of names registered in new gTLDs has just exceeded 6 million. The accomplishment is remarkable not only because the figure is round but also since the new domains added one million registrations in the last two months – the landmark of 5 million names was reached in the beginning of April. In comparison domain .COM added less than 300 thousand names for the same period of two months.
However, new gTLDs should not flatter themselves with achieved results. Operators of new domains are increasing the number of registrations by giving the names for free or lowering the price of the registration to a minimum. For example, about 200 thousand names were registered during recent months in .SCIENCE. The domain is operated by Famous Four Media. No less than 50 thousand were given away for free to celebrate the launch of the domain. Later within the promo the price for an annual registration was set at 49 cents. 225 thousand names were registered in domains .PARTY and .WEBCAM, also operated by Famous Four Media. They carry out the exact same policy in relation to the registrations.
Domain .XYZ famous to its domain name giveaways held another marketing campaign in Asia. Users could register names for less than $2 per year. According to analysts, about 75 thousand new names were registered within the campaign. Thus, even though many new domains are celebrating their first anniversaries it is not the time to evaluate the real demand yet. Moreover, because the process of reducing the number of registrations when the renewal dates approach is also gaining momentum. For example, there were 82 thousand names registered in .GURU domain in the beginning of April. However, since the renewal date approached the number has begun to steadily decline and now is only 68 thousand.
