A study was published on the official website of the Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR) on the key factors influencing domain name renewal. In March 2023, CENTR analyst and lead author of the study Patrick Myles collected data on approximately 700,000 domain names across 21 ccTLDs. The domains were scanned shortly before their renewal deadlines.
The study divides domains into three categories based on content or lack thereof: high-content (active websites), low-content (parked websites), and no-content domains (with no web presence). The “age” of the domains, or the time since their initial registration, was also taken into account.
After the expiration of the renewal deadlines, Patrick Myles re-analyzed the categories and concluded that the age of a domain was a very important factor: one year after registration, the renewal rate was only 54.5%; but three years after registration, 79.6% of domain names were renewed, and about 95% were renewed after 18 years. The website content and its role were also quite obvious: the renewal rate for high-content domains was 90.1%, for low-content domains it was 78.5%, and for no-content domains it was 70.5%.
Nevertheless, as a general rule, the presence of content on a website played a key role. The study showed that, when used for active websites, even domains registered recently are renewed much more often than significantly older parked domains. Patrick Myles notes that the outcomes of his study are unlikely to be news for major registries and registrars; yet, he recommends taking the study seriously. He believes that his findings can help domain businesses make more informed decisions and develop more effective marketing and pricing policies.
