The Freename Forum

In a blog entry, CENTR data analyst Patrick Myles discusses a study by CENTR (Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries) that analyses how renewals are influenced by the use of domains and the age of domains.

Unfortunately, only Myles' blog entry is available - so far. There is no public access to the study he refers to in his article. However, the blog post already provides far-reaching data. The study analyses the relationship between the classification of domains, their age and their lifespan. The focus of the study is on how web content and the duration of registration affect the likelihood of registration renewal. CENTR collected data from 700,000 domains under 21 different ccTLDs. The data was collected in March 2023, shortly before the domains were renewed or their registration was terminated. A distinction was made between developed domains (high-content), parked domains (low-content) and domains without a web presence (no-content). After the respective registration period had expired, the renewal rates of the three categories were examined and technical characteristics such as redirects, MX records, SSL certificates and the age of the domains were analysed.

As was to be expected, the results are now backed up by differentiated figures. Registration was only renewed for 70.5 per cent of domains without content. For parked domains, the rate was 78.5 per cent, and for domains with plenty of content, the rate was an outstanding 90.1 per cent. The age of the respective domain played a decisive role: at the end of the first registration year, the renewal rate was 54.5 per cent, at the end of the third registration year, the rate was 79.6 per cent and for domains older than 18 years, the registration rate was up to 95 per cent. Domains with developed content consistently perform better than parked domains or domains without content, even if the latter are older.

Myles summarises: ‘Even if the results of the study are not surprising, they should be taken seriously. Registries should use the domain characteristics determined for the study as key indicators for the quality of the managed top level domain. The domain characteristics can be used to make economic estimates for the future and to determine long-term customer loyalty and the reputation of one's own brand. And this data contributes to the overall stability of the DNS. Analysing the correlation between domain usage and renewal rates can help registries make informed decisions about marketing measures, pricing strategies and initiatives.

The blog entry by Patrick Myles at CENTR can be found at:
https://www.centr.org/news/blog/centr-s ... rates.html