gtld Awareness Report Research Brief

Transcription

1 gtld Awareness Report Research Brief March 2013 Sponsored by Sedo

2 Key Findings A gtld (generic Top-Level Domain) is the suffix at the end of a web address, such as.com,.net, or.org. For nearly two decades, the Internet s governing body, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has slowly introduced new extensions it deemed appropriate for public use. In 2008, the organization began a process to fundamentally change the way people navigate online by introducing the possibility of an unlimited number of domain extensions that any company or individual could apply to manage. Last year, it received more than 1,900 applications from companies including Google, Amazon.com, Microsoft, AOL, HBO, American Express, McDonalds, L'Oréal, Nike, Chrysler, Wal-Mart and many others. After a lengthy approval process, the first new extensions will become available for public use in mid-2013, with the potential for more to be introduced over the following year. The goal of this gtld research is to uncover whether small to mid-size businesses are aware of the pending launch of new gtlds in 2013 and whether they plan to take advantage of them. Over the course of January 2013, 600 respondents were queried via SurveyMonkey, an online survey services provider. The most important findings of the gtld Awareness Report are: 63% of small to mid-sized business owners are unaware that new gtlds will be available in 2013 and many do not understand what the value of these new addresses will be. Over half of respondents feel that new gtlds will make the internet more confusing. More than 40% of respondents said there was no advantage or were unsure what the advantage of a new gtld would be. 94% of respondents said they were not currently planning to purchase a new gtld. The underlying theme throughout the results is that the biggest hurdle new gtlds will have to overcome is awareness. These findings reinforce the need for the industry to invest heavily in education before the new gtlds are released if they want them to be successfully received

3 Have you ever purchased a domain name? MAKEUP OF RESPONDENTS 3.5% 598 individuals responded to the survey, conducted in January No The respondents were all management or higher at small and mid-sized businesses. 36.3% 41% Yes, for personal use 63.7% of respondents have purchased domain names in the past; Yes, for business use 60.2% purchasing them specifically for business use. 19.2% Yes for business and personal use How important is your company s domain name to the business? In fact, respondents were asked about how important they felt domain names were to their business, with 41.8% saying they were very important and 23.2% saying somewhat important. This shows that the survey audience has been involved with setting up web addresses for their companies and knew the importance of the correct domain name to their business success. 10.7% 9.7% 14.5% 41.8% 23.2% Very important Somewhat important Important Less than important Unimportant

4 What best describes your company s domain strategy? MAKEUP OF RESPONDENTS (cont d) % The research also found that 46.5% of respondents have registered just a single address that they use exclusively for their business % 18.2% % 8.4% 6.7% 5.7% 3.5% 3.3% 0 Single web address Unsure Additional domains (.net,.org, other) Separate domains for products Keyword domains to help with SEO Other Additional domains (.net,.org, other) for products Many relevant names, misspellings and extensions Domains to help with advertising or sales

5 How often do you navigate by typing a domain name into the address bar vs. using a search engine? MAKEUP OF RESPONDENTS (cont d) The research also took a look at how respondents navigated the 3.3% 8% Often web, to measure the importance of knowing the correct domain name versus just using a search engine. Surprisingly, it was found that a large percentage navigate the web by entering the domain into the address bar. This further supports 10.7% 30.8% 47.2% Occasionally Almost never Never the need for education to make sure users can still find a site on the web that has a new gtld. Always gtld AWARENESS Respondents were asked if they were aware of the fact that new gtlds would be announced in 2013, joining the ones that everyone has become accustomed to (such as.com,.org and.net). Are you aware that new gtlds will be introduced in 2013? 62.7% responded that they were not aware that this was happening, while another 17.6% said it sounded familiar, but they were 17.6% No unsure. Only 19.7% of small to mid-sized businesses said they knew of the pending release of new gtlds. When cross-referencing this question with those respondents that have purchased a domain name before, the numbers only change 19.7% 62.7% Yes It sounds familiar, but I m not sure by a few points. Among those that have purchased a domain name for business use, 58.1% of them are unaware of the pending release of new gtlds.

6 What is the main advantage of new gtlds? 30 gtld AWARENESS (cont d) % Respondents were also queried about what they perceived the main advantages of gtlds to be. 19.9% felt that the introduction of new gtlds would make good domain names available, while 16.4% felt that additional branding possibilities were the biggest % 16.4% 13.9% 11.4% advantage created % That said, the largest number, 29.3%, felt that there was no 5 3.3% advantage to owning a new gtld. This further highlights the need for better education on why new gtlds are advantageous to small 0 and mid-sized businesses. Respondents were asked if they were planning to purchase or had considered purchasing any new gtlds when made available. The response was an overwhelming no, as 94.1% had no plans to purchase one. No advantage Availability of good domains Branding Other Innovative users Less expensive Security

7 Have you or your company considered purchasing any new gtlds? gtld AWARENESS (cont d) 5.9% To follow up on this question, respondents were asked what factor would persuade them to purchase a new gtld domain name. 16.9% of respondents said they d look into purchasing one if new gtlds were widely adopted, while 15.7% said they d do so if it were proven to increase search engine optimization (SEO). Reasonable pricing would be most persuasive to 15.4% of small and mid-sized businesses. 94.1% No Yes However, the answers to this question support the findings that respondents are not interested in purchasing a new gtld, meaning that a successful rollout of new gtlds will be dependent on a strong education campaign that highlights why they are valuable to small and mid-sized businesses. What would persuade you to purchase a new gtld? % % 15.7% 15.4% % 8.5% 5 0 We will not buy one Widely adopted Shown to increase SEO Reasonably priced 1.2% Protect company name/brand Other Competitor buys one

8 Do you think the new gtlds will make the internet more or less confusing to navigate? Lack of Knowledge Leads to Confusion and to Security Fears 5.2% Respondents were asked whether they thought the introduction of new gtlds would make the internet more or less confusing to navigate. Over half of respondents (52.3%) felt that new gtlds would only create confusion, while just over 5% believed that new gtlds would make things less confusing. 42.5% 52.3% More confusing Will not have an effect either way Less confusing Confusion is a recurring theme in the research. For example, when respondents were asked about what they felt the biggest potential problems were for gtld adoption, more than half said confusion (51.2%), followed by awareness (19.7%) and cost (8.2%). What is the biggest problem facing the launch of new gtlds? % % % 7.9% 4.7% 4.2% 4.2% 0 Confusion Awareness Cost of buying domains to protect a brand Domain parking Other No problems; will be successful gtld introduction process poorly run

9 How would you react to seeing an uncommon domain name (other than.com,.net or.org)? Lack of Knowledge Leads to Confusion and to Security Fears (cont d) 31.3% 29.4% The respondents were also asked about how they would react if they saw an uncommon domain name. That same lack of awareness and understanding can be seen in these findings as well, given that 54% of respondents would be hesitant to click on domain names ending in something other than.com,.net or.org. Of this group, 22.7% were specifically worried about the potential security issues of uncommon domain names. However, there are also some encouraging numbers here. 29.4% responded that they d have no problem clicking on it and another 9% that never pay attention to domains would likely click on a new gtld as well, making 38.4% or respondents willing to click on a gtld from day one. 22.7% Hesitant, but would probably click No problem clicking on it Feel it was a dangerous site/possible security issue Never pay attention to domain names Other Never click on anything other than.com 9% 5.7% 1.8%

10 Most commonly applied for new gtlds, ranked by chance of success New gtld CHANCES FOR SUCCESS Respondents were asked to rank the ten most commonly applied for new gtlds in order of their chances for success. The numbers to the right reflect the average score for each choice llc was selected by small to mid-sized businesses as having the 3.66 most potential for success, followed by.design,.music,.movie, and.home. The one gtld expected by respondents to be the least successful was.app, which ironically received more applications than any other gtld, with thirteen separate companies vying for control of the extension..llc.design.music.movie.home.art.shop.book.inc.app

11 ABOUT SEDO Sedo, an acronym for Search Engine for Domain Offers, is the leading domain marketplace and monetization provider. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany and with offices in London, England and Cambridge, Mass., Sedo has assembled the world s largest database of domain names for sale, with more than 16 million listings. The success of Sedo s model has attracted a global base of more than 1 million members.