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2021 has ended, but it’s still worth looking back on the domain registration trends for December 2021 to help us make informed investing decisions this year. Using WhoisXML API’s Newly Registered Domains (NRDs) Database, we analyzed about 5.02 million new domains between 1 and 31 December 2021. Below are our findings.
The leading TLDs next to .com were .xyz (6%), .net (4%), .cyou (3%), .org (3%), .online (2%), .top (2%), .icu (2%), .shop (1%), and .info (1%). In total, these nine TLDs only accounted for 24% of the total NRD volume. The graph below shows the top 10 TLDs.
We obtained the number of occurrences of these text strings from the total number of NRDs and found that “shop” took the lead, accounting for almost 40,000 domains. It was followed by “app” and “tech.” The presence of “xn–” also hinted at the popularity of IDNs. The bar graph below shows the rest of the commonly used terms.
- The top TLD is still .com, accounting for around 59% of the new domains registered within the said period.
- Top searches in Google Trends also appeared in hundreds (in some cases, thousands) of NRDs.
- The most commonly used text strings include “shop,” “app,” “tech,” “web,” and “group.” There were also thousands of internationalized domain names (IDNs) beginning with “xn–.”
Top TLDs of December 2021
It appears that .com is still the most used TLD, accounting for 59% of the NRDs. The rest of the domains were distributed across 718 other TLDs, covering the major gTLDs, new gTLDs, and ccTLDs. However, none of the top 10 TLDs were ccTLDs.The leading TLDs next to .com were .xyz (6%), .net (4%), .cyou (3%), .org (3%), .online (2%), .top (2%), .icu (2%), .shop (1%), and .info (1%). In total, these nine TLDs only accounted for 24% of the total NRD volume. The graph below shows the top 10 TLDs.
Domain Registration Behaviors
As always, popular and newsworthy events affected domain registrations. The news and events that made it to Google Trends’s top searches in December 2021 were also reflected in the same period’s NRDs, including:- New Year: As 2021 came to a close, thousands of domains containing the text string “newyear” and “2022” were registered. To be exact, 6,461 NRDs containing these text strings were detected.
- Christmas: More than 1,600 Christmas-themed NRDs were also seen in December 2021. Most of them were e-commerce focused, such as “christmasale,” “buyforchristmas,” and “christmasgifts.”
- Omicron: The coronavirus variant was declared a variant of concern on 26 November 2021, and December saw more than 400 Omicron-related domains registered. People were still adding such domains until the end of December.
- Spiderman: Spider-Man: No Way Home was released in December 2021, and its popularity spurned over 170 Spider-man-related domain names.
Common Terms Used in NRDs
We also detected trends in domain name registrations by analyzing the text strings of a random sample of about 50,000 domain names. The word cloud below shows some of the most common text strings that appeared.
We obtained the number of occurrences of these text strings from the total number of NRDs and found that “shop” took the lead, accounting for almost 40,000 domains. It was followed by “app” and “tech.” The presence of “xn–” also hinted at the popularity of IDNs. The bar graph below shows the rest of the commonly used terms.
NRD Database Packages
Our Newly Registered Domains Database is accessible through different packages, depending on your needs. Five subscription plans are available—Lite, Basic, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. Each plan differs in pricing and features, as detailed below.
- Lite: The NRD 2.0 Lite package gives users access to the NRDs database and daily updates. You can download data samples here: CSV or JSON.
- Basic: The Basic plan provides users access to just expired domains in addition to the daily updates and NRDs. With this package, you can see trends in the domain name ecosystem, from the types of domains registered to domains left to expire. You can download data samples here: CSV or JSON.
- Professional: Under the NRD 2.0 Professional package, users can access the data offered in the Basic plan, along with the complete WHOIS information of the newly added and just expired domains. You can download data samples here: CSV or JSON.
- Enterprise: The Enterprise package is an extensive plan that provides access to all the supported TLDs, including ccTLDs. Enterprise users can access the WHOIS records of newly registered, just expired, and recently updated domains. You can download data samples here: CSV or JSON.
- Ultimate: The Ultimate package gives users access to all data, TLD coverage, and features of the Enterprise package, along with access to newly discovered domains. You can download data samples here: CSV or JSON.
