Google’s new .app domains have launched with a bang, with over 150,700 domains being registered to date, with the biggest jump coming from general availability, since 8 May 2018.
Google’s point of difference has been the enforced security requirement that all .app domains operate on https. This is a unique requirement, but not surprising considering Google started taking https into consideration in its search rankings.
According to ntldstats.com, the greatest number of registrations has been via the GoDaddy group with it controlling 33.9% of the domain space. GoDaddy are followed by Name.com and Google, both with under 10% market share.
the top 3 new GTLDS (.top, .loan and .xyz) with over 2million domains, many argue that this has only been because of give aways and 99 cent sales
While the new GTLD program has seen mixed success, there has been an influx in registrations with the top 3 new GTLDS (.top, .loan and .xyz) with over 2million domains. Many argue that this has only been because of give aways and 99 cent sales, for example with .xyz. Time will tell as to whether many of these name spaces are sustainable.
Google’s approach to enforce security standards across .app domains is unique, and may prove to be the difference between .app and other domain spaces. This raises an interesting question, is mandated security the way of the future ? Is success in a name space determined by the level of trust it has or the number of registrations ?
The reality is that the domain spaces are faced with numerous threats including new GTLDs and other names spaces, QR Codes and most importantly of all search. Is mandated security the way to keep the a domain space a trusted space ? Or is it an extra layer of regulation that will hurt the sustainability of the domain space.
In the meantime, time will tell as to whether the large number of registrations in the .app domain can be sustained, or is it doomed to follow the fate of other new GTLDs, starting with a big bang and ending in a fizzle.
Leave a Reply