We have already analyzed the popularity of new gTLDs based on the registration numbers, their GoDaddy registration numbers and nTLD domain sales. But are these extensions used by real websites with real visitors or just brokered between domainers? The most effective metrics for identifying successful websites is Alexa rank (although this is a metrics that can be fooled quite easily). We have collected the number of domains in Alexa top 1 million for the nTLDs (using this great tool).
To be able to understand these results, it can be useful to compare them to gTLDs. The number of registered .com domains is over 120 million, there are about 20 million registered .net and 20 million .org, 5 million .info and 2 million .biz. Their rate being on the Alexa top 1 million list is between 2-4 domains per thousand.
Let’s check the success of websites running on nTLDs so far!
rank | extension | domains in Alexa top 1 million | No. of registration | ‰ of Alexa top 1M domains |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | .xyz | 580 | 1178027 | 0,49 |
2 | .club | 453 | 280881 | 1,61 |
3 | .link | 279 | 158043 | 1,77 |
4 | .website | 155 | 105624 | 1,47 |
5 | .today | 141 | 47412 | 2,97 |
6 | .top | 138 | 256747 | 0,54 |
7 | .work | 105 | 67801 | 1,55 |
8 | .ninja | 102 | 51717 | 1,97 |
9 | .guru | 88 | 67204 | 1,31 |
10 | .sexy | 83 | 24605 | 3,37 |
11 | .rocks | 80 | 59944 | 1,33 |
12 | .tokyo | 73 | 39549 | 1,85 |
13 | .media | 64 | 20272 | 3,16 |
14 | .click | 63 | 145906 | 0,43 |
15 | .space | 56 | 63073 | 0,89 |
16 | .life | 44 | 24942 | 1,76 |
17 | .science | 42 | 326773 | 0,13 |
18 | .tips | 40 | 34277 | 1,17 |
19 | .pics | 37 | 27197 | 1,36 |
20 | .agency | 35 | 21625 | 1,62 |
21 | .wang | 34 | 213057 | 0,16 |
22 | .center | 32 | 29572 | 1,08 |
23 | .zone | 32 | 14051 | 2,28 |
24 | .moe | 30 | 4795 | 6,26 |
25 | .ovh | 28 | 68239 | 0,41 |
26 | .red | 28 | 31895 | 0,88 |
27 | .wiki | 28 | 11611 | 2,41 |
28 | .press | 28 | 6717 | 4,17 |
29 | .global | 27 | 16721 | 1,61 |
30 | .digital | 27 | 11458 | 2,36 |
31 | .eus | 27 | 3953 | 6,83 |
32 | .social | 26 | 14918 | 1,74 |
33 | .video | 26 | 7808 | 3,33 |
34 | .party | 24 | 207049 | 0,12 |
35 | .news | 24 | 18884 | 1,27 |
36 | .expert | 22 | 27921 | 0,79 |
37 | .city | 22 | 17019 | 1,29 |
38 | .porn | 22 | 11777 | 1,87 |
39 | .host | 22 | 3971 | 5,54 |
40 | .company | 21 | 42272 | 0,50 |
41 | .pink | 21 | 16438 | 1,28 |
42 | .kim | 21 | 9141 | 2,30 |
43 | .marketing | 20 | 13341 | 1,50 |
44 | .london | 19 | 66471 | 0,29 |
45 | .world | 19 | 20194 | 0,94 |
46 | .academy | 19 | 17916 | 1,06 |
47 | .gratis | 19 | 4446 | 4,27 |
48 | .buzz | 18 | 9259 | 1,94 |
49 | .tools | 18 | 7764 | 2,32 |
50 | .nyc | 17 | 83029 | 0,20 |
51 | .webcam | 17 | 66142 | 0,26 |
52 | 17 | 50819 | 0,33 | |
53 | .solutions | 17 | 40762 | 0,42 |
54 | .one | 17 | 17339 | 0,98 |
55 | .guide | 17 | 12239 | 1,39 |
56 | .report | 17 | 4262 | 3,99 |
57 | .directory | 16 | 18918 | 0,85 |
58 | .casa | 16 | 16933 | 0,94 |
59 | .reviews | 16 | 16797 | 0,95 |
60 | .gallery | 16 | 16264 | 0,98 |
61 | .support | 16 | 15082 | 1,06 |
62 | .bike | 16 | 13359 | 1,20 |
63 | .moscow | 15 | 22388 | 0,67 |
64 | .cool | 15 | 10335 | 1,45 |
65 | .gift | 14 | 9652 | 1,45 |
66 | .community | 14 | 8672 | 1,61 |
67 | .works | 14 | 8111 | 1,73 |
68 | .codes | 14 | 4371 | 3,20 |
69 | .berlin | 13 | 80504 | 0,16 |
70 | .help | 13 | 28966 | 0,45 |
71 | .technology | 13 | 23283 | 0,56 |
72 | .site | 13 | 21166 | 0,61 |
73 | .photos | 13 | 17609 | 0,74 |
74 | .education | 13 | 16457 | 0,79 |
75 | .design | 13 | 14305 | 0,91 |
76 | .services | 12 | 20581 | 0,58 |
77 | .paris | 12 | 19982 | 0,60 |
78 | .land | 12 | 13851 | 0,87 |
79 | .uno | 12 | 13567 | 0,88 |
80 | .deals | 12 | 8411 | 1,43 |
81 | .photography | 11 | 49376 | 0,22 |
82 | .audio | 11 | 22437 | 0,49 |
83 | .network | 11 | 11211 | 0,98 |
84 | .pub | 10 | 42715 | 0,23 |
85 | .blue | 10 | 15967 | 0,63 |
86 | .domains | 10 | 7292 | 1,37 |
87 | .wtf | 10 | 6275 | 1,59 |
88 | .black | 10 | 5165 | 1,94 |
89 | .bzh | 10 | 4981 | 2,01 |
90 | .money | 10 | 4133 | 2,42 |
91 | .ooo | 9 | 15979 | 0,56 |
92 | .events | 9 | 15632 | 0,58 |
93 | .training | 9 | 15403 | 0,58 |
94 | .scot | 9 | 10351 | 0,87 |
95 | .business | 9 | 9186 | 0,98 |
96 | .watch | 9 | 5158 | 1,74 |
97 | .chat | 9 | 5031 | 1,79 |
98 | .trade | 8 | 11307 | 0,71 |
99 | .market | 8 | 7391 | 1,08 |
100 | .exchange | 8 | 4764 | 1,68 |
101 | .photo | 7 | 20755 | 0,34 |
102 | .international | 7 | 17886 | 0,39 |
103 | .systems | 7 | 17049 | 0,41 |
104 | .coffee | 7 | 10033 | 0,70 |
105 | .direct | 7 | 7684 | 0,91 |
106 | .menu | 7 | 6721 | 1,04 |
107 | .careers | 7 | 6532 | 1,07 |
108 | .ink | 7 | 5856 | 1,20 |
109 | .kitchen | 7 | 5641 | 1,24 |
110 | .kiwi | 6 | 10193 | 0,59 |
111 | .farm | 6 | 7373 | 0,81 |
112 | .ventures | 6 | 6891 | 0,87 |
113 | .pictures | 6 | 6388 | 0,94 |
114 | .country | 6 | 5453 | 1,10 |
115 | .onl | 6 | 5268 | 1,14 |
116 | .futbol | 6 | 4316 | 1,39 |
117 | .partners | 6 | 4307 | 1,39 |
118 | .nagoya | 6 | 4187 | 1,43 |
119 | .hamburg | 5 | 23044 | 0,22 |
120 | .consulting | 5 | 14887 | 0,34 |
121 | .hosting | 5 | 14564 | 0,34 |
122 | .house | 5 | 13602 | 0,37 |
123 | .clothing | 5 | 13323 | 0,38 |
124 | .wales | 5 | 10509 | 0,48 |
125 | .adult | 5 | 8775 | 0,57 |
126 | .software | 5 | 7979 | 0,63 |
127 | .graphics | 5 | 7804 | 0,64 |
128 | .fitness | 5 | 6813 | 0,73 |
129 | .camp | 5 | 5398 | 0,93 |
130 | .amsterdam | 5 | 5138 | 0,97 |
131 | .fund | 5 | 3695 | 1,35 |
132 | .cab | 5 | 3384 | 1,48 |
133 | .church | 4 | 12253 | 0,33 |
134 | .quebec | 4 | 10519 | 0,38 |
135 | .melbourne | 4 | 7566 | 0,53 |
136 | .camera | 4 | 5216 | 0,77 |
137 | .cash | 4 | 5125 | 0,78 |
138 | .sale | 4 | 4316 | 0,93 |
139 | .bid | 4 | 3691 | 1,08 |
140 | .place | 4 | 3678 | 1,09 |
141 | .ren | 3 | 16502 | 0,18 |
142 | .wien | 3 | 13452 | 0,22 |
143 | .bio | 3 | 11502 | 0,26 |
144 | .rentals | 3 | 11368 | 0,26 |
145 | .estate | 3 | 10424 | 0,29 |
146 | .care | 3 | 10224 | 0,29 |
147 | .beer | 3 | 8435 | 0,36 |
148 | .boutique | 3 | 7798 | 0,38 |
149 | .foundation | 3 | 5952 | 0,50 |
150 | .cards | 3 | 5608 | 0,53 |
151 | .shoes | 3 | 5347 | 0,56 |
152 | .clinic | 3 | 4943 | 0,61 |
153 | .parts | 3 | 4661 | 0,64 |
154 | .coach | 3 | 4552 | 0,66 |
155 | .vacations | 3 | 4503 | 0,67 |
156 | .build | 3 | 3907 | 0,77 |
157 | .limited | 3 | 3857 | 0,78 |
158 | .finance | 3 | 3676 | 0,82 |
159 | .tirol | 3 | 3437 | 0,87 |
160 | .fit | 3 | 3319 | 0,90 |
161 | .recipes | 3 | 3312 | 0,91 |
162 | .date | 2 | 65036 | 0,03 |
163 | .property | 2 | 40838 | 0,05 |
164 | .immo | 2 | 11181 | 0,18 |
165 | .immobilien | 2 | 8302 | 0,24 |
166 | .tech | 2 | 8095 | 0,25 |
167 | .repair | 2 | 6174 | 0,32 |
168 | .brussels | 2 | 5784 | 0,35 |
169 | .fashion | 2 | 5766 | 0,35 |
170 | .healthcare | 2 | 5691 | 0,35 |
171 | .holiday | 2 | 5256 | 0,38 |
172 | .cymru | 2 | 4889 | 0,41 |
173 | .yoga | 2 | 4623 | 0,43 |
174 | .builders | 2 | 4383 | 0,46 |
175 | .vision | 2 | 4126 | 0,48 |
176 | .capital | 2 | 4104 | 0,49 |
177 | .school | 2 | 4025 | 0,50 |
178 | .glass | 2 | 3617 | 0,55 |
179 | .team | 2 | 3396 | 0,59 |
180 | .supply | 2 | 3329 | 0,60 |
181 | .dating | 2 | 3192 | 0,63 |
182 | .realtor | 1 | 107362 | 0,01 |
183 | .review | 1 | 42883 | 0,02 |
184 | .bayern | 1 | 29975 | 0,03 |
185 | .cricket | 1 | 26726 | 0,04 |
186 | .flowers | 1 | 25416 | 0,04 |
187 | .lol | 1 | 25091 | 0,04 |
188 | .koeln | 1 | 24399 | 0,04 |
189 | .diet | 1 | 17861 | 0,06 |
190 | .vegas | 1 | 15804 | 0,06 |
191 | .properties | 1 | 11918 | 0,08 |
192 | .blackfriday | 1 | 11864 | 0,08 |
193 | .frl | 1 | 10921 | 0,09 |
194 | .attorney | 1 | 8575 | 0,12 |
195 | .tattoo | 1 | 8388 | 0,12 |
196 | .hiphop | 1 | 7234 | 0,14 |
197 | .equipment | 1 | 6841 | 0,15 |
198 | .singles | 1 | 5696 | 0,18 |
199 | .solar | 1 | 5629 | 0,18 |
200 | .capetown | 1 | 4986 | 0,20 |
201 | .ruhr | 1 | 4808 | 0,21 |
202 | .bar | 1 | 4658 | 0,21 |
203 | .reisen | 1 | 4635 | 0,22 |
204 | .dance | 1 | 4633 | 0,22 |
205 | .university | 1 | 4562 | 0,22 |
206 | .contractors | 1 | 4466 | 0,22 |
207 | .computer | 1 | 4435 | 0,23 |
208 | .productions | 1 | 4378 | 0,23 |
209 | .tax | 1 | 4029 | 0,25 |
210 | .toys | 1 | 3956 | 0,25 |
211 | .wedding | 1 | 3686 | 0,27 |
212 | .joburg | 1 | 3624 | 0,28 |
213 | .pizza | 1 | 3378 | 0,30 |
214 | .haus | 1 | 3364 | 0,30 |
215 | .catering | 1 | 3248 | 0,31 |
216 | .cafe | 1 | 3208 | 0,31 |
217 | .engineering | 1 | 3167 | 0,32 |
218 | .faith | 0 | 21691 | 0,00 |
219 | .christmas | 0 | 14622 | 0,00 |
220 | .lawyer | 0 | 13153 | 0,00 |
221 | .kaufen | 0 | 9926 | 0,00 |
222 | .nrw | 0 | 9071 | 0,00 |
223 | .management | 0 | 8925 | 0,00 |
224 | .institute | 0 | 7107 | 0,00 |
225 | .loan | 0 | 6767 | 0,00 |
226 | .love | 0 | 6639 | 0,00 |
227 | .forsale | 0 | 6627 | 0,00 |
228 | .construction | 0 | 6605 | 0,00 |
229 | .sydney | 0 | 6592 | 0,00 |
230 | .sucks | 0 | 6551 | 0,00 |
231 | .dental | 0 | 6525 | 0,00 |
232 | .accountant | 0 | 6451 | 0,00 |
233 | .vlaanderen | 0 | 6168 | 0,00 |
234 | .lighting | 0 | 5712 | 0,00 |
235 | .band | 0 | 5672 | 0,00 |
236 | .cologne | 0 | 5516 | 0,00 |
237 | .restaurant | 0 | 5487 | 0,00 |
238 | .holdings | 0 | 5244 | 0,00 |
239 | .enterprises | 0 | 5046 | 0,00 |
240 | .legal | 0 | 5001 | 0,00 |
241 | .win | 0 | 4928 | 0,00 |
242 | .vet | 0 | 4861 | 0,00 |
243 | .discount | 0 | 4835 | 0,00 |
244 | .jetzt | 0 | 4612 | 0,00 |
245 | .plumbing | 0 | 4223 | 0,00 |
246 | .cheap | 0 | 3864 | 0,00 |
247 | .supplies | 0 | 3403 | 0,00 |
248 | .diamonds | 0 | 3293 | 0,00 |
249 | .football | 0 | 3291 | 0,00 |
250 | .saarland | 0 | 3195 | 0,00 |
This is altogether 4362 domains that runs on nTLDs and secured a place on the Alexa top list, only a little bit more than the highly unpopular .biz alone, which has 3342 websites in the top 1 million. There is 10,000 .info and 50,000 .net on the top Alexa list, so we can safely say that nTLDs are at the very beginning of the road.
The stars of nTLD so far, .xyz and .club are on the top of this list, followed by other generic extensions, .link, .website and .today. We can conclude several surprising conclusions if we go further on the list. nTLDs were created to add a second layer of specialization with the meaningful extension. Mainly specialization by geolocation or specialization by profession. None of those are successful so far.
I thought that extensions like .london, .nyc, .berlin, etc. will be used by end users almost immediately, since profession.city type domains are very oversaturated, it is really hard to register any good .coms here. So movers.london, flowers.nyc, pizza.berlin, realestate.sydney are domains that were in the mind of creators of the nTLD era. It seems these end users need a better education about nTLDs, since city domains are hardly used. Only 19 .london and 17 .nyc domains in the top million is a very poor result and others are just worse (except .tokyo with 73 domains). Based on the success rate the top extension is .eus (6.83‰), this is the new extension of the Basque people, most of them living in an autonomous region in Spain and very proud of their nationality. So this is rather a new ccTLD of a large population minority and not a real nTLD.
Professions are also not performing well. The general profession domains, .guru and .expert are less than satisfactory with 88 and 22 domains on the list but they are much better than professions themselves: .photography is the best one with 11 domains. Extensions like .dental, .legal or . lawyer have no websites in the top 1 million at all, profession extensions are in very bad situation.
So it looks like end users don’t really understand or agree the conception yet and goes for general domain extensions where .com, .net, etc are already registered. The registries should invest sponsoring web developments on their extensions to show the way how these extensions could be used properly and invest much more in marketing.