Demand for .ie domains remains strong despite competition from social media platforms
Despite the popularity of social media platforms companies’ need for a hosted presence remains strong, with Irish companies demonstrating a strong presence for a local top level domain (TLD) according to the latest .ie Domain Profile Report.
Now in its tenth year, the report is an annual exploration of the .ie database, the national registry for .ie domain names. It also highlights the challenges and opportunities faced by Internet users, businesses and government within Ireland’s online ecosystem.
The report revealed that .ie continues to hold majority share of Ireland’s hosted domains (54.2%) followed by .com (29.43%) and .uk (7.33%) with a 16% increase in the total .ie database over the past five years, despite marginal decrease in total database compared to 2023 (0.5%).
CEO of .ie David Curtin said: “Since SMEs account for 99.8% of the number of companies in the Irish economy, supporting their growth and scaling efforts is crucial for a modern future-proofed Ireland. The .ie Domain Profile Report shows that while there has been a lot of progress made in digital intent in Ireland, there is still a long way to go to convert this to real digital growth. The government must invest more in infrastructure and supports for SMEs to take them onto the next step of digitalisation.”
The Domain Profile report also emphasised that digital technologies have the potential to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas and unlock new opportunities for Irish businesses. However, it also identified evidence of an ongoing digital divide based on location, size and sector, in particular for micro-SMEs with fewer than 10 employees.
The divide appeared to be closing in commuter areas such as Kildare, Meath and Limerick where new .ie domain registrations continue to rise, however Connacht and Ulster largely recorded a decline in new registrations in 2024.
There has been a notable decline in domain creations on a global scale. CENTR, the association of European country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registries, has highlighted notable shifts in recent years, particularly post-Covid. One potential reason for domain registration decline may be due to a recent surge in social selling – where social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok now have e-commerce capabilities on the app. Reuters reported in December last year that TikTop Shop sales had reached $100 million last Black Friday as bargain hunting American consumers spent big online.
Curtin added: “While social media is an excellent tool for increasing visibility and capturing audience interest, these platforms are limited in their ability to build lasting relationships with customers and, more importantly, convert them to sales.
“An ‘omni-channel’ approach that offers customers more than one way to engage with business is best – where social media is used as a tool to drive traffic to a secure website. It is crucial that SMEs have control over their own eCommerce channels and are not solely reliant on third party selling platforms such as TikTok Shop which has been proven to be extremely volatile over the past few weeks.”
Leitrim recorded the largest percentage growth (up 51%) in new .iedomain registrations compared to 2023, followed by Tyrone (20%) and Meath (19%). Fermanagh has the smallest number of total .ie domain registrations in the country as just 191 total domains are registered there.
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