Web registrations sign of confidence in local economy

Galway registered 2,369 new .ie domains in 2018 – up over 31% year-on-year, in a development that is seen as a positive indicator of regional economic growth.

That’s according to the biannual .ie Domain Profile Report, from the company that manages Ireland’s country domain.

The picture is the same across the province, where new .ie domain registrations in Connacht in 2018 numbered 4,239, an almost 28% percent year-on-year increase.

Nationally, 51,040 new .ie domains registered in 2018, up by over 30% on 2017; the total .ie database increased to 262,140, up by more than 10%.

And in an interesting development, new .ie registrations from Great Britain increased by +28% in 2018 – possibly indicating a Brexit-related migration of business to Ireland.

The report reveals that 81% of all .ie domains in the total database are owned by businesses or the self-employed, indicating a national understanding of the value of digital business and marketing.

In many Border, Midlands and West region counties, new .ie domain registration growth was higher than in Dublin. Leitrim recorded the highest overall YoY percentage growth in the country (+65.5%). Laois experienced growth of +43% and Roscommon +33%.

In 2018, 28% of all .ie domains were registered by individuals, up +120% on the previous year. This suggests a positive impact of the relaxation of .ie registration rules to allow nicknames and geographical names, along with the rising popularity of .ie for personal branding purposes.

IE Domain Registry CEO David Curtin announced that 2018 was a record-breaking year for registrations.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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