Summary of .ie domain usage report

The IE Domain Registry (IEDR) is the official registry for .ie internet domain names and maintains the database of registered .ie domain names.

The IEDR is responsible for the management and administration of Ireland’s official internet address .ie, in the interest of the Irish and global internet communities. The IEDR operates the domain name system (DNS) for the .ie namespace. Every year the IEDR publishes a report on usage of the .ie domain.

The summary of the report states that “Business sentiment in Ireland continues on a positive, upward trajectory as economic conditions improve. There are now more than 217,000 registered .ie domains, and that number is growing at a steady rate. Since January alone, 18,179 new .ie domains have been added to the .ie database.

In a continued positive trend for Ireland’s digital economy, 72% of all new .ie domains this year were registered by private or public limited companies and sole traders. Clearly, more and more Irish businesses recognise the value of a .ie website, and, in particular, .ie as an authentic and trusted “Identifiably Irish” brand.”

From the report findings, its clear to see that sole traders and Small to Medium size businesses see the value in using the power of the internet to expand their customer base and increase their brand profile.

The importance of a web presence

Now more than ever, having a web presence is important. As more and more people rely on google searching to alert them to new businesses and services in your local area.

As the economy improves in Ireland, more families are again moving to commuter towns. These families are new to the area and will use google to find what they are looking for. If you are not on the Internet then you are not in the search results.

As a returned emigrant to Ireland, new to a rural area I use the internet to find companies and services. So many local businesses have no web presence, so they are not even on my radar. Most local businesses rely on word of mouth for new custom, however in our web enabled age this is an out of date strategy.

Another expanding customer base is passing through trade. Imagine a family driving from Cork to Dublin, they want to find somewhere to stop en route for lunch. They pull up google on a smartphone and run a search. If your business has no web presence it will not appear, and so go overlooked by this family.

A simple website doesn’t cost a lot in terms of time or money, but can bring great gains in terms of a new customer base.