'Net Features : .co domain

.CO is Exceeding Expectations after One Year

Allison Howen — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:00:00 GMT

On the heels of .co’s first anniversary, it has proven a very successful year for the young domain extension.

A year after .co’s global launch, more than 1 million domain names have been registered, and the first time renewal rate is exceeding expectations, which is currently at 66 percent— and that is without counting late renewals yet.

Typically first year domains have a renewal rate in the low to mid 60 percent range, however .co’s renewal rate is expected to be around 68 to 69 percent when all is said and done.

Companies that have joined the .co bandwagon include Google, Amazon, Twitter and Overstock, as well as entrepreneurs from more than 200 countries.

Currently the U.S. has the most .co domain names registered with almost 52 percent, followed by the U.K. at 13.7 percent, and Canada rounds out the top three with just over 4 percent.

During the next year, .co claims that it will focus on enhancing the registrar marketing portal, expanding the global reseller network, launching new marketing campaigns and making tracking progress easier with reports and charts.

One Million Domains for .CO Registry

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:35:00 GMT

The .Co Registry announced that it passed one million registrations this week, less than one year from its global launch in July 2010. The one millionth domain name was officially registered at GoDaddy.com, the largest retailer of .CO domain names globally.

“Entrepreneurs and innovative businesses around the globe are adopting .CO web addresses at an unprecedented pace, way beyond my initial expectations,” said Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet.

While .CO has its detractors, and may eventually suffer from the introduction of the new top-level domains, the popularity of .CO is pretty spectacular. Many well-known brands including Twitter (T.CO) Overstock (O.CO) have adopted the extension and put it to good use. Overstock even went as far as to rebrand its company internationally as O.CO.

According to .CO Internet S.A.S. (www.Opportunity.CO), the official registry operator for the .CO domain, customer penetration is currently greatest in North America (which accounts for approximately 50% of .CO domain registrations), and throughout Europe, (which accounts for approximately 25% of registrations).