5 Million Domain Names Added To The Internet In The 1st Quarter Of 2014 For a Total Of 276 Million

VeriSign, Inc. today announced five million domain names were added to the Internet in the first quarter of 2014, bringing the total number of registered domain names to 276 million worldwide across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of March 31, 2014, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief.

The increase of five million domain names globally equates to a growth rate of 1.7 percent over the fourth quarter of 2013. Worldwide registrations have grown by 19.3 million, or 7.5 percent, year over year.

The .com and .net TLDs experienced aggregate growth, reaching a combined total of approximately 128.5 million domain names in the adjusted zone in the first quarter of 2014. This represents a 4 percent increase year over year. As of March 31, 2014, the base of registered names in .com equaled 113.2 million names, while .net equaled 15.2 million names.

New .com and .net registrations totaled 8.6 million during the first quarter of 2014. In the first quarter of 2013, new .com and .net registrations totaled 8.8 million.

During the first quarter of 2014, Verisign’s average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was 85 billion across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak of 120 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, the daily average increased 3.4 percent and the peak increased 20.6 percent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased 14.8 percent and the peak query load increased 6 percent.

Here is the complete press release:

VeriSign, Inc., a global leader in domain names and Internet security, today announced five million domain names were added to the Internet in the first quarter of 2014, bringing the total number of registered domain names to 276 million worldwide across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of March 31, 2014, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief.

The increase of five million domain names globally equates to a growth rate of 1.7 percent over the fourth quarter of 2013. Worldwide registrations have grown by 19.3 million, or 7.5 percent, year over year.

The .com and .net TLDs experienced aggregate growth, reaching a combined total of approximately 128.5 million domain names in the adjusted zone in the first quarter of 2014. This represents a 4 percent increase year over year. As of March 31, 2014, the base of registered names in .com equaled 113.2 million names, while .net equaled 15.2 million names.

New .com and .net registrations totaled 8.6 million during the first quarter of 2014. In the first quarter of 2013, new .com and .net registrations totaled 8.8 million.

During the first quarter of 2014, Verisign’s average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was 85 billion across all TLDs operated by Verisign, with a peak of 120 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, the daily average increased 3.4 percent and the peak increased 20.6 percent. Year over year, the daily average query load increased 14.8 percent and the peak query load increased 6 percent.

As more companies bring their businesses online, there is an increased concern over domain name security. This quarter’s featured article, “The Domain Threat Landscape: Protecting Critical Infrastructure Requires a Layered Security Approach” provides a brief summary of domain name hijacking and some preventative measures and tools to help ensure your domain name is secure.

Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide Internet users throughout the world with statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. Copies of the 2014 first quarter Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at VerisignInc.com/DNIB.

About Verisign As a global leader in domain names and Internet security, Verisign powers the invisible navigation that takes people to where they want to go on the Internet. For more than 15 years, Verisign has operated the infrastructure for a portfolio of top-level domains that today includes .com, .net, .tv, .edu, .gov, .jobs, .name and .cc, as well as two of the world’s 13 Internet root servers. Verisign’s product suite also includes Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection Services, iDefense Security Intelligence Services and Managed DNS. To learn more about what it means to be Powered by Verisign, please visit VerisignInc.com.