The AusRegistry and the .au Domain Administration (auDA), the organizations that handle the .AU domain space, recently released a survey on how Australians feel about domain names.
Unsurprisingly it found that a majority of Australians prefer a .AU domain name when setting up a website. Roughly 68% said so in the survey out of over 3,000 asked.
.AU Survey Findings
- 58% of domain holders surveyed have a .au domain name.
- People chose to register a .au domain name because it is the ‘most popular domain type in Australia’ and ‘best represents Australian organisations’.
- .au domains are mostly used for a business website and email.
- More than 80% of respondents used social media. Facebook remains the top choice at 69%.
- 38% buy a domain name when they have an idea for a business
- Australian businesses that do now own a domain name and previously expressed ‘no need’ to hold a domain name dropped from 67% in 2015 to 52% in 2016
- The gender gap of women .AU registrants is closing, women account for 47% of domain holders. Compared to 44% in 2015 and 43% in 2013.
When Australians were asked, “Who wants to expand their online presence?” the .AU survey found;
- 39% of businesses without a domain name
- 21% of people without a domain name
- 22% of people with a social media presence
- 7% of people without a social media presence
When asked Australians were asked, “How do you choose your a domain name provider?” The response;
- 22% through a web design agency or firm
- 24% through using a search engine
- 18% through a personal recommendation
So how does the other 36% decide? I imagine they already have a domain name registrar they use.
When survey respondents were asked, “Why do you choose .AU?” the response was;
- 47% said it best represents Australian organisations (or organiZations in America)
- 19% value for their money
- 58% think it is popular in Australia
- 22% Trust the .AU domain extension
You can view the .AU inforgraphic here. In addition you can download the and read and the full report in AusRegistry's Behind the Dot issue.
Australians have a close bond to .AU
In the United States the .US domain extension isn't a popular country code. While in Australia .AU is a big deal and it seems this survey backs that up.
.AU recently celebrated it's 30th anniversary with over 3 million .AU domains registered. AuDA plans to introduce direct .AU domain registrations in the future. Currently .AU registrations are only allowed in .COM.AU, .NET.AU, .ORG.AU, etc. Here is a good video explaining how the .AU domain name space works if you are unfamiliar.
We've already seen Nominet introduce direct .UK domain registrations and New Zealand do the same with .NZ domains. Will Australians take to direct .AU domain name registrations? We will see but the AusRegistry and auDA have only said it's coming not when direct .AU domains will be released.
What do you think of these .AU survey findings? Surprising or unsurprising? Did the .AU domain survey miss anything important?
.au Survey 2016 finding released [Press Release]
A survey of more than 3,000 respondents has revealed more than two-thirds would register a .au domain if setting up a new website.
AusRegistry and the .au Domain Administration (auDA) have today released the findings of the fourth annual .au survey, used to gauge Australian sentiment towards the .au namespace and how people interact with it.
This year’s findings support previous results as well as presenting shifts in sentiment and domain adoption.
AusRegistry Senior Director George Pongas said the survey was designed to better understand the Australian Internet user and their relationship with the .au domain namespace.
“It is not surprising that in its 30 years of operation, .au has become one of the most established and successful ccTLDs,” Mr Pongas said.
“As a namespace it not only sits as one of the most popular ccTLDs, having ranked in the top ten for domains under management for a number of years, it is a namespace that continually strives to innovate and to safeguard its users.
“On behalf of AusRegistry I would like to thank auDA and the Australian Internet community for their support and assisting us with this important research into the .au namespace.”
auDA CEO Cameron Boardman said a thorough understanding of market place needs and regular tracking of how to meet the expectations of stakeholders were central to the future strategic plans for auDA and the .au domain namespace.
“The .au research findings, conducted by AusRegistry, constitute some of the tools we reference, when we review and aim to improve the services we deliver to the Australian digital community,” Mr Boardman said.
“It’s an important time in the .au landscape. Continuing to seek feedback which can offer us a more comprehensive insight, will be critical for the ongoing success and relevance of .au.”
The .au survey was conducted in July 2016 and received a total of 3,011 responses.
Questions were based on previous surveys and covered the major themes of Demographics, Online Behaviour and Communications, Online Presence, Australians and Domains, and Australians and .au Domains.
