India is posed to significantly impact the internet marketplace because it already has the 3rd largest amount of internet users (243, 198, 922, just behind the U.S. which has 279,834, 232 and China which has 641,601,070) despite the fact the county’s internet penetration is only 19%. The U.S. is already at 86.75% internet penetration and China is at 46.03%.
The Comprehensive Guide on What Users Need to Know about .in Domains
As internet penetration in India increases over the next decade, it will overtake the top two countries. And it is expected to do so by 2025, as the percentage growth per year is only 4% in China and 7% in the U.S., but is currently at 14% and rising in India.
Moreover, with initiatives like internet.org – which is working to bring internet to the two-thirds of the world that is currently not connected due to power issues, prices of devices, and lack of connectivity among other inhibitions – the internet penetration of India is only expected to see continued growth. India’s current 19% internet penetration is accessed 60% via mobile, which will circumvent the need for computers for internet connectivity in conjunction with the falling price of smartphones.
So What Does This Mean for .in Domains?
According to Zak Muscovitch, India’s national .in domain crossed the 1.7 million mark in April, 2015. As the market is merely projected to expand immensely from there, investing in a .in domain by using a provider like www.1and1.com, whether you are an Indian business or are a multinational company expanding into the Indian market, is a wise investment to make.
In his article, The New Land of Opportunity? An Inside Look at India’s Emerging Domain Market, Ron Jackson noted that
”Indian businesses prefer the .in extension whereas any multi national company opening their subsidiary prefer to do so using the .co.in extension. Even that is changing now and the new age start-ups and businesses are trying to set shop on .com or .in extensions, primarily. The Indian market is evolving rapidly and as more and more of the population goes online this percentage will continue going up and category defining or one word .in domain names are going to get more and more scarce and valuable …”
In other words, investing in an Indian domain could mean the difference for multinational companies trying to compete in the Indian market. Adding a .in that redirects to your existing website, whether it is a .com, .fr, .ca or whatever it may be, this will allow you to have visibility to tap into the Indian market, give you access to more customers, and set your business up for long-term success if indeed the future of the internet belongs to India.
