It may be a detail for you, but for the French Association of Internet Naming in Cooperation (Afnic), it means a lot. There are more and more .fr domain names on the French Internet. Since December 12, 4 million .fr domain names have been used every day, according to an Afnic press release.
A “digital success made in France” in the words of Afnic, which welcomes this national extension. Each country has its own domain name, called a ccTLD (country code top-level domain). For example, websites ending in .be correspond to Belgium, .uk to the United Kingdom, etc.
More than 776,000 new domain names in 2021
The .fr extension is now one of the most used national domain names in the world. In 2021, its growth on the French market was even higher than that of .com, the classic and universal domain name, with a current market share of 38.75%.
During all of 2021, even 776,514 new .fr domain names were created. A growth that does not lose strength, since in 2022 between 12,000 and 16,000 domain names in French will continue to be created every week.
Local business referendum
Many large companies now use a .com domain name, particularly for SEO purposes. If you use a .fr domain name, it is preferable to have a French audience and/or target, otherwise some users will miss out on your content.
But this is generally what local businesses, which have a local clientele, are looking for. Today, 50% have chosen a .fr domain name. 58% of restaurants and half of French VSEs/SMEs have also created a website with an address ending in .fr.
And at a time when having an online presence has become essential, the choice of domain name and extension is essential, since it contributes to the success or not of a website.
Source: BFM TV
