Traffic to New Zealand websites - including from outside the country - has spiked under lockdown, new data from InternetNZ reveals.
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Chief executive Jordan Carter said the use of .nz domain names had risen by an unprecedented five to seven percent every week since lockdown began.
Of the four billion searches for New Zealand email addresses or websites each week, just 200 million have come from within the country.
"It's not all spam traffic, that will be some of it, unfortunately, but what it shows is that New Zealand is really well interconnected globally with the global internet and resources outside New Zealand are looking for details about our domain names, as well as people inside the country."
Some sites experienced dramatic increases, such as government domain names, which have seen a 40 percent increase in traffic compared to before the lockdown.
Carter said Covid19.govt.nz, which was added to the register in mid-March, was "a fantastic example" of using a website as a hub of useful information.
"Many Kiwis are relying on the site for up-to-date, relevant information about Covid-19.
"Sharing of information is crucial, especially during a crisis situation, and a website is an easy way to ensure the same information reaches many New Zealanders at once."
At the beginning of the lockdown, supermarket websites experienced high demand as more people looked into doing online shopping.
However, visits to travel-related .nz sites have slumped by 40 percent, compared with pre-lockdown levels.
InternetNZ was also seeing a spike in .nz domain name registrations as more businesses made a move online, Carter said.
"With Kiwi consumers looking to support local businesses, it's a good time to explore how you can get online and show your local presence with a .nz domain name."
Data showed the most popular words included in recent domain name registrations included "online", "kiwi", and "shop".
