NameCheap Overtakes Go Daddy

Elliot Silver
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38

According to the Google Adword Keyword Tool, tens of thousands of people search for the term “domain name” each month (just under 100,000 searches). Go Daddy is the largest domain registrar, with tens of millions of domain names under management, and NameCheap is on its way to 3 million domain names under its control (check out the company’s 3 millionth domain registration contest).

I am not sure when this happened, but NameCheap has overtaken Go Daddy in Google for the key search term, domain name. Both companies still trail the Wikipedia page for that term, but it’s certainly a major boost for NameCheap to be listed ahead of Go Daddy. A search of the plural “domain names” shows that GoDaddy is still outranking NameCheap, with both companies trailing Wikipedia.

Over the last couple of years, NameCheap has aggressively courted Go Daddy customers and domain buyers with its tongue in cheek advertising and marketing campaigns. At the end of 2011 when Go Daddy flip flopped on its SOPA stance, NameCheap made a big push with people opposed to SOPA, and the company saw a surge in transfers.

NameCheap is a much smaller entity than GoDaddy, so it’s pretty remarkable to see them outranking Go Daddy for this key search term. As a result, Go Daddy and other companies are spending a lot of money on paid search, while NameCheap doesn’t seem to have the need (at least for this key term).

In case you are wondering, I used a non-work related computer to do the search since Google sometimes skews results based on search preferences and prior searches.

Fabulous Now Offers Password Reset

Elliot Silver
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1

I don’t use Fabulous very often, but I do have a number of domain names registered there, mostly from NameJet auctions. Because I don’t use Fabulous very often, I seem to forget my password when I need it, and for the longest time, there was no prompt to request a password when logging in to my account.

When I would forget my password, I would need to email customer support, and sometimes it would take a long time to receive a reply since Fabulous is located in Australia and I am in NYC. The company has fantastic customer support, but it was a bit frustrating to have to wait an extended period of time to receive a password reset via email.

When I logged into my account yesteday to check on a name, I was prompted to create answers for a password reset option. There are five  fields and about 15 questions from which users can choose. I assume the password reset question prompt will rotate the questions for security.

This is a minor feature, but it’s something that is a big annoyance, and I am glad it’s being fixed.

Go Daddy Rectifies Invalid Whois Issue on Moniker Transfers

Elliot Silver
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2

After transferring several domain names from Moniker to Go Daddy recently, I noticed that the Whois lookup looked funky on these names, and after further investigation, I found that Godaddy was reporting a contacts error  inside my control panel. It probably wouldn’t have caused any problems for the domain names, but it’s not good to have incorrect Whois information.

A couple of days ago, I received a notice from Go Daddy’s Nick Fuller informing me that the issue has been resolved. When I posted the article, the company was in the process of getting its parsing updated on transferred Moniker domain names, and that process has been completed.

The company may still be working on the parsing script for transfers from other registrars (like Network Solutions), but it is something that is being fixed as we speak. If you find this error on transfers that are completed from now on, please post a comment here to let the company know. It will be helpful to know the losing registrar and transfer date.

Leap Year Domain Registrations

Elliot Silver
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8

It’s February 29, 2012, and there won’t be another February 29 until 2016. I am sure more than one person is wondering what the expiration date would be for domain names registered on “Leap Day” since there will be no February 29th next year.

For that question, CentralNic CTO Gavin Brown has your answer:

Twitter is a great place to learn new things!

I Wouldn’t Want To Be in The Domain Registrar Business Serving Domain Investors

Elliot Silver
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27

I was going to write this long comment/rant in response to a couple of the comments left in the Moniker sale post, but I believe it merits its own post. I can only imagine the domain registrar business would suck if the primary target audience is domain investors.

As a domain registrar catering to the needs of domain investors, there are a whole lot of downsides and few upsides that I can see. You have demanding and time consuming clients (like me) who only wish to pay just above the actual cost for the domain name, so the profit margin is slim. You also need to have tech support and customer support staff, and that certainly isn’t cheap. When there’s a problem, people are quick to complain on forums and Twitter, without regard for the people working behind the scenes.

From a legal perspective, the company would frequently face litigation from other companies who claim the registrar is contributing to trademark disputes, although I don’t know if there has been a case where a registrar has lost. There are ICANN compliance and regulation issues to deal with, and many registrars need to send representatives to ICANN conferences. All of this is super expensive, considering that customers only want to pay a few cents premium over cost for their domain names.

There are also significant technology costs to consider, since domain investors want an advanced user interface that performs well and is easy to use. In addition, there are hackers who are always trying to find ways to hack into the company’s database to steal credit card information, user information, and of course, domain names. These are additional expenses.

One reason end user-centric registrars like Go Daddy, Name.com, and Network Solutions have seen success and continue to have success is that their end user customers buy add-ons like hosting and storage. These products and services have significantly more robust profit margins, driving profitable revenue for the registrar. Most domain investors don’t buy these additional products.

With all of these costs, a domain registrar needs to have massive scale, and that isn’t easy to achieve, especially with some of the factors above. I really wouldn’t want to be in the domain registrar business servicing domain investors like myself.

After the Sale, Are You More or Less Likely to Use Moniker?

Elliot Silver
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19

I’m sure you’ve already read the news that Moniker and Snapnames  were  acquired by KeyDrive in a private transaction. I am very surprised that neither Oversee.net nor Key Drive sent an email to Moniker / Snapnames clients, and I don’t see anything that would indicate that either company issued a press release to announce the news yet.

I have met a few employees of KeyDrive, although I don’t know a whole lot about the company, aside from some of its business assets and location. For some people, having a registrar whose European corporate “home base” will come as good news, while others may not wish to have their domain registrar located outside of the United States (keep in mind that the .com registry is of course located in Virginia).

Technical support and customer service are both important to me, and I don’t know anything about the support or service that will be given by KeyDrive. At one time, I knew I could send an email to Bari Meyerson, and she would handle any issue very quickly. That changed in recent months, and I was then required to submit everything directly to Oversee.net support.

With all of this said, I am wondering what your immediate thoughts on the sale are, and if you plan to use Moniker going forward.


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