GoDaddy is a privately owned, Internet-based company that provides a variety of services including domain name registration, web hosting and e-business software sales. The company, which is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded by Bob Parsons. Parsons previously owned a financial services software company, which he sold in the mid-1990s upon retirement. He came out of retirement in 1997 to form Jomax Technologies, the predecessor to GoDaddy.
Since it’s inception, GoDaddy has risen to become the largest domain registrar in the world, with tens of million of domains registered to its clients. The company ranks as the world’s largest ICANN-accredited registrar; it’s approximately four times larger than its nearest competition. Recent corporate acquisitions include Outright, Locu, Afternic, and Media Temple.
GoDaddy has redefined Internet hosting services, and it has been the recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades. Among these awards are the 2001 Arizona BBB award for Business Ethics and the 2011 SC Magazine award for Best Security Team. In 2011, it ranked number four in the Phoenix Business Magazine list of “Best Places to Work in the Valley” and it made the 2012 Forbes list of “Best 100 Companies to Work For.”
Known for its sometimes controversial commercials and interesting spokespersons, GoDaddy also sponsors a number of charitable causes in support of domestic violence and child abuse awareness, and sports events, including NASCAR and the Super Bowl. In 2013, the company shifted its advertising strategy to focus more on small to medium sized business owners (SMB). Reflecting this change, its commercials and advertising materials shifted from “sexy” to smart.
It’s always exciting when the domain name aftermarket and domain investing gets a mention in a non-tech news publication. GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani made an appearance on Fox Business yesterday to discuss the company’s first quarter results. What caught my attention was that Mr. Bhutani spoke about the growth of the domain name secondary market at GoDaddy. Not only that, but he specifically mentioned domain investors.
Have a look at the interview:
In its earnings call this afternoon, GoDaddy discussed its acquisition of around 30 new gTLD extensions. The company cited the “efficiencies of scale” for why the acquisition made sense, and I mentioned that I am curious about whether GoDaddy acquired any of the extensions that were offered for sale by UNR in its auction at the end of April. As you may recall, UNR announced it would be auctioning 23 of its TLDs in separate no reserve auctions.
I reached out to Shayan Rostam, Chief Growth Officer at UNR, and I asked him if he can share a status update on the auction and perhaps share some of the results. Shayan replied with a press release (published below) that will hit the wires shortly.
After the market closed today, GoDaddy reported its Q1 2021 earnings. The quarterly earnings report can be accessed via the Investor Relations portal on GoDaddy’s website. Depending on what time you read this, GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani is either preparing to share some remarks on the investor call today at 5pm Eastern, or he already gave them.
Whether you listen live or not, you can have a look at the prepared remarks to see what was said. Most interestingly, domain investors were specifically mentioned:
Earlier this year, GoDaddy teased that its landing pages with Buy It Now (BIN) functionality will be released at some point in 2021. That time has almost come, and domain investors who list their domain names with BIN prices on Afternic will soon be able to utilize the new GoDaddy-branded landing page design. Joe Styler mentioned the new GoDaddy-branded landing page on Twitter over the weekend showing how it looks on mobile devices:
— Joe Styler (@jjstyler) April 25, 2021
When I place a bid on an auction at GoDaddy Auctions, I receive an email with my maximum bid amount. I typically place my bids on the morning, and the auctions close several hours later in the afternoon. By that time, I’ve lost track of how much I initially bid on the auction.
If I am outbid on an auction, I also receive an email from GoDaddy to notify me. For some unknown reason, GoDaddy Auctions does not state the current high bid in those emails, and I find it frustrating. Here’s an example of an outbid notice I received yesterday afternoon:
GoDaddy made a major announcement in a press release yesterday afternoon. The publicly traded company intends to purchase .Club, .Design, and Minds & Machines (MMX) TLDs. These TLDs will be folded into the company’s GoDaddy Registry division. Terms of the acquisition of .Club and .Design were not disclosed, but GoDaddy will be paying $120 million USD for MMX assets, subject to various approvals. MMX is traded publicly on the London Stock Exchange.
