GoDaddy Archives - Page 103 of 116

Go Daddy Rectifies Invalid Whois Issue on Moniker Transfers

Elliot Silver

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April 2, 2012

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.

Invalid Whois Problem at Go Daddy

Elliot Silver

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March 12, 2012

14

It’s an ICANN rule that Whois information for domain names must be kept accurate. If a domain name is found to have inaccurate or false Whois information, the domain name can be suspended. This obviously could be problematic for a domain owner, especially if the Whois data is inaccurate due to issues out of his control.

I transferred a number of domain names from Moniker and Network Solutions to Go Daddy a couple of weeks ago, and I want to share a problem I encountered to prevent you from having the same issues. I thought the issue might be isolated to one registrar, but I believe it impacted all of the domain names I transferred from both registrars.

For some reason, my contact information was transported upon the transfer, but it didn’t all get carried over to the correct fields. For instance, my company name appeared on the address line. In my Godaddy control panel, there was an error message that said, “Contact Validation Failed” and “Invalid content,” as you can see in the screenshot above.

I don’t know if this type of error would be enough to have a domain name suspended if it was reported, but having a problem like this isn’t good, especially when it appears the domain owner needs to manually correct each domain name rather than making a change for the entire account.

One other issue I encountered was that there was nothing I saw in the account manager to tell me which names have Whois issues. I had to go to the individual domain names in my control panel to see. I am concerned that there may be other names I previously transferred that have invalid Whois data. If you know of a way to find out globally in my account, please let me know.

This is something you need to be aware of when transferring domain names to Godaddy.

Information About “Repossessed by Go Daddy” Registrant

Elliot Silver

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February 29, 2012

20

I read an article on DomainGang.com about a domain name that appeared to have been repossessed by its registrar, Go Daddy. The registrant showed up as “Repossessed by Go Daddy,” and according to a DomainTools email search, just under 50,000 domain names are registered to the email address associated with this particular account.

I reached out to GoDaddy to ask four questions about the repossessed account maintained by the company, and I received a reply from Go Daddy’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Zimmerman (the questions and answers weren’t specific to the domain name in the DomainGang article). Learn about how domain names go into the “Repossessed by GoDaddy” account.

Why would a domain name be repossessed?

“Go Daddy’s Payment Verification Office reviews every transaction through our system using either an automated or manual review process.

Products and services can be repossessed during this process if a payment is suspected to be fraudulent. In addition, domain names are repossessed when a chargeback is processed on a payment.

If a payment is fradulent or charged back within the first five days after a domain name is purchased, the domain name is returned to the registry.”

How can a domain owner get a name out of that account?

“If a product or service is repossessed due to suspected payment fraud or chargeback, the account holder can work with the Payment Verification Office to resolve the matter.”

When did Go Daddy institute this account/policy?

“Go Daddy has always implemented payment verification and chargeback policies, with minimal changes to the procedures over the years.”

How many names are repossessed?

“While specific numbers of repossessed domain names cannot be discussed, it is around one-tenth of a percent of our entire portfolio.

Go Daddy has a 24/7 team available to work with any customer to resolve a repossession.”

Video: How IndyCar Driver James Hinchcliffe Got the Go Daddy Car

GoDaddy

Elliot Silver

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February 28, 2012

1

I’m not a car racing fan, although any watchable event or “sport” where the crowd drinks heavily seems at least somewhat appealing to me. Anyway, a friend sent a link to this video of Go Daddy IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, who humorously discusses the events that led him to take over the wheel from former IndyCar driver Danica Patrick (who now drives Go Daddy’s NASCAR car). I have no idea if Godaddy is behind the video or not, but it’s humorous.

Go Daddy Reports “Significant Surge” in Whitney Houston Domain Registrations

GoDaddy

Elliot Silver

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February 12, 2012

13

I was saddened to learn about the death of Whitney Houston. I think her performance of the national anthem before Super Bowl XXV was probably one of the best renditions in recent memory.

Unfortunately, it’s being reported that many people have taken to hand registering Whitney Houston related domain names. Although some might become memorial websites, I would bet many will end up on sites like Ebay where people will try to hawk these worthless domain names.

According to Go Daddy:

“Go Daddy has seen a significant surge in domain name registrations containing the words “Whitney Houston.”

Hundreds of related domain names have been registered in fewer than 24 hours since news of her death hit the media.”

The report mentioned that over 325 domain names were registered in the hours since Ms. Houston’s passing, and in the weeks prior, only about a dozen domain names were registered. This type of thing is frustrating to see because people think they can get rich with these names, and not only is that almost unequivocally false, but it also makes domain investors look bad.

So why am I giving attention to this? Well, frankly, I think if people read this and are tempted by the proposition of possibly making money by buying morbid names like this to sell them, I hope they will see that this is foolish and tasteless.

Did You Sell Any Go Daddy Premium Domain Names During the Super Bowl?

Elliot Silver

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February 7, 2012

29

Domain Name News reported that Go Daddy planned to have their premium listings appear during the Super Bowl. This was big news because GoDaddy spent upwards of $10 million producing and airing its two Super Bowl commercials, and as a result, the company always experiences a huge traffic surge to its website.

Since domain names listed on both Afternic DLS and Sedo MLS are shown on Godaddy searches, I was wondering if anyone saw an uptick in premium domain purchases on Sunday night and/or yesterday. I don’t have a large enough list of domain names that utilize the Godaddy premium sales channel, but I am sure some of you have enough and could indicate whether there was an uptick.

Additionally, I was curious if you received more interest than normal in your domain names, whether it came from direct inquiries, form submissions, aftermarket sites, or other sales channels. Anecdotally, I’ve heard that there tends to be an increase due to the attention given to domain names during this busy time of the year.

Last week was a busy week for me for domain sales, but all of them were procured through my efforts rather than through inquiries for my domain names. I don’t think I received any “Godaddy bump,” and I was wondering if you have.