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GoDaddy

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.

Suggestions to Improve GoDaddy / Afternic Sale Process

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GoDaddy and Afternic operate the largest domain name sales network, partnering with more than 100 other domain name registrars and platforms to sell customer-owned domain names. A customer that lists a domain name for sale via Afternic will have their listings shown on the purchase pages at registrars like Namecheap, Google, Name.com, and many others when a prospective buyer searches for that domain name.

GoDaddy’s Fast Transfer network makes it relatively easy for domain investors to sell their domain names. When a buyer at Namecheap, for example, purchases a domain name listed for sale via GoDaddy/Afternic on the Fast Transfer network, the domain name will automatically transfer to the buyer without the seller having to take action. Once listed and approved, the seller doesn’t play much of a role in selling domain names via this channel.

The GoDaddy / Afternic network should and does make it easier for domain investors to sell domain names to people they may have never reached, but it is not without its issues. There are pain points that I deal with when selling via GoDaddy and Afternic, and I want to offer some suggestions to improve the process.

Upstream Provider Issue at Uniregistry Resolved – Data Updated by Friday

I have a small percentage of my domain names resolving to pay per click landing pages at Uniregistry. When I checked in on my PPC earnings this afternoon, it showed zero revenue was earned since October 1. The traffic figures seemed to be consistent, so there is an issue with revenue reporting.

Media Options Brokers Sale of Gorillas.com

In September, I noticed that Gorillas.com had a Media Options landing page with a $500,000 asking price. What was interesting to me is that Gorillas.com has been owned by NameFind, the domain name portfolio company owned and operated by GoDaddy. I shared what I noticed on Twitter:

Paul Nicks, GoDaddy VP and GM of its Aftermarket, responded to share that Media Options was doing outbound brokering for some of NameFind’s domain names:

Afternic Beta Opens to All Accounts

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Yesterday afternoon, Paul Nicks (GoDaddy VP and GM of the Aftermarket) announced that the Afternic beta website is now open to all Afternic customers:

To access the beta, customers need to click the “Try the new Afternic 2.0 BETA” link on the left sidebar of the website. Once on the website, there is a quick guide sharing some screengrabs of what users can do on the beta site.

GoDaddy Beginning to Migrate Uniregistry Accounts

It has been a year and a half since GoDaddy acquired Uniregistry. GoDaddy recently began the process of notifying some Uniregistry (Uni) customers that their accounts will migrate to GoDaddy. I have been told this first batch of migrations is for Uni accounts that have 50 or fewer domain names in them that do not use Uni for parking or for its marketplace.

Customers whose accounts will be migrated will be given 30 days notice about the process. It will take approximately two days to move all associated account records (including domain names, payment profiles, data…etc) to GoDaddy. Once the migration is complete, customers will receive an email notifying them how to create a password and gain access to their account. The email will also contain a link to information on how to merge a new account with an existing GoDaddy account for customers that already use GoDaddy. Customers with migrated accounts will be able to login to their Uni account and SSO into their new GoDaddy account.

GoDaddy Hiring Public Relations Manager

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GoDaddy posted a job listing for a Public Relations Manager, and a good understanding of the domain name space would be helpful for this particular role. A Public Relations professional working within the domain name industry might be a good fit for this job, as would a PR professional who has experience buying domain names.

The first bullet point covering this job is directly related to GoDaddy’s domain name business: “Lead the public relations strategy and execution for GoDaddy’s domain name registration and web hosting businesses.” In addition, the job posting is looking for someone who might have “a passion for the domain name industry and cutting-edge technology.”

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