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 looks like GoDaddy has released its 2014 Super Bowl commercial, and it’s quite different from the Super Bowl commercials that helped make the company a household name. Instead of press about banned commercials, “uncensored” commercials found online, and the GoDaddy girls taking on a prominent role in the commercial, the recent branding change from GoDaddy takes center stage.
This year’s GoDaddy Super Bowl commercial features
@GoDaddy @DInvesting @DomainShane no reply so far. Since I have no domain I have no email and I can’t work. HELP me get my domain back!
— MigueK (@mikeklurfan) January 6, 2014
Hey @GoDaddy I’ve been phished like many others. Can you help? http://t.co/JX2sws43Uq … #ItsGoTime
— MigueK (@mikeklurfan) January 6, 2014
It looks like someone fell prey to the GoDaddy phishing email that occurred over the weekend. According to these panicked tweets sent by Twitter user @mikeklurfan, it appears that Mike may have accidentally revealed his login information via the phishing email, and now he apparently has lost access to his account / domain name.
If you have had your GoDaddy account hacked or stolen, the best bet is probably to call their toll free customer service number, which is 480-505-8885. Call center representatives
I received a non-personalized email from GoDaddy this morning, and as I read it on my iPhone, I had an idea for a blog post about the importance of personalizing emails to customers. As I was reviewing my other emails, I received a subsequent email from a blog reader advising me of a possibly phishing scheme targeting domain name owners.
According to a post on DNForum this morning from a user named Image Authors, there is
I was cleaning out my spam email folder this morning when I came across an email that I received shortly after hand registering a domain name for a friend via GoDaddy. I blocked out the domain name that was registered as well as the company that is promoting it.
I don’t hand register many domain names, so this was the first time I noticed an email like this.
Your thoughts are welcome.
When it comes to the new domain names, GoDaddy is probably going to play one of the greatest roles in consumer adoption. GoDaddy is the largest domain name registrar, and as a result, the company will present the new gTLD domain names to millions of consumers. I believe the company’s marketing efforts will be critical to consumer awareness, and there’s a lot of money at stake.
Earlier this month, GoDaddy opened pre-registrations on four domain extensions: .Build, .Luxury, .Uno, and .Menu. Prices to pre-register domain names ranged from $40 to $1,200 (price is refundable less the application fee if name isn’t secured). Shortly after the company began offering pre-registrations, I reached out to ask if the company would share some trends and perhaps some information about the number of pre-registrations.
Last night, I received an email from GoDaddy with some trends the company is seeing. Here are some of these trends:
GoDaddy unveiled some major expansion plans this morning, and the company’s next target is Europe. In August, GoDaddy reported considerable success following their expansion in India, and their success their will presumably serve as its blueprint for the EMEA market. In a press release this morning, GoDaddy announced the hiring of Stefano Maruzzi as GoDaddy EMEA Vice President, and the company also announced major plans to open a European Customer Care Centre.
Once this expansion is completed (late spring 2014), GoDaddy will be able to serve customers speaking 14 different European languages. At the present time, GoDaddy Customer Care representatives are proficient in