I want to give you a friendly reminder that the Verisign price increase of 7% for .com domain names and 10% for .net domain names will go into effect tomorrow, July 1, 2010. I’ve known about it for a while but haven’t started taking any action until the last couple of days.
As a result of Verisign increasing the prices of domain registrations, commercial domain registrars will also have to increase the prices consumers pay for domains. I emailed several domain registrars to ask what the new prices will be and most were reluctant to provide those numbers, so unfortunately, I can’t give you more information on this, but you can figure it will be around 7% for .com domain names.
I’ve heard that one factor that plays a part in Google’s algorithm is the amount of time remaining on a domain name’s registration. Apparently, a website with a domain name that is registered for a longer period of time may rank higher than another similar website, with all things being equal. With the price increase about to happen, I’ve been extending the registration for several years on some of my key websites. Sure, it’s only a few dollars that I am saving, but I am going to have to pay the fee at some point, so why not now.
Some companies like Name.com are offering specials for domain transfers (the company is currently offering $6.99 domain transfers). Additionally, the company is also offering $5.99 .COM & .NET registrations for today only when you purchase a domain name using the promo code “NEVERAGAIN.”
If you know of other special offers feel free to post them to let others know.
Thanks for the heads up.
I guess it would be worth it to take a look at any domains that you’re going to be renewing in the next few months and renew them now to save some money.
Still, a 7 percent increase isn’t that much when it is only a $7 a year renewal.
At $8/name, with 250 names, the cost is $140. Not too much, but it’s a nice dinner for 2 in NYC.
I’ve been looking out over the next few months and renewing the most obvious renewals but still being careful to not renew any domains I’m not sure I want to renew. Saving less than 50 cents doesn’t save you anything if you were going to let the name drop anyway.
You still have to worry where Verisign comes up with the justification for a price increase now. Stocks, real estate, PPC payouts and even domain aftermarket prices are down from a few years ago while unemployment is much higher.