The most basic building block of your Internet presence is your domain name registration. While the registrar’s annual fee is usually nominal, most don’t realize there’s a lot more you can do with them besides just pointing them to a website. Here’s a few pro-tips to get the most value out of your domain name registration.
Skip the registrar up-sells. Most of the major registrars (GoDaddy, NameCheap, etc.) will offer add-ons when you register or renew a name. Examples include enhanced privacy or increased security. As for privacy, your registration is now private by default (thanks to recent data privacy regulations), meaning that your personal details aren’t public, as in years past. Security add-ons can be helpful if you have a high-value domain that might be a target for theft or hacking, but in most cases, just keeping your contact info updated and your account login secure should be enough for most.
Multiply your options with subdomains. While your website and email are connected to yourdomain.com, you can expand the usefulness of your domain by adding a descriptive subdomain—for example, team.yourdomain.com. Subdomains each have their own DNS detail records, meaning they can be used for completely different websites and even email systems. For example, you can create a specialty website for your team at team.yourdomain.com, along with matching email addresses or group discussion lists. I use subdomains to setup website transactional website mail for clients, which maintains a client’s brand and boosts message deliverability. This option takes a bit of DNS know-how and most webmasters can help with this.
Check coupon and cash-back sites to save on renewals. While coupon codes are usually only good for new name registrations, cash-back sites such as Rakuten can help you save on renewal fees, as they are activated in your browser every time you make a purchase from the participating retailer (there are many!). This can add up to significant $$ over time.
Redirect keyword-rich names to sales pages. If you have a sales page for a product or service that has a long URL, you can redirect a simpler, or more descriptive name (or subdomain) to that page to make the URL easier to remember in your marketing materials. For example if your sales page is at yourdomain.com/products/12/14/2021/offer5465/—is tough to remember, but a URL like yourotherdomain.com/holiday is much easier to promote.
Consider selling or renting out high-value names you’re not using. Many don’t realize that you can list your unused names for sale, and in some cases, even rent them out! Domains work a lot like real estate and can be sold to another party, like any other property. An easy way to do this is simply to list them with GoDaddy’s auction listings. When someone looks for that name, the shopper will see them as “available” at a premium price. There’s many ways present names for sale on the domain “aftermarket”, so do your due diligence before deciding on a name selling strategy.
I hope the above tips will get you thinking about getting more utility from your existing domain names.