How domain management boosts success

Whether through tools for efficient domain management or the know-how of external providers, with domain name management you strengthen how your brand is perceived. Domain management includes administration tools for your domain portfolio as well as the registration, updating and maintenance of new domains and subdomains. An early domain-first approach is important for successful online marketing.

Why is domain management becoming more important?

A domain used to be a static web address resembling a business card, an advertisement or a summary of information and services. Today, business domains and website content are continuously evolving alongside new trends in digitization. While companies used to have a manageable number of domains, today’s domain portfolio may well be in the triple digits.

One reason for this are subdomains, product and service pages, blogs, online magazines, information available via the extranet or web page redirects. For companies with a large domain portfolio, it can be hard to keep track and monitor the quality of all domains. Professional domain management lets them organize, monitor, maintain and update new and existing domains.

What makes for professional domain management?

Whether you manage your own domains or outsource them to external domain management services, the following aspects are crucial for successful domain management:

• Continuous monitoring of the domain portfolio
• A fast search, reservation and registration of new domains
• Regular update and maintenance of existing domains
• A clear, centralized user interface and domain management tools
• Domain mapping for quick access to domains and subdomains
• A secure DNS infrastructure for fail-safe allocation, resolution and forwarding of requests
• Domain migration when changing provider
• A budget and dedicated department for continuous domain management and 24/7 domain monitoring

Implementing a domain management means that your domains are accessible all times, are updated and secure. Since this requires a certain level of expertise, it’s best to decide whether you want to organize your own domain administration or consult experts for professional domain management.

What does the domain-first approach stand for?

Domain management requires not just experience and know-how, but also an understanding of current trends and technical details. Even a different TLD (Top Level Domain) can divert traffic away from your domain. For example, “stray” traffic regularly arrives on tesla.de which is the domain of German company Tesla Low Code GmbH and not the official tesla.com website. When you register similar domains or even typo domains like appl.de or googl.com, errant traffic can be redirected to the correct address

Because there are many other criteria for establishing your brand or optimizing your online marketing, the domain-first approach has a competitive advantage. The slogan “domain first” means it’s important to have a clear, catchy message to boost audience reception. If you make domain management a priority right from the start, you’ll set an important course early on for successful branding, building a customer base, and high traffic.

A registration strategy is just as important as brand building through top level domains and distinctive domains. This includes registering typo domains or securing of brand relevant TLDs to prevent domain misuse. Making campaign or product domains available alongside content marketing and search engine optimization and mobile SEO determines the success and scalability of your domain portfolio.

What are the advantages of efficient domain management for companies?

The advantages of professional domain management hinge on the tools you choose for domain administration. On the other hand, the pros depend on whether you decide to use an external service provider for domain management. Self-management using powerful tools can be worthwhile for a small and manageable domain portfolio. A complex, evolving portfolio, on the other hand, suggests the support of external providers.

Whatever you choose, the benefits of domain management are a stronger market position within eCommerce:

• Registration strategy to secure domains relevant to companies, campaigns, products or brand impact
• Selection of important domain types such as TLDs .com, .net or .org and country domains in case you need country-specific subdomains
• Fast purchase of existing domains via domain trade and domain auctions
• Reliable, compliant sale, transfer or relocation of domains
• Monitoring domain availability even with domains from different providers
• Organization and maintenance of more complex domain portfolios
• Updating DNS records and DNS zone scans
• Automated and reliable billing
• Increasing brand value and protecting the brand
• Minimizing administrative work and costs
• Extend domain usage rights and durations in a timely manner or automatically
• Adhere to ICANN guidelines or Whois policies

Important aspects of domain management

For comprehensive, efficient domain management, the following criteria must be observed:

Decide on a domain strategy before buying a domain

Before you buy a domain, you should decide on a strategy. This serves as a guideline and orientation to get an overview of the most important aspects. First, decide whether to organize the administration of your domains or outsource it to external service providers. One of the first questions a domain strategy should answer is: how to buy a domain?

There are also questions as to the required budget for domain management, the appropriate domain extension, domain names and the number of possible subdomains. Part of a domain strategy is securing similar domain names, top level domains, country-specific domain types and word combinations in order to prevent domain grabbing and cybersquatting as well as phishing. You should also have a strategy for defensive domain registration in place.

Choose a domain name and ending

From business websites, artist portfolios, product pages to temporary campaign domains, the right domain name determines success. A domain name should be relevant to your business, offerings and services, easy to understand and easy to remember. Short domains could be company or product names, product categories or services and content. Although the domain name itself doesn’t directly influence your search engine ranking, you shouldn’t neglect SEO during domain selection.

The domain extension is important for the respectability and visibility of your brand. Top level domains such as .com or .net are usually preferable but, depending on the focus of your offering, country-specific domains such as .de for German companies and services. Customers usually trust websites with popular and well-known domain extensions more than those with less well-known extensions.

Secure domains relevant to your industry

The number of awarded domains and TLDs continues to grow each month. This means there’s a high probability your preferred domain may have already been registered. Be sure to secure brand-relevant domain names in time by registering similar domain names and domain types or buying them on domain marketplaces. This way you cover domain names that redirect customers to your main domain. You also prevent cybercriminals from using similar domains in attempted fraud and damaging your brand impact.

Select provider

You’ll also want to pay attention to selecting the right domain provider. A domain provider should offer a wide range of TLDs and country-specific endings. Company, industry or service-specific domain endings such as .store, .event or .art should be available for selection. Reputable providers offer transparent and flexible pricing models, reliable service and additional services such as hosting environments, storage space and databases.

Domain portfolio management

For success in eCommerce and online marketing, a single domain is often not sufficient. Many companies have a domain portfolio consisting of multiple domains and subdomains. Professional domain portfolio management is useful to manage and monitor more complex domain infrastructures. This includes the accessibility, security, maintenance and renewal of domains. Automation of billing and a legal strategy are important to prevent possible fraud attempts in your name or under your domain.

Edit DNS records

To ensure the accessibility of your domains, it’s necessary to maintain related DNS records and update your DNS infrastructure. This is especially important for the creation of subdomains and when migrating domains, switching domains or changing your domain. Maintenance of DNS records ensures that users can reach your website and the content matches the search intentions of your target audience. The use of secure mail servers or the assignment of web hosting and your own name server depend on correct DNS entries.

Keep Whois data up to date

The Whois database lets you search for registered domains in a publicly accessible list. According to ICANN and Neustar, domain owners are obliged to keep the Whois contact data of a domain up to date. Especially in case of a move, transfer or a change of name it’s important to adjust Whois data. In case you prefer not to be publicly associated with one of your domains, some domain providers offer a privacy option. Selecting it will display an alternative name in the WHOIS registry.

Renew domains

Registered domains usually have an expiration date. Auto-renewal is not always guaranteed. And the larger your domain portfolio, the easier it is to overlook an upcoming deadline on a domain renewal. When you wish to use a domain permanently, you can activate the auto-renewal feature provided by your host. This sets an automatic renewal of your domain term and prevents the domain from being deleted or registered by others at the end of your term.

Set up subdomains

With a main domain you can easily create additional subdomains via DNS entry. Depending on your provider and host, you can choose any subdomain name and a large number of free subdomains. Subdomains help you to organize your website and facilitate the overview for visitors by category and theme. Here, too, professional domain portfolio management is required to update or delete subdomains.

Set up forwarding

For domains you’re not currently using, it’s recommended to set up domain forwarding. In this way, you will direct traffic via inactive domains to your main domain. Forwarding is always preferable to domain parking. You can redirect traffic to parked pages that present visitors with thematically similar ads, but often look dubious.

Delete or release domains for transfer

Unused domains, those used for expired campaigns or unavailable products and services should be deleted or released for transfer. In this way, you’ll keep your domain portfolio neat and tidy, and prevent websites from becoming inaccessible or outdated. By transferring and selling a domain, you could even make profit when trading on domain marketplaces. The success of this depends on the domain name. It’s a good idea to determine the domain value before a transfer.

Use all-in-one solutions or tools for domain management

Professional tools for domain management help to organize and maintain your domain portfolio. For this purpose, you can choose from all-in-one solutions or needs-based services from external providers for domain management as a managed service. Alternatively, you can use specific tools to manage your domain portfolio yourself. Free and paid tools can cover availability checks, purchase, registration, valuation, relocation, transfer and domain security.

Independent domain management requires time, investment and expertise. If your domain structure is complex, it’s best to seek the help of professional domain administrators. They can provide an all-round solution or access to the most useful tools and services.

Useful portfolio management tools include Rage Domainer, Domain Punch or AutoDNS. For hosting, SiteGround, Bluehost, DreamHost, GoDaddy Web Hosting or WP Engine are suitable.

Conclusion: get started managing your domains as soon as possible

Domain first is a motto adopted by small and medium-sized enterprises but also larger, globally active groups. With a forward-looking domain management, you optimize your Internet presence and increase your brand value. A domain portfolio strategy maintains your domain infrastructure and keeps your content up to date. This ensures your domains remain accessible and registered, but also protects you from cyberattacks and cybersquatting. Whether you take domain management into your own hands or outsource it to external service providers is a question of budget and your requirements. However, with an extensive domain portfolio, it’s a good idea to make domain management a priority.