With summer officially here, take a look at this checklist for domain investors.
The Northern Hemisphere entered summer today. Kids are out of school, and vacations are on tap. Things tend to slow down in the business world this time of year, making it a great time to take care of domain portfolio housekeeping. Here are some things you should do this summer.
Renew any domains expiring before the end of the year
I prefer to renew my domains in batches rather than dealing with them every month. And it makes sense to renew them early, especially if they are .com domain names. Verisign is increasing the wholesale cost of .com domains by 62 cents to $9.59 on September 1. Registrars will pass this increase along, potentially costing you hundreds or thousands more to renew your portfolio after the increase. And prices are sure to go up again next year. So if there are domains you know you’ll hold onto for the long run, go ahead and renew them for multiple years now.
Take advantage of transfer specials
But before you renew your domains, see if you can save money by transferring them to another registrar. Many registrars offer transfer specials to win more business. For example, Sav.com charges $8.99 for transfers (the same price as new registrations), slightly lower than its renewal price. And Dynadot is offering $8.95 .com transfers through the end of this month with the coupon code COMSWITCH.
Check where your domains are pointing
As your domain portfolio grows, some domains fall through the cracks. One of the most common issues I find in my portfolio is that the domains are pointing to the wrong place. I sometimes forget to point newly-acquired domains to sales landers, so they point to the registrar’s default lander instead. This makes it harder for potential buyers to acquire the domain, and it could mean the lander has pay-per-click links that could get me into trouble.
There are a couple of ways to check the nameservers for your domains. If you keep your portfolio at one or two registrars, you can just scan the nameservers through the bulk management interface. If your domains are scattered, consider using software like Watch My Domains Pro to check the nameservers. Pay extra attention this year if you list your domains on Afternic through GoDaddy’s List For Sale system. If you chose to have GoDaddy add a for-sale lander prior to this month, these landers do not get the discounted 15% commission. You’ll want to point them to Afternic’s or Dan’s servers.
Check your listing prices
When was the last time you checked how much your domains are listed for? I recommend reviewing your prices at least once a year to adapt to changing trends. Have AI domains in your portfolio that you priced last year? Might want to raise them. Have web3 and metaverse domains? It might be time to drop the prices a bit.
Follow up on stale sales leads
The downside to summer is that there are fewer people in the office. The upside is that people in the office tend to have more time on their hands. So it’s worth reaching out to any stale sales leads you haven’t contacted in a while.
I hope these ideas help you optimize your domain portfolio.
Post link: Summertime domain to-do list
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