Our customers often ask us about confusing letters they receive regarding the renewal of domain names, which typically look like an overdue electricity bill and are for the amount of a few hundred dollars.
We’ve received these letters ourselves before and they’re designed to inflict fear that you will lose your domain name if you don't make payment by the due date. Generally, however, these letters are unsolicited offers to renew your domain name at a much higher price than the standard rate or sometimes, they are for an alternative spelling of your domain name that you probably don’t need.
In Australia, domains are regulated by the Australian Domain Name Authority (auDA), who will often post consumer warning alerts about this misleading practice. It’s very easy to get confused about domain name registrations and renewals, so we have collated the below list to help you with the process.
Choosing a Domain Registrar
Once you have decided on a domain name, the first step is to choose a domain registrar. This is the organisation that will process your domain name registration and renewals. Alternatively, you may also buy your domain name through a reseller like Digital Bridge, who is a wholesale partner of TPP Internet.
Choosing a domain registrar can be confusing but it’s incredibly important to ensure you purchase your domain license through an accredited domain name registrar or an accredited reseller. auDA provides a list of accredited registrars on their website and gives you the option to search accredited resellers.
Once you have a list of accredited registrars, you will notice that fees vary immensely between registrars and this is because each registrar offers different levels and styles of service. Paying more for a domain name does not mean you have a superior domain name but may mean you have bought additional services.
When purchasing through an accredited domain name registrar, ensure you always read the fine print of your contract, including what control your registrar has, regulations and conditions surrounding your domain name and most importantly, when your licence will need to be renewed - .au domain name licenses are generally for two years.
It’s important to remember, you don’t own your domain name – you hold a licence to use the domain name and when your licence needs to be renewed, your registrar or reseller will contact you.
Accurate Contact Details / ABNs
When registering a .au domain name, you will be asked to provide an Australian Business Number (ABN), Australian Company Number (ACN), State Business Number, Trademark Number or Incorporated Associated Number to prove your eligibility.
It’s important that the contact details and ABN you have registered with your domain registrar are always kept up to date to ensure you receive all necessary renewal notices. If you have an old email or address registered, you may be unaware that your domain name is needing to be renewed and it may be snapped up by someone else when your license lapses.
We often see domains expire because the reminders are sent to an ex employee, therefore we recommend using a generic email address like admin@domain.com.au as the point of contact.
IP, Brand and Trademark Protection
It’s important to have the right domain name but unfortunately registering a domain doesn’t give you any proprietary rights. To truly protect your brand, we recommend registering a trade mark, which you can do for a few hundred dollars at IP Australia.
By registering a trade mark, you obtain exclusive use of the trade mark and if your brand or IP were to be registered by an unauthorised third party, auDA offers a Dispute Resolution Procedure.
Australian Domain Name Authority – AUDA
In Australia, if you have a dispute regarding a domain name you can contact auDA. auDA is the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space. auDA are responsible for accrediting and licencing registrars, implementing consumer safeguards and facilitating .au dispute resolution policies. For disputes relating to international domains, ICANN may be able to assist.
What about keyword based domain names?
A domain name is the foundation of your brand and there are pros and cons to having a domain name that is keyword-based. Some companies choose to use keywords in their domain name, such as cheaptickets.com for cheaper airline tickets, to generally rank higher on search engines.
However, in light of recent Google updates, keyword specific domain names are not as helpful as they once were and more specifically, competitive keyword domain names are even more difficult to rank for.
A downside of having a keyword based domain name is that many people who do not know a company’s domain name will often use the company name to try and find the company’s website. This is why majority of company’s domain names are their business names and are not a play on specific keywords.
At the end of the day, there are plenty of successful websites that do not include a keyword and Google is pretty smart at finding good content, so this will not limit a great website.
What are Global Domain Extensions?
If the domain name you want is already registered, there are many other alternative domain extensions available. For example, .au is a location specific extension for businesses within Australia, just as .uk is for businesses within the United Kingdom.
The most popular domain extensions are known as original top-level domains, which include .com, .org, .net, .gov and .edu to name a few. Today, some domain extensions are dedicated to specific industries like .media or .agency and offer you a creative edge.
If your business operates internationally, you can go global and buy extensions of your URL for different countries. Google ranks country specific domains higher than .com and people based in these countries are more likely to click on a country specific URL.
Putting your domain name to work
Once you have registered your domain name, you can then work with your hosting provider to ‘point’ your domain name to your hosting account, also known as delegating your domain name to a nameserver. You will need to provide two or more “name server names”, a primary and a secondary. Delegating your domain is the process of announcing to the world where your website lives, and ensures your email comes through correctly and does not bounce back to the sender.
We hope the above list has assisted with any confusion you may have around domain names and fraudulent renewal notices. Remember to always register your domain name with an accredited domain registrar or reseller, read the fine print, keep all contact details up to date and register for a trade mark to protect your brand. If you have anything further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Digital Bridge for further advice.
Digital Bridge is a Melbourne-based web development agency that’s big on ideas and low on jargon. We specialise in designing, developing and managing websites for people like you and businesses like yours.