HOW TO MANAGE YOUR DOMAIN NAME TO RETAIN YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

More and more people are using the Internet today in order to make their lives manageable and for convenience – be it to shop, manage their bank accounts, book tickets for travel or just to keep in touch with colleagues or with friends. The numbers speak for themselves. Over 81 million Indians now have access to the Internet1 and 1.9 billion2 Internet users exist worldwide, making it a rich and powerful medium to create awareness about your business.

Establish the right online presence
The first step in creating an online presence is to select and register your domain name. Just like your office address in the physical world, your domain name tells your customers where to find you in the virtual world. Once you have registered your domain name, you can either build a website around your business offerings or have a business e-mail account.

Selecting the right domain name is important as it can increase your visibility on the Internet. A .com domain name offers you one of the best options because it can help provide instant visibility and credibility for your brand online, both in India and globally. A .com domain name extension is appropriate for businesses of all sizes and it is one of the most widely used domain name extensions around the world3.

Manage your domain name to retain your competitive advantage
Your domain name is your brand identity on the Internet and should be regarded as a valuable asset. Think of it like your bank account and therefore look to manage it carefully. Otherwise, businesses can risk losing the domain name and the brand equity that they may have built around their domain name.

These 10 steps can help you to manage and protect your domain name.

  • List your company’s name as the owner of the domain. The ownership of a domain name is determined by the information recorded in the central Whois database. It contains the ownership and contact information, and the registration and expiration dates for the domain. You input this information when you register your domain name. The ownership name in the Whois record should be your company and the contact information should be individuals with authority in your organization whom you trust, since that person may have the ability to change the domain record at will.
  • Keep full control of your domain name and the information pertaining to it.
    In the event of a conflict, the domain name belongs to the company or person whose name is mentioned as the owner. Sometimes a customer may ask its website designer or reseller to purchase a domain on its behalf, but in that case, the designer or reseller may then register themselves as the domain name owner. To avoid this, you should give clear instructions to the designer or reseller regarding the company or person to be listed as the domain name owner.
  • Keep your domain name access password confidential. Do not share the log-in domain name access password with just anyone. You should employ the same level of confidentiality that you would normally employ with passwords to your online bank account, for example.
  • Keep the control panel details with a trusted person. The link to ‘Manage Domain’ on the domain control panel will take you to a page showing all your domains booked through that date. By clicking on any domain name, one can edit its owner, administrative, technical or billing contact information. Once the information is changed, the information will be updated automatically. It is advisable to keep your domain name information updated at all times.

  • Pay attention to your renewal date. You can register your domain name for a period of one year up to 10 years. You will also need to pay extra attention to the renewal date. Be careful; if you delay in renewing your domain name, you may risk losing it to someone else. So if you fought for a domain name that many people wanted and allowed it to lapse, someone else can register it and you may have lost that domain name forever.

    Many registrars or resellers will send you a renewal notice anywhere from 15 days to a month before your domain name expires. Keep in mind that there will be a fee if you fail to register your name for renewal before your expiration date for manual reactivations. Pricing is always the prerogative of the registrar or reseller so it would be prudent to renew your domain name on time.

  • Be aware of your registrars or resellers renewal procedures. Renewal procedures and prices for domain names vary depending on your registrar or reseller, so be sure to check with them regarding their renewal procedures.
  • Offer accurate and valid contact information when registering a domain name.
    Providing false domain registration information is against a registrar’s terms of use of service and could result in your domain name being cancelled. Be sure to provide an email or physical address that you use, as communication from the registrar or reseller will be sent to it via the communication means specified during the registration process.
  • Keep a list of all the domain names. In case you have multiple domain names, keep them secure and together in one place for easy management.
  • Keep hard copy print outs of correspondence with your registrar or reseller. It may be a good idea to keep a print out of the receipts and all other information sent to you by your registrar or reseller.
  • Inform your registrar or reseller immediately in case of any suspicious activity. In the wake of any email which indicates a suspicious change on your domain name, alert the registrar or reseller through which you registered the domain name immediately. Forward them the questionable email/ material and provide them with the details of your concerns. This will help them to track down and correct any problems.

The discipline required to manage your domain name is similar to that required in managing your paperwork in your physical office. Would you, for example, forget to extend the lease for your office before it ends?

Welcome to the Internet World!

1 www.internetstats.com, June 30, 2010
2 www.internetworldstats.com, June 30, 2010
3 During the fourth quarter of 2010, the overall base of .com and .net domain names grew to reach a combined total of 105.2 million names, according to the Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief (Volume 8, Issue 1, February 2011)

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