Public Interest Registry to raise wholesale prices of .org domain names.

Public Interest Registry, the registry for .org domain names, has notified ICANN that it is increasing wholesale prices 10%. The annual wholesale price for .org domain name registrations will be $6.75, slightly below the $6.86 rate that .com domains will jump to later this year.

The rational for the price increase? None. At least none that was disclosed to ICANN. The rational is purely for profits, and you can’t blame Public Interest Registry for that. If you’re allowed to increase prices in a monopoly, why not?

In fact, when .biz registry NeuStar raised prices last year, it’s reason for the price hike was that “everyone else was doing it“.

Because of the thin margins on domain registrations, you can expect your favorite domain registrar to pass the costs on to you.

Look for Afilias to jack up prices on .info and NeuStar to add another hike to .biz. NeuStar can raise prices 10% to $7.06 this year.

GoDaddy complies with ICANN advisory for transferring domain names.

Last September I wrote that GoDaddy might have to end its controversial practice of denying transfers-out when a domain owner changes whois information in the preceding 60 days.

A few weeks ago ICANN finalized the advisory that I wrote about, and it seems to target GoDaddy specifically. The advisory basically says that registrars can’t deny transfer requests due to changes in whois information, as this would violate ICANN rules that require registrants to keep their data up-to-date. Furthermore, it specifically says registrars can’t make users “opt-in” to the lock when they change whois information (something that GoDaddy did).

I contacted GoDaddy earlier this month to see if it was complying with the advisory. Tim Ruiz, Go Daddy’s Vice President of Corporate Development & Policy, said in a statement “Go Daddy always has and will continue to comply with ICANN rules and regulations.”

Fair enough, but I decided to test it by changing my whois information for FileVirtualization.com and then transferring it to Moniker the next day. I’m happy to report that the transfer was successful.

Network Solutions is the only other major registrar I know that put 60 day locks on domains. The company has not responded to repeated requests for comment about this issue.

It’s worth noting that ICANN’s advisory lacks teeth. The only thing ICANN can do to stop a registrar from a practice like this is to take away its accreditation. This is a “nucleur option” and rarely practiced until it’s too late — and wouldn’t be used against the world’s biggest registrar unless the situation was dire. ICANN needs the power to levy fines against registrars who fail to comply.

Over 50% of those surveyed pick GoDaddy as “best registrar”.

A survey of 841 domain name industry participants found that GoDaddy is considered the best domain name registrar for the third year running.

The Third Annual Domain Name Wire Survey asked respondents “Which registrar do you think is best overall”. GoDaddy was selected 52% of the time, showing growing popularity compared to previous years. In 2006 GoDaddy was first with 28% and in 2007 it was also first with 28%.

GoDaddy is a marketing powerhouse, sparing no expense with its SuperBowl commercials and promoting heavily during sports events. It’s also the world’s biggest domain registrar. According to RegistrarStats, the company and its reseller program manage nearly 28 million domain names — more than three times the next biggest registrar, Demand Media’s eNom. Despite raising prices this past year, GoDaddy has attracted large domain portfolio owners with its Discount Domain Club, which offers .com domains for $7.05 per year.

Survey choices included the top registrars by size according to RegistrarStats data. Complete rankings are:

1. GoDaddy 52%
2. Moniker 21%
3. eNom 13%
4. 1&1 7%
5. Tucows (OpenSRS) 3%
6. Network Solutions 2%
6. Register.com 2%
8. Melbourne IT 1%

The graph below shows a comparison of results over the past three years:

Large domain name portfolio holders still find Moniker a top choice for domain management. Much like last year, when you consider only domain name owners with 1,000 or more domains, Moniker and GoDaddy are virtually tied at 23% of the vote. eNom is third with 15%.

[View survey results here.]

When selecting a registrar, customers place security at the top of the list.

According to Domain Name Wire’s 2008 survey of 841 domain name industry participants, security is the number one selection criteria when choosing a domain name registrar.

This is a change from the first two years of the survey, which had price as the number one consideration. Clearly, issues about domain names being stolen are affecting where registrants take their business.

Survey respondents were asked to rank six factors in order of importance. The factors were presented in random order to each respondent to avoid bias.

The weighted average results were:

1. Security
2. Price
3. Customer service
4. Account management tools
5. Ease of transfering domains to other people
6. Value added services, such as webhosting

Positions three through six remained the same as the 2007 survey.

It may seem odd that customer service is in the middle of the list, but when you consider the thought process of selecting a registrar it makes sense:

-Make sure my domains are safe
-Cross off any registrars who charge more than $x per domain registration
-Now, consider which registrar offers adequate customer service

In other words, you have to have great customer service to be a good registrar, but if your pricing and security are bad then it’s a moot point.

[View survey results here. Next up: Best Registrar results]

Tucows has new job for “Associate Domainer”.

Are you a part-time domainer that wants to become full-time? Think you could work magic if only you could get your hands on a multi-million dollar portfolio of domain names? I came across a job listing from domain name registrar Tucows (AMEX: TCX) that might interest you. The position is for “Associate Domainer”:

* The Domain Portfolio Analyst is responsible for monitoring, measuring, and managing a large portfolio of domain names. These domain names are currently monetized through domain parking, domain sales, and domain leasing.

KEY POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES/OBJECTIVES:

% of Time Description of task / duty

* [20%] Reviewing and selecting from daily lists of domain names using multiple criteria for possible acquisition by Tucows
* [20%] Grading and pricing domain names, managing, restoring, renewing, and transferring names, optimizing the landing pages of parked domains
* [20%] Analyzing data for trends and patterns and generating and updating daily, weekly, and monthly reports
* [20%] Monitoring and responding to internal and external email and phone sales and support inquiries about domain names in the portfolio
* [20%] Assisting with other departmental administrative and support duties including assisting with development and refinement of domain portfolio management tools, updating department Wiki pages, conducting research and other “Special Projects”

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

* Data analysis experience / ability to analyze large datasets for trends and patterns necessary
* Excellent Excel, Word, Outlook, and Internet research skills
* Excellent spoken and written communication skills
* Database experience (MS Access / SQL) a nice-to-have
* Previous experience in domain name industry and/or PPC advertising would be very useful

EDUCATION (include Professional Certifications / Designations)

* Post Secondary Education

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

* Ability to multi-task
* Attention to detail
* Ability to manage own time effectively
* Ability to operate under pressure and meet deadlines
* Ability to work independently on projects with minimal supervision and also collaborate as a strong team member
* Sense of humour
* Creative problem solving abilities

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

* Some weekend work required (1-2 hours per day, 1-2 times per month)

Looks like a fun and challenging gig if you don’t mind moving to Toronto. The position reports to Bill Sweetman, who is GM for the domain portfolio. I’ve talked with Sweetman on the phone while writing a story in the past, and he seems to really enjoy his gig.

More details are available here.

I’ve been considering adding a job board to Domain Name Wire. Is that something readers (and employers) would be interested in?